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The PS3 slim as a Blu-ray player covered in the Engadget review

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Aug 27th 2009 at 3:29PM

PS3 Slim
If you've been considering making the jump to Blu-ray via a PS3 but even after the price drop you're still waiting to see how it fared as a movie player, then you should check out our review on Engadget classic. Most of the important details are covered, like its ability to bitstream the latest HD codecs or the power consumption at idle as well as while playing a Blu-ray Disc. Even the noise level was examined, which showed that the slim was about 10db quieter while watching a Blu-ray Disc -- which is actually a lot. In fact the only knock was that it was a little slower at loading discs than its older brother and the Bravia Sync wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Panasonic's TC-P54V10 plasma crowned king, so sayeth the HD Guru

by Steven Kim posted Jul 26th 2009 at 7:22PM

Panasonic TC-P54V10 crown
Panasonic's run of critical acclaim for its NeoPDP panels, and the V10 series in particular, just keeps rolling along. Given the positive reception the HD Guru gave Panny's G10-series set, it should come as no surprise that the higher-spec TC-P54V10 model came through its review with flying colors. The Guru blew right past the "sheet of glass" aesthetic and added color spaces that will largely go unused and got right into the good stuff. Sure, the 96Hz mode delivered on its promise of judder-free 4:4 pulldown, but most surprising was the V10's black level performance, which fell below the test equipment's ability to measure -- the review guessed it to be about half as bright as the G10's black level. That's in spitting distance of the Kuro performance, and the V10 managed to pull a little more dark detail as well. Yeah, it's a winner -- so much so that the Guru had to break out a fifth heart in its rating. The Kuro is dead, long live the Kuro.

Axiom Audio's mighty EP800 subwoofer gets reviewed in Israel

by Steven Kim posted Jun 23rd 2009 at 10:12PM

Axiom Audio EP800 subwoofer
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]

Samsung HT-WS1 soundbar review

by Steven Kim posted Jun 17th 2009 at 1:08PM Featured Story

Samsung HT-WS1 soundbar
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?

Continue reading Samsung HT-WS1 soundbar review

Home Theater Mag welcomes VIZIO's VSB210WS soundbar to the audio fray

by Steven Kim posted Jun 16th 2009 at 7:49PM

VIZIO VSB210WS soundbar
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.

Rotel's RSX-1550 receiver -- great performance, but a bit pricey

by Steven Kim posted Jun 12th 2009 at 3:38AM

Rotel RSX-1550 receiver
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.

BG Radia's BGX-4850 in-wall subwoofer shakes loose a rave review

by Steven Kim posted Jun 10th 2009 at 11:19AM

BG Radia BGX-4850 in-wall subwoofer
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.

CNET: TC-P50V10 is "Panasonic's best plasma yet"

by Richard Lawler posted Jun 9th 2009 at 12:56PM


As Pansonic's latest plasma HDTVs proceed down the review gauntlet, it appears CNET is the latest to be impressed by the TC-P50V10, between its slick design, smooth handling of 1080p/24 by way of its 96Hz image processing, deep black levels and good color reproduction. The 96Hz features plus more adjustable picture settings are some of the improvements the V10 offers over the G10, but is it enough to satisfy the Kuro faithful, or attract buyers away from LCD? It appears the reviewer was convinced, give it a read and see if you are.

Hertz so good -- Paradigm Signature SUB 25 subwoofer review

by Steven Kim posted Jun 9th 2009 at 11:22AM Featured Story

Paradigm Signature SUB 25 subwoofer
We've had Paradigm's top-end Signature SUB 25 in our room for quite a while now, but trust us, coming to grips with how this beast performs has been truly challenging. Obviously, it goes really low, really loud -- the combination of a 15-inch front-mounted driver, an amp capable of cranking out 3,000-Watts (if your electrical service is up to snuff), and Paradigm's design and engineering chops pretty much guarantees that much. But after the novelty of cranking up the bass and making everything in the room rattle wears off, you've got to integrate the bass with the rest of your system. How well a sub can pull off this disappearing act is the true test of its worth. Read on to find out how well Paradigm's big dog pulled off this stunt.

Continue reading Hertz so good -- Paradigm Signature SUB 25 subwoofer review

HP's MediaSmart Server LX195 reviewed: impressive, but flawed

by Darren Murph posted May 26th 2009 at 9:51AM


After being introduced to the world late last month, we've heard little else about HP's lower-end MediaSmart Server LX195... until now, obviously. This little media streamer made its way into the HotHardware labs for a little Q&A, and it managed to escape with lots of praise, a mild amount of criticism and a price tag that'll likely be too steep for most to swallow. As for performance and features, the LX195 was found to shine; the Media Collector, iTunes server and Time Machine backup functionality all worked great. Unfortunately, the "endless loop of updates" seen during the initial setup and the lack of an April update -- which was sent out to the EX series last month -- left somewhat of a bitter taste in reviewers mouths. Overall, the system delivered and worked as advertised, but the $360 to $400 street price is apt to turn all but the hardest of hardcore HP fans away, not to mention that the aforesaid EX update (which will hit the LX195 this fall) will require users to completely wipe their HDD and start over from scratch. Check the read link for the full writeup.

Paradigm's Monitor 9 v.6 takes its turn in front of the AVGuide judges

by Steven Kim posted May 22nd 2009 at 3:27PM

Paradigm Monitor 11 v.6
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)

Paradigm's Studio 60 v.5 5.1-channel speaker system gets a big thumbs up

by Steven Kim posted May 21st 2009 at 9:50AM

Paradigm Studio 60 v.5
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 BD-P1600 Blu-ray player review

by Ben Drawbaugh posted May 20th 2009 at 11:00AM


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.

Continue reading Samsung BD-P1600 Blu-ray player review

Logitech Harmony Adapter for the PlayStation 3 review

by Steven Kim posted May 19th 2009 at 1:09PM Featured Story

Logitech Harmony Adapter for the PlayStation 3
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.

Continue reading Logitech Harmony Adapter for the PlayStation 3 review

AVForums takes a shine to THX on Panasonic's TX-P50V10 plasma

by Steven Kim posted May 16th 2009 at 11:04AM

Panasonic TC-P50V10 with THX
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!]




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