Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity

SECRETS Team

About The Staff

The Secrets team is made up of technical analysts from wide and varied educational backgrounds and interests, who provide unbiased reviews of product and in-depth technical articles.

We have writers worldwide to reflect the enormous array of interests that pervade the field of Audio/Video. Developing the diverse staff membership has always been a top priority since Secrets first started publishing in 1994. Our writers include electrical engineers and computer programmers to compliment the need for a working knowledge of the high tech industries.

Editor-in-Chief
John E. Johnson, Jr. , Ph.D.. John has published numerous textbooks and dozens of scientific articles on biomedical research topics as well as imaging technology. He holds several patents, including one on high resolution image analysis. Dr. Johnson has been affiliated with NASA, National Institutes of Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Stanford Research Institute, The University of California at Berkeley, and is Editor-in-Chief of an international medical journal (Synapse), as well as Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, and Percussion Reviews, which began publishing in October, 2010. John has been involved in audio and video for 50 years, having built radio transmitters, amplifiers, turntables, and speakers from scratch. He is President of the consulting firm Scientific Design and Information, Inc. , which is based in Redwood City, California. He is also the founder of the Northern California Audio Video Association, which is now called The Bay Area Audio Society. Here is a list of the Editor's equipment that he uses in product reviews.

Managing Editor
Ms. Cynthia Johnson is responsible for Operations, Marketing and Public Relations. She holds degrees in Business Administration and Visual Design. She is currently based in San Francisco, California where she shares her home with a fat puppy and two well fed cats. Cynthia was introduced to a wide range and ever-changing array of audio and video equipment in her earliest years and has been invloved in SECRETS from its inception almost 20 years ago. She enjoys the quiet side of music listening, and her equipment includes Sony CD player, OPPO Blu-ray player, Yamaha receiver, Krix speakers, Velodyne subwoofer, Sharp and Vizio displays and Denon HTIB.  Cynthia devotes much of her available time to animal care and is an avid practitioner of bikram yoga.

The Senior Editors

Jim Clements - Jim Clements is a Professional Civil Engineer, licensed in both California and Texas. He currently works in the Storm Water Engineering field in San Antonio, Texas. Jim has been into audio since grade school when he enjoyed listening to his father's Electro Voice corner horns. Later, one of Jim's high school buddies had a system which included Yamaha NS1000 loudspeakers with beryllium dome midranges and tweeters. This system had a dbx dynamic range expander and an Audiopulse processor which synthesized a hall effect from stereo recordings (circa 1979)! In the mid and late 80's, Jim became heavily involved in Home Theater and has continuously sought out high-value equipment deals. He feels that there is a relatively obvious point of diminishing returns when making equipment choices. He has set out to help readers find that sweet spot. As an engineer, Jim is very pragmatic and favors gear that focuses on performance over features. But he recognizes that modern gear can embody both good performance and a wide array of useful features. So he reports honestly on the good and bad points of the pieces he reviews. Jim is an avid golfer and enjoys making his own beer.

Chris Eberle - Chris' passion for audio began when he took up playing the bassoon at age 12. During his third year at the New England Conservatory of Music, he won a position with the West Point Band where he has now served over 22 years as principal bassoonist. As an avid movie lover, Chris was unable to turn away the 50-inch Samsung DLP TV that arrived at his door one day, thus launching him irrevocably into an obsession with home theater. Dissatisfied with the image quality of his new acquisition, Chris trained with the Imaging Science Foundation and became a professional display calibrator. His ultimate theater desires were realized when he completed construction of a dedicated cinema/listening room in his home. Chris is extremely fortunate that his need for quality audio and video is shared and supported by his wife of over 22 years. His other interests include yoga, running, and working on (and driving) his extensively modified Mazda Miata. As one of Secrets' newest Senior Editors, Chris looks forward to bringing his observations and discoveries about every kind of home theater product to as many curious and well-informed readers as possible. He is proud to be a part of the Team and hopes to help everyone enjoy their AV experiences to the fullest.

