Soundcast SOU-ICO410 OutCast Outdoor Wireless Speaker Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The initial quality is great, but after a few months I found many quirks that don't justify a large price tag. First complaint is that the "audio in" jack snapped it now jiggles around creating static if I can even get it to pick up the feed. The second is the interference with my Wifi network, the transmitter drastically reduced the strength and range of my network. I also use a Sonos system that is also effected by the transmitter. Engineers should be fired, and ill take my money back!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Soundcast SOU-ICO410 OutCast Outdoor Wireless Speaker

The OutCast weather-resistant, wireless speaker lets you enjoy rich multi-directional stereo sound throughout your house, in your yard, on your patio and even on a boat. With broadcast range of up to 350 feet, this powerful wireless speaker receives transmissions through walls, floors, and ceilings without the hassle of running wires.

Click here for more information about Soundcast SOU-ICO410 OutCast Outdoor Wireless Speaker

Read More...

Marantz SR7005 Audio Video Receiver (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'm a fan of vintage Marantz stereo equipment, their 60s/70s amps, receivers, and tuners were always well made, elegant, and had a signature warmth sound to them. This was during their Saul Marantz and Superscope days. But in the 80s and 90s they were owned under the Phillips brand, and their gear was never quite the same since; be it quality, tonality, and certainly esthetics.
Now a days the company is under D&M Holdings ("D"enon and "M"arantz), and Marantz is bouncing back to it's former self; there's an emphasis being paid again to style (in this case the classic "porthole" design), simplicity (two-knob unit with a concealed interface, logos of features are on the top of the unit as to keep the front face clean-looking), and construction (the sr7005 packs a lot of sound but can fit just about anywhere).
Above all, my fellow vinyl purist will be happy to hear, the Marantz SR7005 brings back the MM PHONO STAGE with a ground! For a long time this was taken out of their receivers (and not just with the Marantz brand) which was puzzling when the company's logo is: MUSIC MATTERS.
Look, not to get too long winded here, so I'll just say this I'm an avid vintage audiophile, an FLAC and AIFF nut, and a HT semi-guru, and this SR7005 does the trick. No buyer's remorse here! A huge step up from the Sony DA5ES unit I was using for home theater stuff, which was just about the same price in 2002.
I'm running the SR7005 with Aperion Intimus 5B Harmony HD surround speakers, mostly use it for 2 CH music and the thing is incredibly warm and above all tweak-able (direct pure analog mode, 2CH w sub, PLII/DTS Neo:6: Music, Movie, and Game mode, even a mode to compensate for lossy mp3 files which sounds pretty good).
With movies, the Audessy XT set up worked beautifully and accurately. It may not, however, be the latest version from Audessy and "only" a 7.1 receiver, but I can live with that. Blu-ray/DVD movies sound and look amazing.
Another thing to note, this amp, when cranked up has never distorted on me, with any speaker (I also ran it with a pair of vintage Henry Kloss Advent Loudspeakers), which is a testament to the hardware. If your receiver is distorting or overdriving, it's crap.
My few complaints are: no S-Video input which is a let down for things like my N64 and SNES that I may want to pull out one day. And, while it seems all companies are doing it these days, I can't stand the digital volume knob; you'll have to keep spinning and spinning to lower or increase the volume. Granted you can program the volume to start at a certain -db but I'd preferred it to have been analog, with a finite 0 and max volume on the barrel.
Other happy surprises:
you can set the blue ring and "porthole" to "off" if you find it distracting to the eye.
Airplay is rad! Spend the $50 and you can turn on the SR7005 and control it via your iTunes. You can also control the Marantz on your iPhone via their free app.
You can also shut down shown INPUT modes so that when you're toggling through the inputs with the left knob, you don't have to pass by inputs that you aren't in use.
Please rate if this review was or wasn't helpful!
Thanks

Click Here to see more reviews about: Marantz SR7005 Audio Video Receiver (Black)

Click here for more information about Marantz SR7005 Audio Video Receiver (Black)

Read More...

Pioneer Elite SC-07 - AV network receiver - 7.1 channel Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I recently purchased the Pioneer Elite SC-07 receiver. It replaced my old Elite VSX-72TXV receiver. Along with the receiver, I purchased the Polk RTi A7 front speakers, CSi A6 center channel, FXi A4 surrounds and DSW Pro 500 subwoofer. I have the Kuro Elite PRO-111FD display to compliment the set up. The result is just breath taking sight and sound.
When you first turn on the receiver without any calibration, you can hear and feel the raw power. After the full automated calibration and some manual minor fine tunings, I couldn't be happier. The first thing you'll notice is the clean, powerful yet natural sound output the receiver has to offer. If you're not into manual calibration, let the receiver do the full auto calibration. That'll make a world of difference. All of the video components are connected via HDMI, so I can't really comment on the performance of the Faroudja upconverting chipset. Just like the former Elite receivers, SC-07 comes with ipod connection (a USB port instead of a cable this time around). The GUI is much easier to use compared to Denon receivers. I like the fact that the menus are straight forward enough to navigate through the settings easily without referring to the manual every single time.
Initially, I was going to wait for SC-27 to come out. Then again, the major difference between the two are color GUI with the ability to show the album art work on the ipod and a different upconverting chip. Personally, I don't care about the extra bells and whistles. Amazon (3rd party retailers) probably have the best pricing I've seen so far. I have no regrets and I'm looking forward to enjoying it for quite some time.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Pioneer Elite SC-07 - AV network receiver - 7.1 channel

Click here for more information about Pioneer Elite SC-07 - AV network receiver - 7.1 channel

Read More...

