The long awaited launch of Google TV is finally here and we couldn't be more excited.  We've heard more than our fair share of rumors, and even passed on some of the more reliable ones, but we've finally got the official details on the entire Google TV lineup for 2010.What it DoesFor starters, let's talk about what Google TV is.  It's not a product in and of itself, but a platform that runs on specific hardware.  Think of it as Microsoft Windows or Mac OS, but for your television.  Any piece of gear that has it will have the same capabilities, all of which revolve around internet based content. Using the Logitech Revue, Sony's Internet TV or Blu-ray player you'll be able to browse the web as if you were sitting at a computer.  Want to watch a video or ...

Evidence of my recent obsession with evaluating high end audio cable with silver conductors can be found in my two part affordable silver cable overview (LINK), and (LINK), and with my Kimber silver overview (LINK). Element Cable's Silver Serenade interconnect was featured in Part One of my overview, and I found it to be an incredible value and a superb performer punching well above its weight class. I also noted that Element also had a Signature line, priced somewhat higher, and meant to compete with flagship offerings from the very best. It is from the Signature line that I will conclude my silver cable evaluations for the foreseeable future.  And it will end with a bit of twist, with silver speaker cables, as opposed to interconnects. This will actually be my first encounter with a pure silver speaker cable, although ...

I've always liked geography and enjoy learning about the associations certain countries have with certain people, products and pastimes. Switzerland is known for its banks and timepieces. France has grapes: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, among many. Germany has Beethoven, Porsche and BMW. Canada has hockey, forests, tundra... and loudspeakers. It wasn't always so.It would take the cooperative efforts of several other audio firms and the Canadian National Research Council (NRC) to bring it and fellow concerns such as Energy, Mirage, Paradigm and PBS into the high-end mainstream. In 1977, the Canadian National Research Council (NRC) announced it would be hosting a study to determine the measurable parameters people associate with good-sounding speakers. The study ran to 1986, and several Canadian loudspeaker manufacturers, including Energy, participated. According to Energy, “flat frequency response, wide dispersion and low distortion consistently scored ...

The last few months of 2009 have taken me on a lovely audio journey across Scandinavia, with stops in Denmark and Norway for a look and listen to accessories, speakers and amplifiers. I recently reviewed Norwegian audio manufacturer Electrocompaniet's Prelude PI-2 integrated amplifier, a new addition to the company's lineup offering budget-minded audiophiles a point of entry into the Electrocompaniet sound. The PI-2's Prelude companion PC-1 CD player ($2,499) proved my final destination within the Kingdom of Norway this year, and a fine one it was. FeaturesClean lines and little to clutter the experience are hallmarks of the PC-1, and all Electrocompaniet components for that matter. The PC-1 is almost austere in its design. Five buttons and a blue LED display adorn the front panel; the back panels boasts an AC in, one pair of balanced outputs, a pair of ...

The southwest of Norway is a region best known for its rugged coastal scenery. Consult any travel guide of the region and you'll be lavished with descriptions of towering fjords and images of landscapes almost indescribably beautiful. It's unlikely you'll read anything about transient intermodulation distortion (TIM), why it's bad for audio and how one company operating in the little village of Tau, Norway, has been on a mission for more than 35 years to make sure you don't have to hear about TIM, in the most literal sense. That company is Electrocompaniet, an early leader in research and developing solid-state gear that addressed the problems of distortion unique to that design, when previously the audio world was ruled by tubes. Electrocompaniet managing director and CEO Mikal Dreggevik relates, “Electrocompaniet introduced their first amplifier more than 30 years ago. That ...