Brian Florian Brian has been entrenched in Home Theater since the early 90's, though his interest in motion picture and sound technology extends back to growing up in a musically inclined family and watching movies the old fashioned way: at the cinema. The technical side of high fidelity movie picture and sound presentation are his passion. Articles on the subject and in depth reviews of associated equipment are his focus here at Secrets. Currently employed as an IT Sales Consultant, beyond watching movies some of his preferred diversions include working on scale models or doing some light mountain biking."

He also contributes regularly to the graphic art and design of our site.

Piero Gabucci. Piero, a native of Alberta, Canada, is an architect living in northern New Jersey with his wife and two sons. Receiving his architectural degree in Michigan, Piero was heavily influenced by the modern masters like Saarinen at Cranbrook, Louis Kahn, and of course Frank Lloyd Wright. His love for art and architecture is a natural transition to his enjoyment and passion for music and movies. His taste in music is eclectic from rock, traditional jazz and classical music. But if Piero is not designing architecture or reviewing equipment, he's probably playing or watching ice hockey.

Writing for Secrets the last several years, Piero believes that a reviewer's duty is to inform and involve the reader into his audio experience rather than preach absolutes. With potentially so many factors involved in the evaluation of audio equipment, the results cannot possibly be "correct" for everyone - making the art of high fidelity extremely subjective. Whether you believe in capturing the quality of the original live performance or the reproduction of music, matters not if the end result is the pure enjoyment, and that's the goal.

Chris Groppi is a radio astronomer and electrical engineer working as an assistant professor at Arizona State University. He received his Bachelor's degree in astronomy from Cornell University in 1997, and his Ph.D. in astronomy with a concentration in electrical engineering from the University of Arizona in 2003. He studies how stars and planets form, and designs and builds millimeter-wave and terahertz receivers for radio telescopes. He became interested in HiFi during high school the first time he listened to a real high-end system (B&W 801s with Mark Levinson electronics). His first system in college was a Headroom headphone amplifier powering Sennheiser HD 580s, and graduated to a real HiFi system in graduate school. His first love has always been 2-channel audio, although his current system has added home theater capability.

Chris Heinonen - Chris's interest in home theater began when his dad bought an early Yamaha Dolby Surround processor so you could hear the jets fly around you on his VHS copy of Top Gun. He continued to enjoy his dad's interest in home theater until leaving for college, where he began assembling his own system and still has not stopped. Chris has a BS in Computer Science and spends his days as a .NET and SQL Server programmer. He has started to combine his interest in computers and audio with an interest in computer based audio servers, but also still uses a turntable and has a broad interest in all areas of AV hardware. He lives in Chapel Hill, NC with his wife Janne, who thankfully deals with their living room being overrun by electronics, and their infant son Sam, who is starting to think those speaker cables look like they could be fun to pull on.

Ross Jones Ross is an intellectual property lawyer in northern California's Telecom Valley, where he works with technology companies and manufacturers. He has a background in music theory, and has played bass guitar for 30 years in Los Angeles and Bay Area bands (which explains why he has five subwoofers in his home). "

Robert Kozel - Robert has worked in the IT industry for over 24 years. He has a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in Computer Science and Mathematics from John Carroll University. He is currently the Chief Technology Officer for a marketing and communications company in Cleveland. When Robert's wife Jamie wanted a CD player, who would have guessed that the receiver that came along with that purchase would have sparked a passion for music and movies for over 18 years. Robert has cultivated the opportunity to upgrade whenever time and budget allow, and he takes great pride in his wife enjoying and sharing in the progress. He is especially interested in processors, media servers, and DVD benchmarks "" having auditioned over a dozen players before finding one he could live with. When not working on computers or enjoying a good movie or music, Robert enjoys hiking, cycling and travel.

Jim Milton - Jim has been interested in high fidelity since his college years in the late 70's. It was there that he first became interested in classical music. He has been part of choral music, both in opera and oratorio and is an avid collector of classical music from the Baroque through the Romantic periods. He enjoys an occasional night at Boston Symphony Hall or attending an organ concert at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, ME. Currently he is the director of Nuclear Medicine at the North Shore Medical Center, located just outside of Boston. He also serves as an adjunct professor for Salem State University where he teaches a course in nuclear instrumentation. During his leisure time, he enjoys listening to his music collection and an occasional movie with his wife of 30+ years. Living on the longest stretch of sandy beach north of Boston offers him plenty of opportunities to take a relaxing stroll or soak up some sun. "Remember, acquiring good A/V gear takes lots of time...but doesn't necessarily take lots of money."

