Reviews

Wharfedale is an 80-year-old speaker company, not to mention one of the oldest names in British audio. They make high-end and affordable speakers with prices starting at around $300 a pair. I recently checked out the Wharfedale Diamond 10.5 towers; their curvy cabinets cut a nice figure in the sound room at the In Living Stereo store in NYC. I listened to a few LPs on the stunning new Rega RP8 turntable. The tower speakers sell for $950 a pair.

The Diamond 10.5 is a three-way design with a 6.5-inch woofer, a 2-inch dome midrange, and a … Read more

Even before you hear KEF's new LS50 speaker, there's no doubt it's a unique design. The speaker's single "rose"-color driver sports radial fins, and the cabinet has a swept-back front baffle. I've never seen anything quite like it before. The speaker stands 11.9 inches tall, 7.9 inches wide, 10.9 inches deep, and weighs 15.8 pounds. The MDF cabinet has the build quality of a very high-end design. The sound is just as extraordinary as the look, and the LS50 can be used as a desktop monitor or as … Read more

At the risk of dating myself (again), I have extremely fond memories of playing the classic action game Karateka on my -- wait for it -- Apple IIe.

That was 28 years ago, heaven help me. The game's creator, Jordan Mechner, went on to develop the better-known Prince of Persia, but I remember being totally entranced by Karateka's then-amazing graphics and compelling damsel-in-distress storyline.

But would I want to play that same game today, even if it were perfectly emulated like that other '80s classic, Karate Champ? Frankly, no. I've never been a fan of arcade or … Read more

Last week's release of the Matrox DS1 Thunderbolt Dock heralded the arrival of alternative docking solutions to Apple's Thunderbolt Display for Mac systems. Though useful for adding new and expanded capabilities to iMac and Mac Mini systems, the primary benefit of these solutions is that it lets laptop users convert their systems to desktop workstations.

Apple laptops support a "clamshell" mode of operation, where if you attach an external keyboard and monitor, then you can close the lid and tuck the unit away to a convenient location and still operate the computer. Unfortunately this usually requires you to at least connect a USB cable along with a monitor to your system, not to mention any audio cables, printers, external hard drives, and other peripherals you might use in your desktop environment, which is obviously inconvenient to deal with every time you move.… Read more

I've covered a lot of great sounding budget gear this year, but the very best audio is far from cheap. That's hardly unique to high-end audio; the best cars, cameras, and clothes are always pricey, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that cutting-edge audio can be crazy expensive. What follows is a list of most astonishing gear I listened to this year. I love my job!

Sound bar buyers' performance expectations are pretty low; all the 'bar has to do is sound better than the lousy speakers that are built into their TVs. So if that's all you need, a sound bar will get the job done -- but there are better-sounding alternatives, starting with a pair of self-powered Audioengine A2 ($199) speakers. The A2s are terrific, but the Paradigm Millenia CT ($700) is a 2.1-channel subwoofer/satellite system, and it sounds better than the Audioengines. A lot better, and it's really pretty amazing.

Spread 64 inches apart, the Millenia sats produced a … Read more

You know how most movies appear letterboxed on your iPad? Those black bars are kind of a waste of space.

So what if you slid the movie upward and filled the empty bottom area with, you know, stuff? Things like actors' filmographies, still images and art from the movie, little bits of trivia, sharing and social-media options, and so on?

That's the idea behind Men in Black 3: Movie Touch, a free iPad app designed to enhance the experience of watching -- wait for it -- "Men in Black 3."

Although the app is free, it limits … Read more

The best I can say about most cheap subwoofers is they make bass. The bass won't be the deepest, most powerful, or the clearest, or blend all that well with most speakers, but all subs make bass. Better subs, like the $449 Hsu Research VTF-1 MK2, generate deeper, less distorted sound, so you can actually hear distinct bass notes, and can play louder and fill larger rooms better than most cheap subs.

So my expectations for Dayton Audio's $79 Sub-800 weren't high. Still, I can't say enough nice things about Dayton's B652 bookshelf speakers. There'… Read more

I've long admired Aperion Audio's Intimus speakers, but for one reason or another, I never auditioned the company's higher-end Verus speakers. The line starts with the $350-per-pair Verus Forte satellite speakers, but I went for the bigger Verus Grand bookshelf speakers that run $598 a pair. The speaker has a 1-inch dome tweeter and 5-inch woven Kevlar woofer. It measures 13 by 7.5 by 9 inches, weighs 14 pounds, and the curved sided cabinet feels like it's well put together.

Aperion Intimus speakers' satin real cherry wood or high-gloss black finishes are superb, but the … Read more