title: Star Wars Ushers In Surround EX category: Feature Article reviewed by: Kim Wilson Star Wars Ushers In Surround EX Gary Rydstrom It’s the summer of 1977 and a small, low budget sci-fi film is released with an unassuming title, Star Wars. Unknown to its director and creator, George Lucas, it would not only dramatically change his life, but the future of filmmaking, forever. Star Wars raised the bar on visual effects bringing a whole new era in hyperealistic special effects movies. On a more subtle level, Star Wars also introduced the world to a multichannel soundtrack with the assistance of Dolby Stereo, forcing audiences to look behind them whenever Star Destroyers and Tie Fighters flew by.

manufacturer: Mark Levinson model: Lexus GX470 with Mark Levinson Sound System category: Feature Article review date: April 2003 reviewed by: Jerry Del Colliano Lexus GX470 with Mark Levinson Sound System Introduction When you think about it, where better to listen to music or even movies than in your car? Lexus has teamed up with Harman, the parent company of the Mark Levinson brand, to provide ultra-premium sound systems in many of their better cars and SUVs. Lexus’ goal is to bring the luxuries found in the most elegant living rooms directly to the driver’s seat. This includes a high-performance audio system, touch-screen system control, DVD-Video movies for front and/or rear viewing, wireless headphones, and much more. These features are optional in all models but the SC coup in which they are included.

manufacturer: Mark Levinson model: Sound System for the Lexus SC430 category: Feature Article review date: February 2001 reviewed by: Jerry Del Colliano Mark Levinson Sound System for the Lexus SC430 Let’s face it, we spend far more of our lives in our cars than we do parked in front of our high-end music and theater systems. I commute from West Hollywood Hills to Century City. It’s a mere four miles from my home to my office, but it can take anywhere between 15 and 45 minutes, depending on traffic variables. I do not bitch about the time I spend driving to work, because I crank tunes at deafening volumes and rev my RPMs to the limit whenever logistically possible. The tactile and visual experience of driving a sports car creates an even more heightened emotional experienced when listening to music.

title: Explaining Surround Sound category: Feature Article review date: March 2003 reviewed by: Jerry Del Colliano I don’t blame you if you are confused by all of the audio/video acronyms that go along with surround sound. The moron who thought that real people would intuitively be able to figure out all the surround sound options currently on the market should be working in another field. AudioRevolution.com is going to give you the basics on the most important surround sound features for music, movies and more.

title: John Landis On The Sound Of "An American Werewolf In London" category: Feature Article review date: October 2001 reviewed by: Abbie Bernstein John Landis On The Sound Of "An American Werewolf In London" "An American Werewolf in London" broke all kinds of conventions when it was released theatrically in 1981 – it had makeup effects so good that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had to instate a new category to honor it and it forever changed the way comedy and horror were allowed to combine onscreen. The collector’s edition DVD issued as "Werewolf" turns 20 continues the movie’s unconventional bent. It’s one of the few films to have its director/writer – John Landis – actively involved in the full sound remix and it’s also one of the few films originally made in mono sound that actually sounds better (not just broader) when adapted for the new 5.1 technology.