David A Rich - David received his MSEE from Columbia University and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Polytechnic University of NYU.  He specializes in analog and mixed-signal integrated circuit design, with a portfolio spanning from audio ICs for Air Force One to RF ICs for wireless cell phones.  Holder of fourteen patents, David's industrial experience includes ten years at  Bell Laboratories where he rose to Technical Manager.   He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in integrated electronics and electro-acoustics.  David's interest in audio began very early under the influence of his father, who was a recording engineer during the halcyon days of RCA Records.  He gained an early understanding of electronics building Echo, Heath, and Dynakits. At the start of quadraphonic sound, David was building decoders based on designs in Popular Electronics.   During his teen years, he spent more time in the back of TVs than watching movies at the front of the set.  He still has limited interest in things video.

David has been a professional reviewer of audio equipment for more than two decades, serving as Technical Editor for The Audio Critic and Sensible Sound.  He is a member of the Audio Engineering Society High-resolution Audio Technical Committee.

Collecting classical recordings has been a passion that has run concurrently with involvement in audio hardware.  David has a special interest in early- and mid-20th century American tonal composers.  He is an avid fan of chamber music and leads the Selection Committee for the Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) Chamber Music Society Concert Series.

Scott Wilkinson Scott Wilkinson has enjoyed 25 years as a journalist and author in the fields of consumer electronics and music technology. He has served as a senior editor of HomeTheater.com and Home Theater magazine, UltimateAVmag.com, The Perfect Vision, Stereophile Guide to Home Theater, Audio/Video Interiors, Electronic Musician, and Home & Studio Recording.

Scott hosts a weekly podcast called Home Theater Geeks on the TWiT online-TV network. He also appears as a regular guest on The Tech Guy radio show with host Leo Laporte, and he is privileged to fill in as the host of the show when Leo is out of town.

As a professional musician for 40 years, Scott has played tuba, euphonium, trombone, recorders, and other wind instruments in such diverse ensembles as the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Flying Karamazov Brothers, and Rakia, a Balkan brass band. He can be heard playing Tibetan temple horn, alphorn, and shofar on the soundtrack of the movie Gladiator as well as conch-shell trumpet on the soundtrack of White Squall.

Adrian Wittenberg developed his passion for HI-FI growing up in a musical household where his brother practiced classical piano music for up to eight hours a day and his father listened to LP records on some of the earliest Marantz solid state amplifiers and Klipschorn loudspeakers. Also a musician, Adrian has been involved in many aspects of musical entertainment ranging from playing in bands, recording music in studios, and even hosting his own musical variety show on public access television. A photography and film buff, Adrian's interest in visual media has also expanded to include contributing to the DVD Benchmarks at Secrets. Adrian holds a Bachelors degree in marketing with a minor in graphic design and is currently employed as an IT Service Technician. When not working, Adrian likes visiting Japan, where he gets the scoop on the latest gadgets and practices speaking the Japanese language.

The Secrets Writing Staff

Michael Galvin - Michael is an attorney based in Los Angeles. He is an associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP, the largest law firm in the United States devoted solely to business litigation. A 2007 graduate of UCLA School of Law, Michael's work thus far has focused on intellectual property, representing clients such as Mattel and Nokia. Prior to law school, Michael produced classical music. He enjoys the local music scene in Los Angeles and can be found most weekends at live shows. He is originally from Chicago.

Jared Rachwalski - Jared has worked as a Hearing Instrument Practitioner for the past 5 years. This has provided him with a great understanding of the human hearing system and room acoustics. He has been fascinated with music reproduction and stereo equipment since his father allowed him to mess around with his Pink Floyd records and HiFi setup as a child. His musical taste is often described as weird by his wife and has been greatly influenced by his three older brothers diverse musical selections. He is probably the only reviewer ever to use both The Melvins and Norah Jones in the same listening session. His hometheater includes DIY open baffle speakers from RAW Acoustics, Surround speakers by Paradigm, a DIY Adire Audio subwoofer, Marantz surround sound processing and amplification, an Optoma DLP Projector and 92" screen with a Oppo Digital player for both multichannel music and movies.

