Technical Articles and EditorialsTechnical Articles and Editorials
Editorial: MP3 Music and Undersaturated Movies
- Written by John E. Johnson, Jr.
- Published on 07 July 2010
I received an interesting e-mail today, from a reader who was concerned about all the movies that have been released over the past few years with little to no color in the image.
I have been planning to write an editorial about why I think young consumers are into MP3 music and don't really care about the high quality of lossless digital music that the rest of us have been trying to get them to switch over to, or at least give it a listen.
Alice in Wonderland: The Theater Movie as Seen with IMAX 3D vs. Dolby 3D
- Written by Cory Potts
- Published on 08 April 2010
I recently had the pleasure of catching this movie in IMAX 3D, and then later in Dolby 3D. I have not seen this film in a regular theater setting, but then the "buzz" around this film is all about the 3D. One of our SECRETS team has commented on the current film along with his review of the vintage Alice films in the April, 2010 Movie Reviews.
Vinyl vs. CD - A Running Commentary - Parts 1 - 5
- Written by John E. Johnson, Jr.
- Published on 12 August 2008
When attending CES and Rocky Mountain Audio Fest over the past couple of years, I noticed that turntables are starting to be the majority of sources for exhibit rooms. We all have heard about the vinyl renaissance, but I just did not realize how strong it is. I mean, LPs are being played everywhere at hi-fi shows.
Audio/Video Cables: The Science and the Insanity
- Written by John E. Johnson, Jr.
- Published on 18 February 2010
Over the past several years, I noticed that some A/V cable companies have expanded their lines to include interconnects and speaker cables that cost in the thousands, no make that tens of thousands, of dollars. You can actually spend about $25,000 on one pair of speaker cables about 5 meters in length. For that same amount of money, you can purchase a Blu-ray player, top notch receiver, full set of 7.1 speakers, good subwoofer, 1080p projector, a projection screen, and all the A/V cables you need to connect them - in other words, a complete home theater system.
How to Replace the Hard Drive in Your iPod
- Written by Jared Rachwalski
- Published on 11 February 2008
Now that the Apple Lossless codec is available, do you wish you had a larger hard drive in your iPod? Or, is your iPod hard drive just not working anymore? Here is how to switch it out.
NAIM Audio Recap Tour
- Written by Rick Schmidt
- Published on 02 November 2009
In my recent review of the Primaluna Dialogue Two I complained that tubes require maintenance. I didn't complain much as Primaluna does a great job of minimizing those requirements. I should have held my complaint for my solid state gear. That's right, even power supplies require maintenance. That's the message that Naim is sending out with their Recap Tour. That's 'Recap' as in 'Replace the Capacitors'.
Generosity - The Making of an Indie Film - Part II - Pre-production
- Written by Rick Schmidt
- Published on 23 January 2008
Generosity is an Indie film in the process of being made. In August of 2007, we talked about Part I - The Writing, and in Part II, we cover Pre-production. If you want to see what a zoo it is to make a movie, get a load of this.
Vinyl vs. CD - A Running Commentary - Parts 6 - 9
- Written by John E. Johnson, Jr.
- Published on 02 October 2009
When attending CES and Rocky Mountain Audio Fest over the past couple of years, I noticed that turntables are starting to be the majority of sources for exhibit rooms. We all have heard about the vinyl.../p>
A New Way to Plot Speaker Impedance: the Smith Chart
- Written by Chris Groppi
- Published on 04 January 2008
Impedance is the extension of the idea of electrical resistance to AC signals (like music). In high school, we all likely learned Ohm's law at some time or another. Whether we remember it or not is another story! Luckily, the refresher course is easy. Resistance is a way of relating voltage and current in a simple DC circuit.
Professional Display Calibration: What It Is and What It Means to Your Home Theater Experience
- Written by Christian Eberle
- Published on 24 November 2008
For the past three years or so, we have seen a tremendous surge in display technology. During this time, the last rites for the venerable CRT have been read, 50" displays have become the new 32", and 1080p has become the de facto standard for resolution. One thing hasn’t changed however and that is the need for precise calibration of your HDTV. Despite tremendous advances in consumer displays, the specifications for color, grayscale, and gamma have not changed since the 1950s. With all these new features available, it has become more confusing than ever for the typical home theater enthusiast to achieve a correct calibration and realize the best performance from your flat panel or projector HDTV.
DVD Benchmark - Part 6 - DVD-Audio
- Written by John Kotches, Don Munsil, Colin Miller, Brian Florian, and Stacey Spears
- Published on 03 December 2007
