When a new flagship subwoofer gets reviewed, enduring a little machine translation is totally worthwhile. Actually, mister roboto did a pretty good job with Israeli site hometheater.co.il's review of Axiom Audio's EP800, but even if it hadn't you could have guessed that the dual 12-inch drivers, 800-Watt amp and sealed cabinet of the tower-sub goes way low, way loud. The brave reviewer went way beyond the well-appointed connection/adjustment panel of this sub and really dove into the guts -- we just hope that they securely tightened down the drivers upon reassembly! Other highlights of the review include the EP800 box overshadowing a small child and a video clip of Axiom's 90-foot measuring tower. Hit the link for the fun stuff -- trust us, the giddy joy of a big sub survives translation.

[Via Audioholics]

In our world the only thing that stays the same is our desire to discover the next great thing. The cycle starts with new product announcements, which builds to anticipation, and eventually to disappointment once we realize the latest gadget isn't everything we hoped. This is more true in the DVR world than any other category we cover because although DVRs have been around for about 10 years now, it seems little has changed since. This is especially true when it comes to 3rd party DVRs which have been few and far between. In fact we are hard pressed to think of even a hand-full of DVRs that made a single dent in the market. TiVo is the most notable, but far from perfect and ReplayTV was great, but didn't last. Both LG and Sony had an HD DVR out there at one point, but you don't remember them for a reason. It's just a really hard sell to convince people to spend cash up front when their provider will give 'em a box for free. So it should come as no surprise that we couldn't wait to try out the Moxi HD DVR from Diego. We thought, finally a real competitor to TiVo, and now with a real HD interface for our HDTV.

Without a doubt, soundbars are a popular market. As we said in our ZVOX review, they certainly have an appeal -- better sound quality than the terrible speakers and amplifiers typically built into TVs, no-hassle installation, small footprint, and modest pricing. For smaller rooms, especially secondary setups, soundbars can be a really good fit. So when Samsung offered up its HT-WS1 model to us for review, we just had to check it out. Our time with the HT-WS1 was a kind of an up and down ride with, so follow us past the break as we relive the details, won't you?

The $350 price point for soundbars is a kind of sweet spot -- it's a fairly modest price, but companies have to deliver dramatic increases in quality over built-in TV audio. From reading Home Theater Mag's review of VIZIO's VSB210WS setup, it sounds like the brand will deliver the goods to value-conscious (an who isn't these days?) audio shoppers who don't want or need a full-blown multi-speaker surround system. The 2.1-channel VSB210WS soundbar+sub combo picked up both SRS TruSurround HD and TruVolume, and while it sounds like the TruVolume was a little too obvious about its on-the-fly volume adjustments, TruSurround HD got a nod from the reviewer. But more than signal processing, it was the fundamentally good sound quality that took the cake -- it's always better to deliver good quality stereo than poor multi-channel. Hit that link for the full details.

It's taken a good long while since Rotel debuted its 15-series AV components, but we're glad to see that a thorough review of the 5.1-channel RSX-1550 receiver has gone up at AVGuide. As a marque that sits at the high end of the spectrum, some quirks are to be expected, but Rotel has finally gotten onboard with HDMI 1.3 connectivity, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, and independent subwoofer crossover frequencies for each channel. Also, it sounds like Rotel changed the "house sound" slightly, with a shift towards a more "gutsy" sound with a bassier presentation. Overall, it sounds like the RSX-1550 turned in a solid performance, but outside of Rotel's loyal following, $2,000 for a 5x75-Watt (conservatively rated, but still) receiver that forgoes auto calibration is going to be a tough sell. Audiophiles who complain about feature creep at the expense of quality, however, should take a look -- the RSX-1550 looks like it bucks the trend.

It's been a while since we heard about BG Radia's THX Ultra2-certified in-wall subwoofers, the BGX-4850, so we were pretty happy to see that AVGuide put them to a review. Word to the wise -- don't scoff at the small 4-inch drivers used in this subwoofer; by packing 48 of those little cones into each module in a kind of boxer style layout (Porsche and Subaru fans take note), the BGX-4850 (combined with a 2,200-Watt amp and a healthy dollop of DSP) turned loose sub-20Hz response that the reviewer ate up. No smudgy, slow, plodding bass here -- quite the opposite, actually. The reviewer said the transient response may outpace some of the primary speakers with which it's paired; something good is going on here. Good enough, in fact, to net perfect 10s for everything but the "value" portion of the competition; somehow you just knew that $7,000 tag would catch a snag somewhere along the way.

It looks like the crew at AVGuide is making its way through a drop shipment of Paradigm gear this week, and Paradigm's Monitor 9 v.6 floorstander did its part to hold up the company's rep. There's no shortage of competition in the $1,000 per pair price bracket, but the review credited the $949/pair Monitor 9 v.6s with delivering all the traits you'd expect of a speaker at the heart of Paradigm's floorstanders -- impact, dynamics, bass reach and volume; priorities that tend to fit quite nicely into HT applications. Interestingly, the reviewer also found the Monitor 9s to be a little darker in overall character with a somewhat laid back character -- something we've never experienced from a Paradigm speaker, but we're sure many consumers will appreciate. At this price point, you've got to make some compromises based on your priorities, but it sounds like Paradigm got a lot of things right in this model. (Stablemate Monitor 11 v.6 pictured)

Our highly unscientific field study of fellow HT enthusiasts who crave really good audio shows that there are two camps -- those who say good things about Paradigm speakers and those who have never heard Paradigm speakers. By reading AVGuide's review of the Paradigm Studio v.5 5.1-channel system (yes, the whole kit including the Studio 60 floorstanders, CC-490 center, ADP-590 surrounds and a SUB 12), the company can expect to add more relatively well-heeled customers to its roster. The $6,200 package turned in a great performance that will appeal to those who favor a neutral frequency response and with well-defined imaging, characteristics that should fare well in HT and audio-only applications alike. Just be sure to audition speakers that have seen about 20-hours of audio before passing judgment -- the treble on Paradigms can be kind of "hot" out of the box. Admittedly, $6k for a speaker setup these days is nothing to sneeze at, but don't confuse price with value; it sounds like the fifth generation of the Studio line has closed in on the top-end Signature series of speakers.

