December 2011

Cover Story

Cover Story:

December | Issue #8

Best Gifts for 2011

Start spreading some holiday cheer with these Sound+Vision-certified suggestions

By Sound & Vision Staff
Posted November 21, 2011

Every year around this time, the editors and writers of Sound+Vision put their heads together to come up with a list of the best gift ideas for the holiday season. » Read Full Story

2011 Gift Guide to Box Sets

Making a list? Choose from a whopping 50 titles on Blu-ray, DVD, and CD (and, sometimes, LP).

By Ken Richardson
Posted November 23, 2011

2011 Gift Guide to Blu-ray Box Sets

Scarface or Superman? Jurassic Park or Planet Earth? Star Wars or Looney Tunes? Tom Cruise or Sophia Loren? (Hmmm.) The Lord of the Rings or Pirates of the Caribbean? Ben-Hur, Citizen Kane, Harry Potter, or Willy Wonka?! Check your list twice, or even thrice: There’s plenty to go around. (Note: Prices listed for these and all other boxes are suggested retail. Look for discounts!)

2011 Gift Guide to DVD Box Sets

Yes, only on DVD: 62 discs of Smallville and 104 discs of Law & Order. Plus, modest but no less enjoyable affairs for the likes of Laurel & Hardy, Tracy & Hepburn, and Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends. And more.

2011 Gift Guide to CD Box Sets: Expanded Pop/Rock Albums

These days, the 1970s rule — judging from the number of that decade’s classic albums getting super-duper reissues, including Layla, Aqualung, What’s Going On, Europe ’72, Quadrophenia, Some Girls, and both The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. But there are many more opportunities for giving, from Nirvana to Pearl Jam, and from Ozzy Osbourne to George Michael to Alicia Keys. Meanwhile, in keeping with the retro outlook, some titles include a version of the album on vinyl LP.

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Test Report: NAD T757 A/V Receiver

NAD’s newest receiver pushes the company’s less-is-more methodology to new heights.

By Daniel Kumin
Posted November 30, 2011
1

When I reviewed one of the first of NAD’s long-awaited “new-generation” A/V receivers almost 2 years ago (can it be?), I liked it a lot.

Know what? I like this one even better.

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Test Report: Sony VPL-HW30ES 3D HD Projector

A budget version of Sony’s high-end SXRD projectors that also happens to do 3D.

By Geoffrey Morrison
Posted November 30, 2011

There are two ways to look at the rapidly decreasing price point of 3D HD projectors. The first way: Manufacturers are racing one another to the bottom by finding ways to make 3D cheaper and cheaper. The second, more accurate way: 3D is just a new feature (though one marketed to within an inch of its life) found on cheaper and cheaper products, just as 1080p resolution was a few years ago.

Looked at through those eyes, the Sony VPLHW30ES is less a “new 3D projector” and more a continuation of a long line of excellent SXRD models from Sony that now just happen to also do 3D. Plus, it’s a fantastic value.

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Test Report: Toshiba 47TL515U 3D LCD HDTV

Passive 3D and edge-lit LED come together in Toshiba's affordable entry-level 3D set

By Al Griffin
Posted November 30, 2011
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Passive 3D and edge-lit- LED come together in Toshiba’s affordable TV. While other manufacturers of 3D TVs make the case for which is better — sets that use active- or passive-glasses technology — Toshiba’s long-term 3D strategy is to dump glasses altogether.

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Test Report: Klipsch Gallery G-28 Speaker System

For those who seek exciting 5.1 or 7.1 movie soundtrack reproduction — and who demand that their speakers look as sleek at their new 3D flat-panel TV set.

By Brent Butterworth
Posted November 30, 2011
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Flat-TV friendly speakers from a company best known for its horns. If your speakers are fat, what good does a skinny TV do? Speaker manufacturers have begun addressing that problem in the last year.

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