Practical Home Theater Number Nine Hits Stores
Posted Fri Oct 2, 2009, 10:17 AM ET
It's that time of year again. My book
Practical Home Theater: A Guide to Video and Audio Systems has been reborn in what has become an annual tradition. You can distinguish the new edition by its yellow cover or its ISBN number: 9781932732115. This edition is number nine and its cover date (printed on the spine) is 2010. As always, I've gone over it obsessively, rooting out stale information and freshening up as much as possible. On the video side, LED-backlit LCD HDTV and the conclusion of the DTV transition. On the audio side, this is the first edition to discuss the new height-enhanced surround modes, Audyssey DSX and Dolby Pro Logic IIz. It goes into detail about the latest version of HDMI, 1.4, and separates HDMI-cable fact from hype. And it delves into the exotic amplifier topologies that are finding their way into receivers, including the new Class D, Class G, and Class H. I remain committed to the annual update and have already stripped the book's giant text file so I can begin work on the next edition. It never ends. Finally, please note that the book is sold mainly online via
Amazon and
other booksellers in the U.S., U.K., and Europe. But you can special-order it from a
brick-and-mortar bookstore.
Mothra Power Cables Are the Audiophile Choice
Posted Wed Jun 3, 2009, 10:40 AM ET
After extensive testing, I have finally found the ultimate power cable. It's from
Mothra Research Unlimited. Their motto: "At Mothra, you won't get snake oil; you'll get the entire snake." While the
Mothra Power Cord may be a bit pricey at $8899.95 per meter (one meter shown), doesn't this description excite the two-channel purist in you?: "Designed and engineered for proper frequency handling from the wall tap to your equipment, the Mothra Power Cord uses 0.0001 mm palladium wire in a helium atmosphere to carry high frequencies, 0.001 mm platinum wire in a xenon atmosphere to carry the upper midranges, 0.01 mm gold wire in an argon atmosphere to carry the lower mids, and 0.1 mm silver wire in highly reactive sulphur hexafluoride to carry the low frequencies. This is then shielded with over 700 Kg of 99.9999% copper, packed into a special neodymium-bismuth damping material, encapsulated in our specially bioengineered case, and irradiated with high intensity gamma rays from Three Mile Island reactor #2." No system would be complete without
Ghidorah or
Rhodan interconnects, not to mention Mothra's
speaker cable. Here's the
price list. Mothra's corporate philosophy is simple: "Our goal is to wrap the listener in an intense, passionate and lifelike embrace of sound at a price comparable to the US Navy's Trident Missile Program. The enormous soundstage and precise, realistic imaging of our products will bring out the beast in you and secure our comfortable retirement."
Music Collecting Used to Be Fun
Posted Fri May 8, 2009, 8:45 AM ET
My favorite LP-hunting story takes place in a Lower Manhattan store sometime in the 1980s. For several years I had been looking for
The Compleat Dancing Master, a compilation of English Morris dance tunes charmingly mingled with spoken-word material. The only copy I'd ever seen was an unsealed one and I wanted a virgin sealed copy. So there I was in this record store, when a guy walked in and asked the manager if the very album I was seeking was in stock. The manager said yes and I went into a collector's frenzy. I had one advantage over the competing shopper—I knew what the jacket looked like, with its distinctive graphics against a hunter-green background. I began scanning the tops of the rows of LPs, looking for a slim stripe of hunter green. It took me less than a minute to find my prize, a sealed copy with a price sticker that read $2.49 (a lot less than online prices today). As I took it to the cashier, I made no attempt to lock eyes with my vanquished rival. Actually, I was half triumphant for my accomplishment and half embarrassed for my greed, if the truth be known. But I still remember that day whenever I see that hunter-green spine on my shelves. Perhaps we live in a better world now, a world where shoppers needn't compete for collectibles because downloads can reach vast numbers of people if the artist is lucky. But this item remains hard to find in any form—and downloads are never this much fun.