EDIT: photo updated.

Samsung's sixth generation player is close to what some would call a complete player. It features support for all the audio codecs Blu-ray supports as well as internet streaming services such as Netflix and Pandora. The really interesting new feature is the fact that it supports a Wifi dongle, which to most means they can actually take advantage of the included internet features as well as BD Live -- this is because most don't have wired internet connections behind their TV. Of course the main point of the device is to play Blu-ray discs and we're happy to say that despite all the new features, the player doesn't lose focus on its core functionality.

We all love getting new gadgets -- marketing and design departments have honed their crafts to a point that pretty much guarantees a steady release of endorphins throughout the selection, purchasing, unboxing and first impression stages. We've spent about a week putting Logitech's Harmony Adapter for the PlayStation 3 through its paces; long enough that we feel we're safely past the "honeymoon" stage and can put a little perspective on how it fits in with HT setups incorporating a PS3. Follow us past the break to see if we'll be living happily ever after, seeking counseling or filing for divorce.

Panasonic's new plasma TVs packing the NeoPDP panels are compiling a solid reputation across their respective price brackets, and now it's the V10 series' turn to continue that trend at the more expensive end of the spectrum. Stepping up from the G10 series, the 50-inch UK-model TX-P50V10 AVForums had on hand acquitted itself pretty well. The "sheet of glass" thin design looks nice, but it was the THX picture mode that saved the day. Despite the lack of image controls that videophiles love to tweak, the THX preset delivered very good performance right out of the gate; good enough that the reviewer gave it the nod over the G10 series. The review also noted that 24p material was handled correctly, which gives us hope that Panasonic's 96Hz refresh in the US models will finally put 3:2 pulldown artifacts to rest. Hit the link for all the details.

[Thanks, Quentin!]

A little skeptical of rave review the HD Guru gave to Panasonic's NeoPDP-equipped G10 plasma? After reviewing the smaller 42-inch TX-P42G10 from the G10 plasma series, the good folks at TrustedReviews have another data point for you. The set turned in a solid performance without blowing away the reviewers -- which to our reading back up feelings around these parts that plasma still has an edge over LCDs in some performance areas, including black levels, off-axis viewing and motion resolution. It's interesting that even though the review itself is pretty reserved, the set scored very highly (9 out of 10) in the "image quality," "value" and "overall" categories. It sounds like TrustedReviews was torn between pulling the trigger on the G10 or waiting a few weeks for the V10 models -- a feeling we know all too well. Hemming and hawing aside, it sounds like the mid-tier G10 sets (below the V10 and Z1 lines) have plenty to offer those not ready to jump the plasma ship just yet.

Onkyo's $599 TX-SR607 receiver made its way through CNET's auditioning room, and it sounds to us like it holds up Onkyo's tradition of delivering solid performance at entry-level prices. Even though the receiver got dinged for its big, boxy design (which we like, by the way), additional complaints about the unit running hot strikes us as a bit unfair. Given some breathing room, the Onkyo's audio performance stacked up favorably against a Denon 3808CI. At $599, we wouldn't come down too hard on the video upscaling performance; your display might do a fine job on that task anyways. Ah, but what about that new Dolby ProLogic IIz that's supposed to raise your roof? Well, it didn't seem to work for CNET at all -- on a variety of source material and even with boosted levels fed to the height speakers, the effect fell, well, flat. We'd suggest trying out DPL IIz before jumping into the multi-channel arms race.

Samsung's UN-B7000 LCD HDTV hits all the right style checkmarks, with edge-mounted LEDs handling the backlighting and the Touch of Color fascia. The review unit at FlatpanelsHD even managed to score pretty high marks in color accuracy, even illumination and black levels. Unfortunately, a nasty "trailing" effect showed up on the 46-inch model when viewing fast-moving objects and totally ruined the party. Credit the reviewer for trying different settings and upgrading the firmware to get rid of the problem, but to no avail. Chime in below and let us know if you've seen this same behavior, or if the reviewer just got a bad unit; unless your TV-viewing habits include a square of blotter paper, of course.

UPDATE: Samsung has told us that any of the "trailer" visuals are not an artifact of the set. A run through our own comments and various internet message boards does not turn up any consistent complaints about these motion blur-type problems, either.

[Plastikman art courtesy hyperreall]
[Thanks, Patrick!]

The reviews for Panasonic's lineup of 2009 plasmas keep rolling along, and CNET recently turned its attention to the 50-inch TC-P50X1 and the 1366x768 pixels in its non-NeoPDP panel. The lack of the "near infinite" NeoPDP contrast didn't keep the set delivering great black levels and brightness uniformity, and even delivering images that subjectively held up next to 1920x1080 pixel displays. Unfortunately the P50X1 suffered some color accuracy problems (boosted greens) and a persnickety series of faint gray lines running diagonally through the screen which sounds like exactly the sort of artifact that's hard to "un-see" once spotted. Still, if you are planning to sit a good 10-feet or so from a 50-inch display, you may not see the lines or the lack of full 1080p resolution and Panasonic won't make you pay for the extra pixels; hit the link for the full review and let your own peepers decide.

[Via DigitalHomeThoughts]