SURVEY OF THE AUDIO & HT PRINT PRESS

by | Sep 24, 2005 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

WIDESCREEN REVIEW (September) – Equipment Reviews: Faroudja
DILA1080pHD projection systems, Theta Digital Compli high end universal
player, Vidikron Vision Model 100 projector, Lexicon RV-8 high end
receiver, Monster M Design Eleganza series, Monitor Audio Silver RS
speakers, In-Wall Loudspeakers for Home Theater, Cary Audio Cinema
DVD-6 high end universal player. Articles include 12 Years of Video
Standards, CEDIA History, WSR & DVD Poised for Another Turning
Point. Interviews: Noel Lee of Monster Cable, Telecine colorist Lou
Levinson, Video pioneer Sam Runco. Other features: Overview of last 100
issues of WSR, Testimonials, Sensio 3D makes it big in Hollywood, Top
100 Most Noteworthy DVDs of All Time.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW
(October) – Art from The Amityville Horror is on
the front cover, sharing with the InFocus ScreenPlay 61MD10 HDTV, B
& K Components AVR507 Series 2 Receiver and Earthquake Sound THOR
In-Wall Subwoofer. Inside are reviews of the PS Audio GCA-MC Amp, the
Alchemy DL Digital Delay Line, and ASC’s SubTrap.  Among the
articles include High-Def Disc Trouble Ahead, Feelings Between HD Camps
Scrapped (sic!) Raw, and news about Blu-ray adopting a content
management system and gaining support from Lions Gate and Universal
Music. There are over 40 DVD and surround music reviews.

HI-FI NEWS
(October 2005) – On the cover: European Audio
Awards, High Fidelity! (How good is Musical Fidelity’s A3.5 CD
system?), Bumper Group Test of four different CD/amp combos under £1K,
SIM2 superb C3X DLP projector tested, Tests of: Marantz amp duo, ARC
REF3 preamp, Sunilda phono stage, Chapter Preface & Couplet (preamp
& power amp), The Story of Shure’s flagship V15 phono cartridge,
Test of Denon’s AVD-A11XV AV amp, Jeff Wayne on the SACD Remaster of
The War of the Worlds, Will China’s currency changes hit hi-fi prices?
Ken Kessler’s Opinion is on No Noise Is Good Noise (headphones and
earbuds).

HI-FI NEWS
(September) – On the cover: ATC’s 30th anniversary
speaker — the Signature SCM 50 ASL Tower, Latest iPod Accessories
reviewed, Shanling’s space-age CD player, Stirling’s BBC LS3/5a
speaker, MartinLogan Summit speakers, Marantz SA-15S1 CD & amp, DNM
3D-Six preamp, classic retro Meridian Series 1, BAT’s latest 
amps, Clearaudio’s Emotion turntable. The AVTech section is now an
integral part of the magazine and includes the Marantz DV9500 universal
player, InFocus Screenplay 7210 DLP projector, Velodyne baby DD-10
subwoofers. Ken Kessler writes on Why confusing formats keep the
audiophile alive.
 
HDTV ETC. (October/November) – The new issue of the
combined HDTV ETC. and DVD ETC. crams a passle o’ hot HT stuff on the
cover along with a $100 bill (intent unclear). Articles are: It’s a
Samsung 80” Plasma and Super Speakers, Home Theater Installation, More
Hi-Def Goodies, Speaker Wire Savvy, Infinity Cascade Series Sneak Peak,
KEF XQ Series speakers, Definitive Technology IWsub 10/10, HD News, DVD
Reviews, Interviews & Entertainment. A discussion of DVD players is
titled Whither DVD?, and another DVD article is Fifty Years of
TV-to-DVD.  DVDs profiled include Bambi and The Wizard of Oz.
Other components reviewed: Klipsch Synergy Series SLX/SUB-10 System,
Directed Electronics Sirius-DBS Signal Combiner System, Yamaha RX-V457
Receiver. Furnishing Your Home Theater has an article on recliners.

HDTV ETC. (September) – Celebrates it’s second anniversary by
swallowing up companion DVD ETC. and becoming a single publication with
a heavier emphasis on video; for example, there are only five music
disc reviews.Cover stories are Syntax Olevia 32” LCD TV, Nyko Movie
Player, HD Radio is Here!, Andy Griffith on his  film debut — A
Face in the Crowd, Niles Hi-Def speakers, Otterbox for iPod, Integra
Audio Network Server, Interviews, Director’s Cut feature on the
documentary Twin Towers, and DVD Reviews. The new editor is Michael
Laurino and while I must agree with his closing editorial on how awful
most network and cable TV is today, I’m amazed to see it in proclaimed
in a publication named for and emphasizing broadcast TV (since we don’t
yet have hi-def DVDs).