Rick Schmidt - Rick has been into audio ever since 9th grade when he commandeered a Pioneer receiver and Celestion speakers that his dad received in trade for a rusty station wagon. The stereo's original owner was forced into the deal by his newly pregnant wife. Hopefully that kid was re-exposed to hifi at a later date. Rick went on to make many extravagant stereo and home theater purchases of his own, not to mention LP's, CD's and DVD's. All financed by Rick's job as an engineer and engineering manager deep in the computer industry (ASIC design). When he's not listening or watching he might be working on the next screenplay for GenerosityFilms or painting.

Kieran Coghlan - Kieran first got into home theater around the age of 12, when he would take his Dad's "good" speakers, pre-amp and amp from the living room, and hook them up in the TV room to watch movies in hi-fi stereo on the family's Sony Betamax. He also developed a love of music at a young age, and as a classically trained tenor has performed in numerous choirs and stage musicals throughout high school, college and beyond. Kieran's interest in science and technology led to a career as a mechanical engineer in the aerospace and telecom industries. He enjoys explaining science and technology to people, and is now back in school working on a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, which may lead to a career in teaching. When not studying, tinkering, or being a husband and father, Kieran loves to ride bikes (mountain and road) and to row crew boats competitively.

Cory Potts - Cory is a graduate from Texas State University with a degree in microbiology and has worked at a major pharmaceutical research firm for about 5 years on multiple infectious disease projects for big pharma as well as with NASA and the U.S. Government. Cory worked in home theater sales in college which started him on a life-long quest to discover the best bang-for-the-buck home theater equipment and this fascination for unearthing "Giant-killers" in home theater continues today. Other passions include travel, spicy food, movie marathons, craft-brewing and hunting with his bird dog. Cory lives in Austin, TX with his wife, Crystal and German Shorthair Pointer "Kate. "

Greg Zakrzewski - Greg developed his first taste for Audio Hifi as a child when he had to walk very carefully around the house to avoid any vibrations that might interrupt his father as he dubbed and converted LP's to cassette.

A gradual evolution from being the A/V guy at school, to car stereos, to eventually building a dedicated home theater has provided many learning opportunities, usually the hard way first. With more than a decade's experience in telecommunications as a day job Greg approaches his theater and audio listening as a technophile with all the joys and frustrations that can bring.

Tyler Stripko - Tyler's interest in music started at a young age. He began instruction in classical guitar at the age of 7 and gradually progressed towards rock in his early teens. He expanded his musical horizons in college, earning extra cash as a DJ spinning house and trance music and learning the basics of sound reinforcement. Starting with a humble 27" Sony Trinitron CRT television, a Pioneer DVD player, and just two channels of sound, his home theater system has continued to evolve over the years in an effort to recreate the sense of energy and emotional excitement that comes from attending a live performance. Tyler holds a B.S. in Business Information Systems from Lehigh University and will be completing his M.B.A. at the University of Massachusetts in 2009. He is currently employed as a Systems Analyst for a large health care organization in northern New Jersey where his primary specialty is in the area of digital cardiac imaging.

Brian Alvarez - Since the age of 14 Brian has built countless hi-fi and home theater systems to get closer to the music and movies he loves. This desire to connect with the artist's vision is what drives his passion in hi-fi and home theater. A passion that led him to create his own artistic works. First, as a DJ/Electronic Music artist and later as a sound designer and music producer early in his career. While studying industrial design in college, Brian became deeply involved in digital imaging and video, sparking a life long passion for all things video. After working in the audio industry Brian re-focused on the emerging field of digital video and compression. During the past nine years Brian has been involved in the world of video production and post. His experience includes everything from working on Sundance indie productions, to highly technical R&D positions in the area of video and image compression. Currently Brian is the CTO for Los Angeles based Dogma Studios, a company specializing in digital compression and IP media delivery.

