Introduction While the debates rage on over the newest HD formats and the subsequent gear and accessories needed to render beautiful images, I decided to detour my attention for a bit to focus on something that makes a bit more sense: two-channel audio. It’s been a while since I’ve sat down with a strictly two-channel component in my otherwise home theater and multi-channel audio-dominated home. While the Bel Canto e.One S300iu integrated amp is far from being just another two-channel component, my return to seeming simplicity was not only welcome, but eye-opening. My last foray into strictly two-channel fare was a few years ago, when my system comsisted of a series of boutique-style SET tube amps and a pair of incredibly efficient loudspeakers. Since then, I’ve gone on to build not one but three dedicated home theater spaces in my house, all but eliminating not just my investment in stereo, but my need for ...

Introduction 1080p resolution has finally come full circle for DLP displays, and all the DLP projector manufacturers now have 1080p models to market. Enter BenQ’s W10000 one-chip DLP projector with, of course, a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. This little powerhouse delivers the video goods in spades, and was designed with a relatively large lamp, which means it can illuminate larger screen sizes than much of its competition. The W10000 is a capable performer in its category, and outperforms all of the competitively priced LCoS projectors that I have seen in recent months. But how does it stack up to the Sharp XV-Z20000, my current favorite 1080p one-chip DLP projector? That is the big question. Design While not exactly a sexy tour de force of industrial design, the W10000 is nonetheless a sleek and reasonably attractive-looking projector with a retail price of $6,000.00. It is a squarish unit, measuring 19.3 wide by seven-and-a-half inches high ...

Introduction Ever since HDTVs started working with Richard Simmons and eating a healthy diet, their significant others (high-performance speakers) have been forced to follow suit. Before you break out the drywall saw to bury some in-walls in your 2x4s, B&W has a creative new loudspeaker system that has audiophile soul and, as James Brown would say, are “super bad” (“bad” meaning “good” in this case). The Mini Theater concept from Bowers and Wilkins comes in three different configurations, depending on the level of subwoofer in the package. Each of the three levels uses the same identical complement of five identical M-1 speakers. The MT-10 package is mated to the 85-watt AS1 subwoofer at $1,250 for the package. The MT-20 utilizes the 150-watt AS2 at $1,499 (which B&W sent for review), while the MT-30 that sports B&W’s much-heralded 500-watt PV1 at a cost of $2,500 for the 5.1 package. The M-1 speakers priced at $200 ...

AV Education on RHT Building The Basic, Badass Home Theater Part One: Getting Prepared Written by Jerry Del Colliano Welcome to Part One of a series of articles designed to teach you the inside tricks, tips and advice needed to help you build a top performing yet entry level home theater. As much as we all want a $1,500,000 media room in our homes, most of us aren’t capable of footing the bill. This series is designed to get you thinking about all of the elements you need to make your $5,000 (and up) home theater perform like a set-up costing many, many times more than your investment. Picking and Preparing Your Room For most AV enthusiasts, it seems pretty obvious which room your theater should go in, but before you get too far into the project, take a second to think about who uses your theater and where they use it the most. If you have ...

Introduction Bowers & Wilkins is a company perhaps best known for their reference grade, ultra-high-end 800 Series and Nautilus speakers. The intense research and development (details of which can be read about in Bryan Southard’s review of the B&W 802Ds) that goes into these reference speakers eventually trickles its way down to more affordable speakers, such as the 600 Series 3 speakers, which range from $350 to $1,400 per pair. We had the opportunity to review the largest speaker of this more modest series, the DM604S3, a three-way floor-standing speaker that packs a boatload of energy. For those not familiar with B&W’s top offering, the Reference Nautilus speaker looks somewhat like a giant alien snail with horns. The bass enclosure is basically a tube that is a tapered coil, with three more drivers on top. Each of the upper three drivers has a long tapered tube extending to the rear. The tapered tubular enclosures eliminate nearly ...