Innehållsförteckning för October/November 2019 från Sound & Vision

On The Web Log on to soundandvision.com and sign up for our free monthly enewsletter. You’ll get exclusive tips, news, trends, and reviews from your favorite S&V writers. Customer Service And Subscriptions soundandvision@email-customerservice.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. Selective Streaming PUTTING TOGETHER the Wide Angle column for this issue (page 16), it was hard to avoid registering the overwhelming number of streaming options either currently available or on the horizon. Depending on how you look at it, the situation could be considered either a glut or an embarrassment of riches. I’ve been a Netflix subscriber for many years and was more than happy to…

Intro to Atmos LG has been in the soundbar game for many years, churning out mainly lower-priced bars designed to mate with the company’s TVs. The focus on affordable product has likely been a strategic one for LG—the average consumer reeling from the sticker-shock of an OLED TV purchase isn’t likely to shell out another grand for a soundbar system, no matter how good it performs. For 2019, however, LG opted to go high-end, releasing a feature-packed trio of soundbars with commensurate price tags. At $800 list (and $600 on various websites at the time I’m writing this) the SL8YG reviewed here is the least expensive soundbar in the new LG lineup. A 3.1.2 model that can be expanded for 5.1.2 playback by adding LG’s optional SPK8 wireless surround speakers…

SONY’S XBR-A9G, the latest OLED entry in the company’s Master Series TV lineup, follows fast on the heels of its previous A9F. While the differences from that model are minor, the A9G’s list of upgrades include a different (and arguably improved) stand, a better remote control, and a few performance tweaks. The A9G lineup also includes a 77-inch model, but the 65-inch XBR-65A9G is the featured attraction here. DESIGN AND FEATURES Until 2019, Sony’s OLEDs were designed to sit with their screens sloping gently backward, much like an easel. To provide stability, the back support incorporated a massive 14 pounds of ballast. But the stand was difficult to set up, and not all buyers were attracted to the sloped screen. The new A9G doesn’t lean backward, but instead sits on…

For the control settings used in the viewing tests, go to www.soundandvision.com). The measurements here were made using CalMAN measurement software from Portrait Displays/Spectracal, together with Photo Research PR-650 and Klein K-10A color meters and a Fresco Six-G test pattern generator from Murideo/AVPro. HD/SDR FULL-ON/FULL-OFF CONTRAST RATIO: 34,400:1 In the Calibrated Dark Picture Mode, the SDR settings were configured to produce a peak white level of 172 nits and a black level of 0.005 nits, resulting in the above value for full-on/full-off contrast. In both SDR and HDR, local dimming in the Medium setting used here did not fully blacken the image with a solid black test pattern, but it was very dim and invisible in all but a totally dark room. In Normal Color Temperature setting at this brightness…

THE COMPACTNESS and convenience that soundbars offer has always been appealing, but their actual sound has too often been a letdown. Many have failed to create an authentic sense of surround and most also require an external subwoofer to provide substantial bass. Sennheiser’s new Ambeo soundbar looks to buck that trend by delivering an immersive 5.1.4 surround experience while confidently eschewing a separate subwoofer. On paper, it looks to be the first soundbar designed to truly replace a standard home-theater surround setup. But does it deliver the goods? FEATURES With a hefty $2,500 price tag, equally hefty 40-pound weight, and a 50-inch-wide chassis, the Ambeo soundbar is a force to be reckoned with. It uses five 1-inch aluminum-dome tweeters, six 4-inch long-throw woofers, and two top-firing 3.5-inch full-range drivers, all…

KANTO IS A Canadian firm barely a decade old that specializes in powered loudspeakers. The company has established substantial cred for its active desktop and bookshelf speaker lines, both of which deliver high value and widely noted performance. Now, with a new model called TUK, the company is moving up-range in market-segment, size, and price. Also, utility: TUK is an all-in-one powered-speaker solution, with a phono-preamp, an asynchronous USB DAC, a headphone amp, preamp controls, a subwoofer crossover, and amplification all built right in. Ultimately, this means that, with access to streamed music services plus a turntable and vinyl collection, the TUK's modest $799 price can be the cost of admission to some pretty serious sound. Readers may recall that I am a proponent of active speakers, which provide engineering advantages…

