It wasn’t too long ago that the only way to watch a movie was to journey to the local movie theater or drive-in. For many, “going out” meant “going to the movies.” Then VCRs were introduced, and soon folks were buying and renting their favorite flicks to enjoy in the convenience and comfort of home. Something was missing, though, and I’m not talking about $8 buckets of popcorn and chairs still sticky from soda spilled two matinees ago. The VCR tapes had a tendency to jam or suddenly self-destruct mid-movie, unfurling celluloid into a linguine-like tangle. You grabbed a #2 pencil, stuck the eraser in the tape roller and hoped it wind back for one more showing. TVs were big and boxy with limited audio and visual playback capabilities that often turned even the most stirring soundtracks and special effects ...

The home theater craze has ushered in the development of associated products nearly unimaginable 30 years ago. For those of us who grew up on two-channel stereo and terrible TV sound, the advent of video formats such as Betamax and VHS were our introduction to home theater. Those days now seem like ancient history, and even the most devout advocate of vintage gear would admit that the DVD format is superior in every way to the old tape cartridges. And without the DVD, our home “movie theater experiences” would be pretty dull. My first home theater set-up was pretty typical of the time. It was 2005, and I opted for a surround  system, with a 5.1 receiver and four (two front, two rear) floor-standing speakers and a subwoofer. I remember running wires under living room carpet and trying to keep ...

Introduction Sometimes in life, less is more. It seems the older I get, the more often I find myself muttering this popular cliché. All too often, the electronics industry does not share my affection for this philosophy, thus leaving me pulling my hair out over AV system complexities that I never dreamed possible or realized were in any way necessary. If you pay any attention to consumer electronics, as does any reader of AVRev.com, you know that there is a never-ending stream of new products always trumping the previous version with new features and complexities. Just when you think all sanity has been lost, along comes a company like ZVOX Audio. They are the proverbial breath of fresh air that this industry sometimes lacks.  The company was created by people from some of the best-known brands in the audio arena, such ...

Introduction Zvox Audio may sound like a new brand name, but President Tom Hannaher is no stranger to the high fidelity electronics industry. Tom has worked at Advent, with such industry pioneers such as Henry Kloss, the inventor of projection television and high fidelity cassette decks. Later, Hannaher went on to run the marketing of Cambridge Soundworks before eventually transferring his energy to Zvox. What this impressive resume boils down to is that Hannaher knows both the audio and visual side of the home theater business. Even better news is that Hannaher surrounds himself with talent that can create an incredible-sounding miniature amplifier/speaker system that can be easily set up and enjoyed. The Zvox Mini can provide amply rich sound in virtually any room, with the simplest of connections and fine-tuning, for a modest $199. What is so special about the Zvox, you ask? The Zvox is a simple preamp, amplifier and speaker array that ...

Introduction Prepare yourself to be amazed. The Z-Systems RDP-1 is one of the most revolutionary high end audio products I have ever encountered. Imagine this; the lights are dimmed, you spin one of your favorite CDs, but the sound is less than what you hoped for. What do you do? Change an interconnect, re-bias a tube, write a letter to a tweaky print magazine? The answer is none of the above. With a snifter of thirty year-old port in one hand and your Z-Systems RDP-1 remote in the other, you may now confidently make your music come to life. The Details. The Z-Systems RDP-1 is a $5000 digital preamp and tone control that serves as the control center for even the most high end audio systems. The Z-Systems RDP-1 accepts 6 digital inputs and then places the digital signal on top of a 40 bit - that's right 40 bit - word. From there, you ...