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Arcam rBlink DAC-Bluetooth Digital Converter
- Details
- Category: Feature Reviews
- Written by Jeff Fritz
May 2013
Usually, when signing up to evaluate audio products, reviewers know what to expect in terms of how to integrate a new component into an audio system. A pair of speakers? You set them up and listen. A power amp? Pretty straightforward stuff.
Then along comes a product like Arcam’s rBlink ($250 USD). I’d read all the information about it that Arcam had sent me before I received the review sample, so I had a general idea of what it was. What I didn’t know was how I would interact with it from day to day, and how it would change some of my listening habits.
What it is
The rBlink is actually two components. First, it’s a wireless device that connects to compatible partners via Bluetooth. For technology-deprived souls, Bluetooth is a wireless protocol developed in 1994 by Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications giant, that permits the exchange of data between equipped devices, fixed and mobile, over short distances. The rBlink allows products such as smartphones and computers to connect to it using BlueCore, the latest Bluetooth-embedded technology from CSR. The result, without getting too technical, is that the rBlink uses the very latest hi-fi-friendly tech for better connection between audio devices, the improvement due, in part, to lower noise.
"Richard III"
- Details
- Category: Blu-ray movies
- Written by Rad Bennett
May 2013
A Classic Restored to Glory
The Criterion Collection 213
Format: Blu-ray
Overall Enjoyment
Picture Quality
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Extras
The recent discovery of Richard III’s skeleton has called into question past assessments of his character and appearance. A facial reconstruction shows a young man of almost feminine beauty. There has been and there will be lots of speculation, but two things for sure: Richard III reigned but two short years and died a violent death at Bosworth Field in 1485. The wounds on the skeleton show that he was struck with many blows, including two extremely severe knocks to the head, which lends credence to Sir Laurence Olivier’s portrayal of his death, which shows dozens of soldiers pummeling the downed monarch.
Music Everywhere: Grace Digital ECOXBT Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker
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- Category: Music Everywhere
- Written by Rad Bennett
May 2013
Nearly two years ago, I was introduced to Grace Digital when I reviewed the company’s Eco Extreme powered waterproof iPod case and loudspeaker. I was struck by the attention to detail and the Eco Extreme’s user-friendliness. It not only did what it was supposed to, it was fun to use, and at an almost unbelievably low price: $49.99 USD.
Since then, Grace has introduced more items in what it now calls its ECOXGEAR line of products. The latest, the ECOXBT Bluetooth speaker ($129.99), can accompany you literally anywhere. It has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and is shock resistant and waterproof. It floats.
Axiom Audio ADA-1000 Multichannel Amplifier
- Details
- Category: Feature Reviews
- Written by Roger Kanno
May 2013
A few years ago, loudspeaker manufacturer Axiom Audio began making electronics. Their first model was the A1400 class-D power amplifier, in two versions: the eight-channel A1400-8 ($3850 USD) and the two-channel A1400-2 ($2620). Although those amps, both since discontinued, offered a lot of performance for the money, they were a little on the expensive side for A/V enthusiasts on a budget. They also didn’t seem to be budgetary matches for Axiom’s speakers -- their most expensive speaker at the time, the M80, sold for about $1300/pair.
Axiom’s new line of amplifiers, the ADA models, have been designed from the ground up by the company’s new chief designer, Andrew Welker. While there were only two A1400 amps, there are 21 ADA models. The new line is actually based on three “power supply platforms” -- the ADA-1500, ADA-1250, and ADA-1000 -- which deliver different levels of power and can be configured with from two to eight channels. While the ADA-1500 amps are priced similarly to the A1400s, the ADA-1000s start at only $980 for the two-channel version, and $1340 for the five-channel version provided for this review.
Computer Audio Finds, Part Two: A Little Creative Experimentation
- Details
- Category: Feature Articles & Reviews
- Written by Wes Marshall
May 2013
This is a continuation of last month’s column, in which I recommended Dirac, a program that’s a superb way to get better sound from a computer-based audio system. I concluded that article by swearing, hand on heart, that until something better comes along, I will use Dirac. That settled, all we now need is some way to convert digital signals to analog, and some powered speakers.
I use Digidesign’s RM2 active speakers, a transmission-line design; each RM2 has two amps, a fine DAC, and drivers designed and built by PMC. Digidesign has been swallowed by another company and no longer makes the RM2, but if you want something similar, check out PMC’s AML-2. But this month, I focus on DACs.