Down the Stream My disc library continues to grow rapidly even as the focus of home media shifts to the ever-popular streaming services. I don’t think I have to explain my continued reliance on discs, and that’s not the point of this letter. Basically, I’m met with frustration as a consumer and hobbyist. Here’s the main reason why I believe disc formats might disappear in the near future: TV makers and studios don’t care about how media is delivered as long as manufacturers can still sell TVs and Hollywood can receive residuals from streaming. After replacing my last Blu-ray player with Panasonic’s fantastic DP-UB9000, I began to look at the player market as a whole. My local retailers carry approximately three players, all of them low build-quality models that are…

After 20-plus years in the custom installation business, I’ve learned the value of making a project as future-proof as possible. In my last column (available online at soundandvision.com), I discussed the importance of prewiring, installing conduits for future access, covering large areas with multiple speakers, and buying the best subwoofer possible. I now have some more bits of advice to share. PLAN FOR SERVICE No matter how well your system was designed, how perfectly it was installed, or how much money you spent on electronics, at some point it will need servicing. This could be as simple as rebooting a component that has locked up, to adding or replacing something that has broken or needs upgrading. A bit of planning up front can make these tasks easier on you (or…

The measurements here were made using CalMAN measurement software from Portrait Displays, together with Photo Research PR-650 and Klein K-10A color meters and a Fresco Six-G test pattern generator from Murideo/AVPro. HD (1080P)/SDR FULL-ON/FULL-OFF CONTRAST RATIO: unmeasurable In the Custom Picture Mode, with the Black level control on 50, Brightness on 40 (Max 50) Contrast on 90 (Max 100), Peak luminance on Medium, Gamma at -2, and a 10% full white window, the measured post-calibration peak white level was 165.5 nits (48.3 foot-lamberts). But even our professional-grade Klein K-10A meter gasped to register a black level, consistently reading zero for an unmeasurable full-on, full-off contrast ratio. In the Expert 1 Color temperature setting, the pre-calibration grayscale Delta E (white balance) values ranged from a minimum of 0.94 at 20% to…

WHEN PANASONIC introduced its flagship DP-UB9000 Ultra HD Blu-ray player in early 2018, serious videophiles in the U.S. were set to drooling. Although a less expensive player, the DP-UDP820, had been widely available for some time and was reviewed by Kris Deering in our October/November 2018 issue (available on soundandvision.com), this new model clearly offered more. In late 2018, the New York A/V dealer Value Electronics ended up becoming the exclusive U.S. source for the DP-UB9000. That launch proved so successful that Panasonic’s flagship player is now widely available, replacing the discontinued Oppo UDP-205 and UDP-203 players as the premium disc spinner du jour. FEATURES The THX-certified DP-UB9000’s appearance isn’t Tiffany-like, but its finish and construction quality (it weighs in at over 17 pounds!) are clearly uncompromising. It’s compatible with…

WHAT’S IN A NAME? If visions of $10 HDMI and iPhone Lightning cables pop into your head when you hear the name Monoprice, you should know that the company introduced the premium Monolith brand a few years back to move beyond its image as an online peddler of low-cost cables. Think of Monolith as being a bit like Genesis is to Hyundai: a fresh name free of the parent brand’s bargain basement associations. The Monolith brand portfolio mostly consists of amplifiers, headphones, and subwoofers. For the first complete line of speakers to sport the Monolith name, Monoprice has taken a surprisingly focused approach. Instead of creating speakers that would appeal to a wide array of customers, they have aimed straight for the dedicated home theater enthusiast with THX Certified speakers…

