Introduction As the rock and roll legend goes, Jimmy Page was drinking with Keith Moon and John Entwisle, complaining about their fellow The Who bandmates Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend. A few drinks later, in the midst of a booze-drenched, brainstorming session, one of the group members suggested that Moon and Entwisle should start a band with Page, to which one of them said, “That would go over like a lead balloon” – a concept that Page never forgot. After leaving The Yardbirds, and starting a new band, the concept of a “lead zeppelin” was too tempting to avoid, especially considering the heavy nature of the blues-driven, early heavy metal sound juxtaposed with the band’s nimble syncopation and musical agility. With the “a” dropped from the name (reportedly because Americans wouldn’t be able to pronounce the name correctly) Led Zeppelin was ...

Introduction As of late, I’ve become increasingly interested in in-wall speakers, not only for their practicality, but also because they have become exceedingly good in providing truly reference grade sound in a sleek unobtrusive package. Nothing is sexier than having a guest walk into your listening room and be blown away at your system’s sound, only to ask, “Where are the speakers?” Because of these facts, my reference room features a complete in-wall speaker system from Meridian entirely hidden from view by a custom fabric wall as seen in the August edition of AVRev.com. However, not everyone has the budget or the means to welcome a speaker system such as the Meridian into the home. Hence my interest in the Atlantic Technology IWCB-52 in-wall speakers reviewed here. Why did I choose Atlantic Technology’s IWCB-52s for this review (and for my home) over the many other reputable and wonderful-sounding brands out there today? Simple. The IWCB-52s sound ...

Introduction In the sprit of doing everything better for less money, I introduce to you the Paradigm Signature S8 v.2 loudspeaker system. Competing with the likes of Wilson, MartinLogan, B&W and Revel at half (or less) the retail price, it will come as no surprise that Paradigm has set out to build and design a speaker system that attacks the industry high-end loudspeaker value proposition. Upon first glance, even the untrained eye can see the S8s are in every facet top-notch floor-standing loudspeakers. But it’s like drooling over a Ferrari in a parking lot – you have to test the S8s out to really see what they can do, so that is just what I did. It took a few months following the 2006 CEDIA tradeshow before my review pair of Signature S8 v.2s was ready. They were worth the wait. The Signature S8 v.2s arrived at my home right as I finished the ...

Introduction JL Audio is very well known to many audio enthusiasts for their powerful yet accurate car audio speaker products. Those who think today’s car audio world is limited to the guy blasting ear-destroying rap while driving down your street as all there is have a lot to learn. State-of-the-art car audio offers consumers willing to customize their cars’ audio and video systems many of the same tricks that you would expect to see in a ModernHomeTheater.com featured installation. JL’s specialty for more than a decade has been building and designing some of the most impressive, tight and powerful subwoofers you could ever hope to put in your trunk. Logic would suggest that repackaging JL’s excellent car audio subwoofers for the home theater and audiophile market would be a no-brainer, but JL would stop you right there. Their home theater subwoofers are anything but repackaged car audio speaker systems. These woofers are as serious as ...

Introduction As much as I love high-end gear and the brands associated with it, I have a special place in my heart for the little guys. While you can hardly call a brand such as Aperion “little,” they don’t quite have the brand equity of, say, Paradigm, Definitive Technology or B&W. Still, Aperion has made a name for itself over the years by producing well-regarded and very good-sounding speakers at surprisingly affordable prices, which they sell direct to the consumer, with a 30-day money-back trial period, via their website. While Web-based consumer electronic sales are nothing new, Aperion’s website stands apart from some of the competition, in that it doesn’t appear to be homegrown. Aperion’s website, www.aperionaudio.com is nicely designed, extremely informative and has a stylistic flair to it equal to some of the biggest names in the business. But don’t think all this design flash is meant to distract you from a substandard product. ...