Jeff Fritz, editor-in-chief of the SoundStage! Network, writes the monthly “Opinion” at UltraAudio.com. One of the things I like about Jeff’s column is that he regularly sticks his neck out by listing what he would actually buy. Last month, without having planned to, both of us focused on the digital devices we use with our computers. In his column, “What I’d Buy: Digital Source Components,” Jeff offers a cogent list of exceptional products and makes a strong case for each.
Here, I recommend something completely different: Go pro.
"Jack Reacher"
- Details
- Category: Blu-ray movies
- Written by Rad Bennett
April 2013
A Pristine Blu-ray Reveals an Entertaining Crime Procedural
Paramount 7922916
Format: Blu-ray
Overall Enjoyment
Picture Quality
Sound Quality
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Werner Herzog. He’s a film director extraordinaire, having directed both documentaries (Grizzly Man, Encounters at the End of the World) and fiction adventures (Fitzcarraldo, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Rescue Dawn, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans). He has staged opera at Bayreuth and La Scala, written over 50 film scripts, produced over 20 titles, and has worked in many aspects of film, including sound. This everyman has also acted, and in Jack Reacher, we find him perfectly cast as the Zec, a man who has sacrificed his fingers over the years, proving that he’s willing to go to any length to survive.
Thomas Gansch and Georg Breinschmid: "Gansch & Breinschmid Live"
- Details
- Category: CD music
- Written by Rad Bennett
April 2013
Madcap Music for the Concert Hall
Preiser PR91239CD
Format: CD
Musical Performance
Sound Quality
Overall Enjoyment
If you want to poke fun at music, it helps to be a virtuoso, a title that both Thomas Gansch and Georg Breinschmid can easily claim. Trumpeter Gansch and double-bass player Breinschmid met in 1997. Each had impressive credentials performing classical music, and together they decided to quit that business and play what they wanted to play, which included just about everything. They are now well on their way to joining the ranks of such famous music spoofers as Spike Jones, Victor Borge, and Anna Russell. They'd be right at home at the Hoffnung Music Festival concerts as well.
Atomic Audio Labs Mac Platform
- Details
- Category: Feature Reviews
- Written by Doug Blackburn
April 2013
And so it begins . . . again. For decades, system- and component-tuning products have been offered to enhance our listening experience without directly touching the audio signal being reproduced. With computers replacing more and more conventional source components in high-end audio systems, it was inevitable that we’d see products directly aimed at the unique needs of computers. Atomic Audio Labs (AAL) enters the coliseum to do battle with other gladiators trying to survive in a society where the dollars of patrons are as hard to come by as fresh Twinkies or Suzy-Qs.
AAL’s George Chronis got started as a manufacturer of FireWire 800 cables. The concept of the Mac Platform was born, as are so many good ideas, from a coincidence. Chronis placed his Apple Mac Mini computer on his turntable platter and noticed an immediate improvement in the sound. That sent him on a quest for the best combination of materials he could find to boost the sound quality enough to justify his product’s anticipated retail price. The result is the Mac Platform ($349 USD), machined from handpicked 4’ x 8’ sheets of cast clear acrylic.
"The Blob"
- Details
- Category: Blu-ray movies
- Written by Rad Bennett
April 2013
'50s Sci-Fi Fave in Radiant Color
The Criterion Collection 91
Format: Blu-ray
Overall Enjoyment
Picture Quality
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Extras
"It creeps and leaps and glides and slides . . ." It's hard not to like a villain from outer space that can be described in a Burt Bacharach-Mack David title song, and it's easy to overlook The Blob's deficiencies, given such an earnest presentation. If it's not a great horror story or an A-list science-fiction thriller for you, The Blob is a slice of Americana and a time capsule to the long past 1950s. In spite of its cheesy special effects (or perhaps because of them), it has become a cult favorite.
Music Everywhere: Logitech UE Smart Radio
- Details
- Category: Music Everywhere
- Written by Rad Bennett
April 2013
Logitech shocked its followers and fans some months ago by announcing its new Ultimate Ears (UE) line of products and the discontinuation of its Squeezebox models. Owners of the Squeezebox Touch were up in arms, even though Logitech has promised continued support of all Squeezebox models. The UE Smart Radio seems something of a peace offering -- it’s very similar to the Squeezeboxes in many ways -- but the biggest problem is that the UE models use a different operating system from the Squeezeboxes, making them largely incompatible with each other. The UE Smart Radio will more likely sell to new buyers than to returning Squeezebox customers.
One important fact: The UE Smart Radio requires a Wi-Fi network.
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