Sound & Vision December 2019/January 2020

“Everything that made Triton Reference Sound & Vision’s Product-of-the-Year in a gorgeous, super sounding, more compact and even more affordable package!” “ The powerful sense of atmosphere that the One.R speakers conveyed conjure up memories of my time with the Triton Reference.” –Al Griffin, Sound & Vision GoldenEar Technology is pleased to announce the introduction of the new Triton One.R. This extraordinary new reference quality loudspeaker is a smaller, less expensive follow up to the Triton Reference. The T Ref has been compared with speakers selling for over ten times its surprisingly affordable cost. It has had a remarkable response from both music and hifi enthusiasts as well as press and reviewers from around the world, who have bestowed upon it innumerable Speaker-of-the-Year and Product-of-the-Year awards. Now the T One.R is here for…

Customer Service And Subscriptions soundandvision@emailcustomerservice.com Call (800) 666-3746 (international calls: 386-447-6383) or write to: Sound & Vision, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235 Please include your full name, address, and phone number on any inquiries. REVIEWING Apocalypse Now Final Cut for this issue’s Entertainment section brought back a flood of memories. I first caught Coppola’s classic war film in my early teens during its 1979 theatrical run, and it left an even greater impression than Star Wars (or should I say, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope) did two years earlier. Watching the film then, I remember thinking I was experiencing something greater than filmed entertainment. And though I didn’t have the words to properly express it at the time, my impression was that I was taking in an important work of…

Our review of Polk Audio’s new flagship Legend Series L800 tower speaker is the end product of a process that started out with a visit last July to the company’s main office near Baltimore, MD. That speaker’s SDA-Pro feature is a complete overhaul of a technology Polk Audio has been using in various speaker lines for decades, and they wanted to ensure that the press not only received a well-controlled demonstration, but a thorough technical explanation. As you can see if you compare the L800 with the image at right of earlier SDA models, the company also put plenty of work into overhauling the cosmetic design of speakers incorporating the technology. Check out page 56 to read about SDA-Pro, and how it can bring an exciting new dimension to the…

LaserDisc Lessons Editor: Just a shout out to say how much I like the Remaster Class feature in Sound & Vision. Chris Chiarella’s columns on Superman and Alien were great, but when he includes LaserDisc in the discussion, he should keep in mind that the video on LaserDisc is analog and that only the sound is digital. Miles Montemore / via email Al Griffin responds: Thank you for the feedback. We’re happy to hear that you like Remaster Class. I should point out for the record, though, that neither of Chris’s columns stated that the video on LaserDisc is digital. The images on LaserDisc may be lowly analog composite video, but we still have to give the format props for introducing the home video enthusiasts to advancements like widescreen presentation and Dolby Digital…

Following an overriding trend that started many years back, the annual Custom Electronics Design Industry Association (CEDIA) Expo, held this year at the Denver Convention Center, showcased an abundance of home automation technologies—everything from networked, voice-controlled window shades and lighting to home security systems. The show even had “wellness rooms” that seek to bring the outdoor experience indoors via circadian lighting, purified air, and ambient nature sounds. While the idea of a wellness room does hold appeal, especially given the long winters where I live, CEDIA for me is about experiencing the best video displays and immersive audio systems the industry has to offer. Fortunately for the Sound & Vision team, there were plenty of great home theater demos to check out at the show. Here are a few highlights from…

Pocket Wonder Listeners tend to consider an external digital-to-analog converter as either completely unnecessary or absolutely essential. If you believe bits is bits, you’re probably perfectly happy with the converter inside your smartphone, tablet, or computer. If you don’t, you likely have auditioned many a converter component with a seriously gimlet ear. Both tribes, however, can agree that the headphone amps in most smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops leave a lot to be desired when it comes to peak output, dynamics, and inherent sonic quality. AudioQuest, a firm that made its bones selling high-end cables to folks committed to the differences therein, is a natural to provide a similar set of options in the portable DAC space. And indeed, its DragonFly line of miniature USB-Headphone amp/DACs has been so successful that the…