Desktop Pro Bluetooth and phono inputs and a subwoofer output, while pro gear eschews such frills. Another key difference can be the sound: while consumer speakers are voiced to simply sound good, pro versions are designed for “accuracy.” But does accurate necessarily equate to good? Let’s listen to the JBL One Series 104 Powered Reference Monitor ($129/pair) and find out. When shopping for desktop speakers, the line between consumer and pro gear can sometimes get blurred. That’s because the differences between compact powered bookshelf speakers (consumer) and desktop monitors (pro) ultimately aren’t that dramatic. Generally, it comes down to features: consumer gear is more likely to provide things like Features and Setup JBL’s 104 is a compact pill-shaped speaker housed in a sturdy black plastic cabinet. At just under 10…

EISA, or the Expert Imaging and Sound Association, is an organization representing 55 special interest magazines from 29 countries that cover Hi-Fi, Home Theater Video, Home Theater Audio, Photography, Mobile Devices, and In-Car Electronics. Each year, EISA expert group members, including editors from Sound & Vision and its sister publications Stereophile and shutterbug.com, gather in Antwerp, Belgium to receive previews of the latest products, an extended process that culminates in a vote on which ones are worthy of the prestigious EISA award. The following award-winning products, some of which have been reviewed by S&V such as LG’s OLED65E9 Ultra HDTV and SL8YG soundbar, Pioneer’s UDP-LX500 universal disc player, Sennheiser’s Ambeo soundbar, and the SVS SB3000 subwoofer, represent the state-of-art for their respective categories. When a product receives an EISA award,…

VIZIO HAS long been a value leader in the HDTV world. And despite recent challenges from Chinese companies at the low end, and even from established Korean and Japanese manufacturers with pricier but still affordable sets, Vizio appears determined to maintain, or even enhance, its position. FEATURES For 2019, Vizio has incorporated quantum dots throughout its Mand P-Series sets, with all models offering a full-array local dimming backlight. Quantum dots are near-microscopic semiconductor particles, a few nanometers in size, that emit color when excited. When used for backlighting in an LCD display, the excitation is provided by blue LEDs, with the energized dots emitting either red or green light depending on their size. Thus, we get the red, green, and blue illumination needed for an LCD set. Quantum dots can…

NETWORK AUDIO PLAYERS are an emerging component category aimed at audiophiles who have made a full leap into music streaming. Many such components can also act as a preamplifier by accommodating externally connected sources such as a CD player or turntable and passing on a line-level signal to an amplifier. Because they are network-connected, streaming high-res audio files from a computer or NAS is also on the features menu, and higher-end models are often Roon Ready and MQA Certified. Simaudio’s Moon 390, which I reviewed in the April/May issue (also online at soundandvision.com), is one example of a network-capable streamer/preamplifier. The Cary Audio DMS-550 under review here is another such specimen, though the company labels it as a network audio player. A lack of analog inputs and a volume control…

THE ORIGINAL Mu-so wireless music system released in 2014 was a first in the emerging “lifestyle audio” category—a truly highend, wireless, multiroom speaker from one of the most respected brands on the planet. I auditioned the Mu-so back then, and what I remember most from the unboxing was its nearly 30-pound heft, and the manly, finned heatsink that ran the width of the back panel and threatened to cut any flesh that wandered too carelessly in its direction. What I recall from using it was the cool Lucite plinth with backlit logo upon which the console rested; the sensuous, tactile spin of the illuminated volume ring; and the smooth, authoritative sound. Flash ahead to 2019, and it was déjà vu all over again. The second-generation version Mu-so that arrived for review,…

AND LO, there was a new breed of musician who had come to town, and they were duly christened singer/songwriters. In the wake of the burgeoning rock era’s focus on volumedealing power trios and instrumentally propelled multi-member ensembles (whether schooled or otherwise), there soon emerged another genre compelled by a more sensitive, more lyricdriven, and more acoustified approach. The undisputed king of this harmonious hill in the 1970s was James Taylor. The New England-bred Taylor had actually released his first, self-titled album in November 1968 on The Beatles’ custom Apple label, but his nascent drug problem essentially prevented him from doing much in the way of promotion or touring. Subsequently signing with the artist-friendly Warner Bros. label, Taylor ultimately emerged from his personal haze to go on a creatively sparked…