Red2Blu May Upgrade in More Ways than One
Posted Thu Apr 23, 2009, 9:34 AM ET
You've probably heard about Warner's
Red2Blu program—
Scott Wilkinson covered it in our News section. It enables consumers who bought HD DVDs to upgrade them to Blu-ray versions of the same titles for $4.95 plus shipping charges of $6.95-8.95. What you may not have heard is that the upgrade may result in a standard edition being replaced by a deluxe boxed set. Our colleague (and former convergence editor) Chris Chiarella writes: "If you swap out your
Casablanca, you'll actually be upgrading to the crazy-cool Ultimate Collector's Edition. I believe that this fancy boxed set is the only BD version offered in the U.S., and while I was poking around the Warner Red2Blu microsite I clicked on
Casablanca and the UCE appeared in my cart specifically, by name." So now you have more than one potential reason to pay the few bucks to go Blu. Sweet deal!
Man Does Not Like Cables
Posted Wed Mar 18, 2009, 9:42 AM ET
Two things you need to know about Christoph Niemann. His artwork has appeared in The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, and American Illustration. And he does not like cables. In this visual essay in the New York Times Opinion section, he explains why. Niemann is not so much Luddite as everyman: Is there anyone out there who cannot relate to the following statement?: "The true malice of headphones, however, is revealed when they are allowed to mingle with other cables."
Is Your Cable Operator Remapping?
Posted Wed Mar 11, 2009, 8:17 AM ET
As a broadcast-basic cable subscriber, I'm entitled to receive unencrypted cable channels through my Sharp LCD HDTV's QAM tuner, including the HD-capable digital versions of the New York area's over-the-air stations. Imagine my dismay when the local Fox and CW affiliates abruptly disappeared from the digital channel lineup a couple of months ago. Going back to their wishy-washy 4:3 analog versions was downright painful.
Rather than complain, I decided to wait for the DTV transition's stage-one deadline (February 17, 2009) to see what happened then. My untested theory was that broadcast frequency hopping (though minimal in my area) might, for reasons I couldn't imagine, somehow trigger cable remapping. Something happened, all right—the rest of my digital channels disappeared. I sent an email to Time Warner Cable customer support asking for an explanation, helpfully adding that the response might be quoted here. Perhaps this was a bad idea, for I never got a response.
Had the channels just been remapped? Apparently so. When I finally had my TV rescan for digital channels, it found everything I expected, much to my pleasure and relief. It was interesting to see how the channel numbering had changed. For instance, my local PBS affiliate used to appear on channel 13 (analog) and channel 1.13 (digital). Now it appears under channels 13 (analog), 13.1 (digital), 13.2, and 13.3 (the latter two low-res multicast channels piggybacked onto the broadcast frequency).
Of course I could have avoided the confusion by using the cable box, but I hate keeping it in the rack, where it would sip power all day. It's been gathering dust for years. I should probably turn it in and get a few bucks knocked off my monthly bill. Please note that I have no grudges against Time Warner Cable, which provides a great HD picture, or its customer service people, who are usually helpful and professional.
But I'm wondering if stage one of the DTV transition has somehow triggered QAM channel remapping in other cable systems. If you're a boxless broadcast-basic cable subscriber and have any tales to tell, I'm all ears.
Blu-ray Firmware Matters
Posted Fri Feb 20, 2009, 10:07 AM ET
My first Blu-ray player—but not, I swear, my last—is a Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1. It's a first-generation model and therefore showing its age. Lately it has been having trouble loading new movie titles. I wondered if it were simply obsolete and muttered aggrievedly about planned obsolescence and standards that are really not standardized. Old CD players still play new CDs—why shouldn't an old Blu-ray player play new BDs? While I was screening movies for an audio review, the player surprised me by flashing a bright red onscreen message demanding a
firmware update. This was the first time I'd seen such a message. The
last time I did this, for 2007's Version 3.40.1, the process required me to download a zip file, copy it to DVD-R, and put the disc in the player. But for the up-to-the-minute Version 3.88, the process required only the player's ethernet connection, a download direct into the player, and a little remote button pressing. Ten minutes later I was done, and the Pioneer played the disc it had previously rejected, plunging me into the world of Mark Wahlberg action movies. It still downconverted DTS-HD Master Audio to DTS Core, but at least I wouldn't have to exchange unplayable discs at the local Blockbuster. I mention this for the benefit of Blu-ray early adopters who may be having trouble loading discs—the latest firmware upgrade may help.