Jason Crawford, aka "Georgia" - Jason Crawford is a freelance writer from Georgia currently residing on Nob Hill in San Francisco. Some folks find it odd that his hair grows sideways. His interests are far-reaching and varied, from horseshoes to whole foods. He does not like lettuce. Jason may have little formal training with regards to writing, but he talks a lot and writes like he speaks. (Editorial Comment from the Editor of SECRETS: we are honored to present the work of a musician who not only knows of what he talks, but who can put-it into-words"¦. . ) He is also a songwriter who sings, plays guitar, piano, mandolin, bass, and harmonica - not simultaneously. Jason is a dedicated fan of rock 'n roll, and would rather remove his ears with a rusty, dull blade than subject himself to what is on the radio today. He also enjoys traditional country, old jazz, big band swing, hip-hop, rhythm and blues, and gospel which he listens to on Sunday while he cooks breakfast. Feel free to contact him through this website any time if you would like to talk about music. He'd love it if you did.

Stephen Hornbrook - Stephen was introduced to the seductive world of 2 channel music reproduction at an early age. He has an uncle who shared with him the joys of a quality system - Quad ESL 63's powered by Audio Research tube gear. That experience got him interested and with the help of a part time job, allowed him to build a decent 2 channel system. He was most likely the only student at University of Oregon with a set of Chapman T-7's (small speaker company from Vashon, WA) and Jolida integrated tube amp. Stephen graduated from U of O with a BS in Computer Science and a minor in fine arts. He loves painting in oils, or just about any medium he can get his hands on. Stephen also loves to compose his own music on piano. Currently, Stephen keeps busy working on web applications written in PHP and MySQL, and also .NET and SQL server applications.

Mark Vignola - Mark is a full-time research scientist at the Duke University Medical Center and almost full-time video enthusiast, golfer and skier. He can still remember the first Pioneer Elite CRT display he saw playing a laserdisc of Batman at a store in his home town of Manhasset, NY. He is interested in video display science and acoustics of home theater. Mark holds a BS in biology from Boston College and a PhD in Molecular Genetics from Duke University. He currently lives in Durham, NC with his wife Katie and Siberian Husky Samson.

Nikolaus Coromelas - Niko's Interests in Audio started in the late 80's/early 90's after hearing a set of Vandersteen speakers that were powered by Mark Levinson amps.  At the time, the complete system was about 27k so another option for good sound was in order.  So he built his own speakers and also built speakers for some of his friends in both Home and Car Audio.  Niko holds degrees from the University of California in Classical Civilizations, the study of Ancient Greek/Latin literature and texts prior to the 5th century AD, and the Classics, the study of Ancient Greek and Latin languages.  In 2009 he resumed building speakers, and this project was featured in SECRETS in 2010  http://cave.hometheaterhifi.com/group/speakers/forum/topics/diy-handcrafted-speakers. Niko considers himself a DIY'er and has an undying love for Audio.  Rumor has it that he is currently building more speakers!!

The Secrets Contributors

Sumit Chawla -Sumit received a Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1997 and has been working in the software industry in Silicon Valley ever since. He currently works on implementing image processing algorithms for Foveon, a startup company that makes image sensor chips for digital cameras. Prior to joining Foveon, he held engineering positions at Shutterfly and SGI, where he developed software for digital image enhancement and video capture respectively. Sumit enjoys retreating to his A/V room to listen to music or watch movies. He lives in San Carlos, California with his wife and two children, who he hopes will grow up to be audiophiles! Sumit has been a contributor and Senior Editor for Secrets for over 10 years.

Kevin Lichterman - Kevin has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Computer Science. To finance his home theater, Kevin is currently managing a software engineering group in the automotive electronics industry. He is a fearless do-it-yourselfer and has tackled many projects including: building speakers, furniture making, assembling computers, remodeling kitchens and baths, and restoring classic cars. His current project is a 1969 MGB. His tastes are eclectic and he usually sees a raised eyebrow or two when his music and movie collections are examined. Kevin is married to a very tolerant wife and has 2 beautiful girls who are determined to get their fingerprints onto his HDTV.

Nick St Denis - Musician: Guitar, Bass, Drums; Photographer.

Speakers

Voltage