Sound & Vision October/November 2022

Customer Service and Subscriptions SOVcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com Call (800) 264-9872 or write to: Sound & Vision P.O. Box 37965, Boone, IA 50037-0965 Please include your full name, address, and phone number on any inquiries. Great Gear THAT’S WHAT it’s all about, isn’t it? Whether you’re a music aficionado, movie enthusiast, or both, finding gear that enriches your home entertainment experience is always a treat—especially when it pushes the boundaries of performance. Like a compact wireless speaker system with onboard streaming that sounds impossibly big for its size (page 60) or a feature packed A/V receiver that delivers near flagship performance and versatility at a price well below flagship territory (page 36). Or a wall-hugging ultrashort-throw “laser TV” projector that makes it possible to achieve a theaterlike movie experience at home without the hassle of hanging a projector from…

Searching for Settings I’ve been looking for a site where I can get the optimum settings for my Panasonic 4K OLED TV and wondered if you have an archive of optimum settings to call on? If not, do you know where I can look? Dave Tadley/ Cornwall, England Tom Norton replies: We publish settings for most of our TV reviews on SoundandVision.com but it’s important to keep in mind that those settings apply only to the sample we test and, in particular, to color settings such as white balance and color management. While other samples of a particular model may be similar to the unit we test, we have no way to confirm that. Your best approach (though not an inexpensive one) would be to contact the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) at imaging…

Sonos always seems to be one step ahead of the competition, coming out with new products before people even realize they need them. That playbook hasn’t changed with Sonos Ray, a new budget-friendly soundbar small enough to fit on a shelf or under almost any TV. While it’s a simple design that lacks a ton of features and input options, its sound quality and price ($279) more than make up for those omissions. The Ray is offered in black or white and has three touch controls on top for volume, starting or pausing playback, and skipping tracks. Its speakers face forward to “minimize interference from nearby surfaces,” and two front-firing ports bolster the low end, while highfrequency waveguides enhance stereo imaging. Setup Getting the Ray up and running was a breeze. The…

If you are of a certain age, you might recall the phrase "duck and cover!" You might also recall your fifth-grade teacher, Miss Boswick, stopwatch in hand, urging you to immediately take shelter under your desk. And there you were, clutching your #2 Ticonderoga, wondering, WTF? If certain potentially atomic events in Eastern Europe have recently rekindled that unfortunate childhood memory, allow me to rekindle two more. Take a moment to recall your Dad’s all-time favorite car. That’s right—his epic 1958 Buick Roadmaster. You might remember how he lovingly washed and waxed that car every Saturday afternoon, its AM radio religiously tuned to Milwaukee Braves baseball. I will forgive you if you can't exactly remember that radio’s dial. But there were some interesting icons on there—two little triangles. Those, my friend,…

I gotta say, the pandemic era sure put one helluva crimp in my concert-attending agenda. Though live shows are essentially back to what they were prior to the lockdown period, I’m less and less inclined to bother with any of the to-and-from travel hassles and overall there-and-back time commitments, not to mention the general aggravation accrued by the ever-escalating cost factors (gas, parking, and other nuisance fees). To be sure, I’m still getting out to see shows whenever I’m so inclined—hello, Porcupine Tree in Toronto!—but I’m even more selective than I used to be. Good thing many artists have taken matters into their own hands by offering livestreamed concert performances on a more consistent basis, whether they’re doing them from their own living rooms and home studios and/or onstage via invite-only…

As the old saying goes, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Throughout my years as a custom installer, I routinely encounter some of the same client-related issues. A lot of it boils down to people being new to working with an installation company and not understanding our process or what we’ll be doing, but other things crop up even with people we’ve worked with for years. If you’re looking to hire an installer for a job—or really have any trade come and work in your home—here are some suggestions for making the project go smoother for everyone, starting with things you should do and be aware of leading up to installation day. Time is Money Installation is often billed by the hour, so if you have several installers…