The Future of CES
Posted Mon Jan 12, 2009, 1:18 PM ET
What did the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show tell us about the future of CES and our industry in general? That was the question on everyone's lips. When asked "how are you," I cheerfully answered: "employed." This never failed to bring a smile. CES 2009 was hardly a failure. While it did not draw the 147,000 people of 2008, it still mustered 110,000, according to a press release from the Consumer Electronics Association. That is not too shabby by any standard. On the magazine's audio beat, I found fewer audio exhibits in the South Hall, but more at the Venetian, so seeing stuff and blogging about it kept me busy.
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soundmatters foxL Personal Audiophile Speaker
Posted Wed Oct 22, 2008, 9:20 AM ET
Since the advent of the iPod, the stature of portable audio products has risen. Still, some taboos have remained unbroken. You can make audiophile-approved choices in what you load into your player, what headgear you plug into it, and even what iPod docks and iPod-friendly systems into which you plug it. But the notion that a portable audio system might approach the go-anywhere versatility of the iPod itself has languished. Oh, there are good ones, and some are even rechargeable, but they're still more for briefcase or knapsack than for purse or cargo-pants pocket. That may change thanks to what soundmatters calls the foxL personal audiophile speaker.
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Dueling Loudness Corrections Explained
Posted Fri Oct 17, 2008, 9:30 AM ET
While reviewing the
Onkyo TX-SR806 receiver ($1099) I did some to-ing and fro-ing with the THX and Audyssey people regarding
THX Loudness Plus and
Audyssey Dynamic EQ. These new loudness corrections operate in roughly the same territory—but in a different manner. Their common goal is to compensate for sonic losses that occur naturally at lower volume levels. As volume drops, the frequency response of human hearing changes. Loudness Plus and Dynamic EQ both tackle this problem by adjusting channel levels and frequency response. But beyond that, there are differences between them, and I asked the THX and Audyssey people to be specific about those differences. Here's what they said.
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Book Revised, Self Promoted
Posted Wed Oct 1, 2008, 10:01 AM ET
Time for an annual act of self-promotion. Every year, usually around October 1, my book
Practical Home Theater: A Guide to Video and Audio Systems goes into a new edition. This year's edition is the eighth, cover date 2009, ISBN 9781932732108, and is easily distinguished by its pale blue cover, which replaces last year's off-white. Annually refreshing the book gives me a chance to review and expand what I know about home theater technology as well as bring readers up to date. This year's big news is the DTV transition, scheduled for February 2009, which is mentioned throughout the book. The most poignant aspect of the update was pruning out a lot of material about HD DVD, leaving only one fat graf of historical summary. HDMI got some attention as I flagged the latest versions and added more material about the distinction between Category 1 and Category 2 HDMI cables. Before long, I'll be taking the page layout I've recently labored over and stripping it down to a pictureless Word file, typing new material into the book over the next year for the following edition.
Practical Home Theater is the only book on the subject to get this kind of ongoing attention. If you buy it, I hope it serves you well. Annual act of self-promotion completed.
Best Sound of CEDIA 2008: Pioneer In-Walls
Posted Fri Sep 12, 2008, 9:53 AM ET
I was too woozy after CEDIA 2008 to deliver my final show blog. Anyway, I like to take an annual stand on what was the best thing I heard at the show—after all, people at the show are always asking me. The answer, hands down, was Pioneer's EX Series Reference Class Architectural Speakers.
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Best CEDIA City Ever: Denver
Posted Fri Sep 12, 2008, 9:40 AM ET
I've been to CEDIA EXPOs in Dallas, New Orleans, a few in Indianapolis, and the last three in Denver. I'll never forget walking the mist-shrouded streets of the French Quarter, of course, and Indy is underrated. But by far the best venue has been Denver. The downtown area is set up with most major hotels within walking distance of both the convention center and amenities in and around the 16th Street Mall. For both work and play, Denver has been the ideal place to attend a convention, and I'm truly going to miss it. So...