THE INNER EAR REPORT
(Vol. 16 #3) – The front cover illustrates the
Wiener Lautsprecher Manufaktur Gran Viola & Duo 18 Sub (I kid you
not and no typos there either). Other products listed on the cover:
StudioLab Protege speakers, Wilson Benesch A.C.T. speakers, Neat
Acoustics speakers; Benchmark DAC, Meridian G07 CD Player, Chord 2600
Integrated Amp, ExactPower Regulator, Straight Wire speaker cables,
Pioneer Elite DVD player, Hitachi video projector, NAD HT amp &
tuner/processor, Sharp AQUOS LCD monitor & system with DVD player,
AirPort Express, and Six Synergistic Systems – by which TIER means
groupings of different components they have reviewed and then hooked
together at various price levels and found worked well together.
Categories are Budget System, Budget High End System, Uncomplicated
High End, and The Complex System.

 
AUSTRALIAN HI-FI (September/October)
World’s Most Accurate Loudspeakers! is the claim for the NHT
room-corrected XdS speakers with subwoofer on the cover. Other cover
reviews: Whise 325 Subwoofer, Plinius Pre & Power Amps, McIntosh
MC-275 Valve Amp, Yamaha YSP-1 Sound Projector, Building Valve Amps.
Among their interesting feature sections are Audio News, Backstage,
Book Reviews, Audio Clinic, World Music, Classic Corner, Jazz Tracks,
DVD Reviews, and Super-Fi (which this issue features the first reviews
by John Sunier). 
AUSTRALIAN HI-FI (September) – Power
Factor Correction: Halcro designer reveals all! is the cover feature,
but the photo is of the huge DK Design VS.1 Reference integrated amp.
Other equipment reviews: Musical Fidelity X-150 power amp, Legend
Acoustics Kurre 4 bookshelf speakers, Krix Neuphonix speakers, Altech
Maestro Pro Media Centre. Audio News discusses a new addition to the
several Aussie audio manufacturers, a solution to binding posts, and
Bose’s SoundDock for iPod. Audio Clinic covers how tiny speakers can
reproduce 26 Hz and whether human ears have gain. Brahms’ First
Symphony is touted in the Classic Corner, in Naxos’ DVD-A surround
version which is said might subtract from the big picture on first
hearing but becomes ever more rewarding on rehearing. [Subscription
Info: 1800 227 236 (labeled freecall but perhaps that’s only in
Australia); hifi@horwitz.com.au]

BOUND For SOUND (Issue #166) – Made in China is the opening
section, Martin DeWulf talks about the Blue Lightning power strip, Ray
Samuels’ Audio Stealth headphone/control preamp and outboard phono
section, and the Audience AV Adept Response hi-res Master Power
Conditioner, also the legacy of  the late speaker designer Bud
Fried. The Combak Reimyo CDP-777 CD player and the Aural Audio TELO
power amp are reviewed in depth. There are also CD and xrcd reviews.

 
AUDIO XPRESS (October)
On the cover: The Future with Digital Amps, Design Your Own Tube Line
Amp, In Concert with the DR300 Horn, Build Your Own Low Distortion Hi
Power Amp, Current Source Amp: Discover the Difference (First
Watt  FI), Pipe Speakers Made Easy (Omega Quarterwave
Reflex).  The Symposium section covers Topology, Measurements and
Screen Taps.
 
AUDIO XPRESS (September) – Features: Stereo Subs for the Swans
M1 speakers, Crowhurst’s Twin-Coupled Amp Revisited, An Aussie tube
enthusiast reveals how to improve the performance of most two-stage
amps, Dynamic Microphone SoundCard Amp, All-FET Class A 75w Amp, Phono
switch review, What’s New on the Audio Market, Xpress Mail, Classifieds.
 
MULTI MEDIA MANUFACTURER (September/October) – Contents of the
“Manager’s Guide to AV Design and Development:”  Digital
Amplifiers — The Audio Path to the Future, Weighting Up, The Seven
Manufacturing Wastes, Standard Tests for Multimedia Speakers Pt. 2, New
Chips on the Block, Industry News, A Brief History of Component Hi-Fi
Equipment (Larry Klein), Media Report: Audio Slowdown? (Barry
Fox).  Fox decries the integration of MP3 playback into home
audio. “But quite apart from the insidious move towards lower sound
quality, this sucks hi-fi into the awful computer world of downloading
software updates.”  Right on!

THE BAS SPEAKER
(Vol. 27 No. 2)
– Unadorned, low on illustrations and layout, the 40 pages are full of
audio and HT news and opinions that you don’t find in other print
publications, as well as some important reprints from other
publications. Just a few of the news items: Fighting China DVD Piracy,
An organization that keeps analog tape available, Audibility of codec
errors, Ambiophonics, Tymphany using Oskar Heil’s Interleaved-Disc
Woofer, and the usual cable controversy. John Allen writes on the
aspect-ratio problem in HDTV, David Weinberg addresses What Makes a
Display HD?, and Ed Dell On the Necessity for Bad Equipment Reviews.
David Hadaway reviews the January CES and a lengthy past meeting panel
discussion on Concert Hall Acoustics featuring such experts as Leo L.
Beranek and David Griesinger is fascinating reading. Other articles:
Taking Perspective from Audio’s Past, Obscura Revealed, Sourcing in the
New China. There is a summary of other publications, including
Audiophile Audition.

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