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Copyright Warning Thrillingly Refreshed
Posted Wed Aug 27, 2008, 8:50 AM ET
Don't you just love this bright new Blu-ray world we're living in? To celebrate the great transition, the studios now have hip high-def copyright warnings. This one came from Warner's 10,000 BC. Notice the forceful graphics, the festive colors, the 4:3 aspect ratio. The rounded screen corners that remind me of a 1950s B&W Magnavox—the first TV I remember, delivery medium for countless episodes of Captain Kangaroo. Best of all, it stays onscreen a real long time, and is invulnerable to the track-skip and fast-forward keys, so you have plenty of time to meditate on 5 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON before your evening entertainment. That'll stop those bootleggers and analog-hole deviants from stealing our precious bodily fluids! Uh, I mean our intellectual property. Or perhaps the studios are just as tone-deaf as ever, wasting the time of law-abiding Blu-ray renters and purchasers to send a message to other people who are impervious to copyright warnings. For the record, I have no intention of ever bootlegging a Blu-ray disc. But all those moments spent watching dopey copyright warnings add up. Couldn't they be shortened to three seconds, or made skippable, to really celebrate a new age of great HD entertainment? I want my life back.
Bid for the World's Biggest Music Library
Posted Wed Aug 20, 2008, 9:02 AM ET
Any takers for the world's greatest music collection? Paul Mawhinney has been collecting for 60 years, amassing a three million items, but is selling due to age, health, and financial problems. An appraiser says the library is worth $50 million, though Paul is willing to settle for $3 million. That's just a dollar a record. The collection includes LPs, CDs, EPs, 45s, and 78s and right now they're sitting in a climate-controlled warehouse waiting for a buyer. Mawhinney would prefer to sell to a museum, library, university, or foundation which would keep the collection intact, though he adds, the new owner is "free to do as you please." If you'd like to check the contents, there's an online database.
Artist Finds Inspiration in Cables
Posted Wed Aug 13, 2008, 9:47 AM ET
If you live anywhere near the Wedge Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina, check out the paintings of Ruth Whiting. She's every nerd's dream—a painter who finds inspiration in cables! Says Whiting: "My work can be seen as a product of my fascination with the sublimely ordinary. For some time now I have set myself the task of revealing the beauty and heroism of mundane objects. I think of my paintings as lenses through which insignificant items, usually thought of as nothing more than functional, can assume the roles of heroes. My paintings do not attempt the illustrative role of myth, and yet there is a level upon which a giant orange extension cord that writhes through the nave of a quiet church demands a mythic justification. Thus, rather than propose a narrative, I attempt to create a situation that calls for an explanation. Electrical cords are like the connective tissue of our technological lives yet most of the time all we do is trip over them. This is a show dedicated to glorifying the dreams of extension cords." See showrooms here and here. This page includes clickable larger images. All oil on paper, the paintings are for sale at prices ranging from $130-500.
Rating Is Futile
Posted Wed Aug 6, 2008, 9:26 AM ET
My boss Shane Buettner has been taking the heat recently for eliminating our product review rating system. In addition to the comments on his blog of last week, he's also been reading a torrent of opinion in the magazine's regular stream of reader mail. When Shane notes that he dropped the ratings with the "complete support of HT’s staff," that definitely includes me. I had been trying to persuade my editors to kill the ratings long before Shane took over.
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Orb Audio Mod1 Surround Speaker System
Posted Thu Jul 31, 2008, 8:36 AM ET
This sleek spherical satellite/subwoofer set has actually been reviewed in the print counterpart of this website. But Kevin Hunt's review is not on the site itself. So here are my impressions of the Mod1, Orb Audio's lowest-priced speaker package.
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Klipsch X5 Lightweight Headphones
Posted Thu Jul 3, 2008, 9:04 AM ET
The description in the headline above is Klipsch's, not mine. I usually refer to this kind of product as earbuds. But Klipsch is allergic to that term for arcane technical reasons explained in this FAQ. So headphones these wispy transducers are.
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Sonoro Cubo Compact System
Posted Wed Jun 18, 2008, 12:41 PM ET
Sonoro is a German audio manufacturer. The company recently commissioned a survey on the listening habits of 560 consumers. Thirty-nine percent of them named FM radio as their number one audio entertainment source, beating iPods and other MP3 players at 23 percent. That was interesting, but when I visited the Sonoro site, I found something even more interesting: the Cubo system.
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