Marantz AV7005 Audio Video Pre-Processor (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Update May 6, 2011
I lost the two front speakers again and restored them using the technique on page 115 of the User Guide. The speakers are now working but I'm curious why that is happening; I'm going to contact Marantz technical support and see if they can shed any light on it. If anything interesting emerges I'll post another update. I suppose the most important information I can share at this time is to please use the memory saving instructions on page 115; they're simple and can save a lot of re-setup in the future if you experience a problem.
Update March 14, 2011
A few days ago I experienced a complete loss of my two front main speakers, both left and right. That was a first so I started checking wiring etc. to try and isolate the problem but everything looked good. I then checked the settings on the Marantz and could find nothing suspicious there either. I tried using the tone generation feature but it too skipped over the front left and front right speakers.
In researching the mystery I got to page 115 of the User Guide and read the section on "Resetting the microprocessor." I decided to try that procedure and it worked and restored all of the speakers to normal operation. I had spent several hours on the initial setup and found that work could be saved to memory by following the "Memory Saving" procedure on that page.
I would recommend that you save your settings to memory by following the instructions on page 115 when you have completed setting up your AV7005. If you should experience a similar loss of speakers the resetting procedure described on that page worked well for me and may work for you as well.
I continue to be very pleased with the musicality of the Marantz; I have discovered the "Neural" setting amoung the surround options and have started playing back my two-channel CD's using that setting and am getting fabulous results. It's almost like hearing my older CD collection for the first time.Original review
I have owned a Krell Home Theater Standard preamp processor for many years now; the experience has been both rewarding and disappointing. Rewarding in the sense that the Krell has very good audio qualities, but disappointing in the sense that it was not future proof as represented. This Marantz AV7005 is replacing a Krell HTS 7.1 which has absolutely no HDMI capability and cannot be updated to offer it. This happens to be my second Krell, neither of which could be updated to utilize later developments although both were initially represented as being future proof.
It has been a delight to set up a piece of equipment which has all of the latest bells and whistles and can accommodate the latest cables. Of all of the things important to me, the only things lacking is the ability to decode SACD and DVD-Audio; this, however, is being supplied by the OPPO BD-83SE player which I've attached to the system. With those two correctable exceptions, the Marantz has done everything asked of it and done it very well.
The set up on the Marantz took some time but was not too complicated. If one uses only new equipment with HDMI capability the set up with the Marantz is virtually automatic. If you're trying to integrate some older equipment it takes a little longer but the flexibility is there to integrate most legacy equipment successfully.
I tried using the Audyssey auto setup but found the results were not really to my liking; I wound up using my trusty Radio Shack sound pressure level meter and adjusted the speaker balance and crossover frequency between the subwoofer and the other speakers to the THX recommended standards.
As one of the other reviewers mentioned, the primary use for my system is the reproduction of music; I happen to be a serious pipe organ fan and had the pipe organ in mind when I originally set up my system. As I've mentioned elsewhere, a system designed to reproduce pipe organ has an easy time with the crashes and explosions found in most action films.
With regard to musicality, the Marantz has provided very satisfactory results to date; I cannot clearly detect any major differences between the Marantz and the Krell which cost many thousands of dollars more. A direct A/B comparison might reveal differences but that sort of comparison is not possible.
As of this point I am very pleased with the Marantz which accommodates 3D as well as a first rate 1080P video image and reproduces first rate audio. For the price I have found it to be an outstanding piece of equipment.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Marantz AV7005 Audio Video Pre-Processor (Black)

Click here for more information about Marantz AV7005 Audio Video Pre-Processor (Black)

Read More...

Lifestyle SA-2 amplifier Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This amplifier works fine and does exactly what it says it will do. THe one problem is that the description doesn't tell you that you HAVE TO have a remote control (Purchased Seperately) to make this unit work. This may depend on which system you have, my parents have older one. So you may have to tack on another $80 or so to the price if you want the unit to function.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Lifestyle SA-2 amplifier

Click here for more information about Lifestyle SA-2 amplifier

Read More...

Yamaha YSP-4000BL Digital Sound Projector (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I now have the new Yamaha YSP 4000 and having tried it out on over twenty different disks, can say without equivocation that it is amazing. So long as you have a room with a good back wall and at least one sidewall, it will deliver incredibly good 5.1 surround sound. Will it be as good as top end systems with five distinct and separate speakers costing $5,000 or more? Of course not. Will it be as good as or better than receiver/speaker systems available today for $3.000? Yes. In other words, this newest Yamaha stands clearly at the point of diminishing returns. After installing it and listening to it, you may decide that you do not need a subwoofer. It did Chicago beautifully. I decided I wanted one for some of the accurate bass on great classical music.
The setup is easy, but when the screen tells you to get out of the room - GO! The sounds emitted during the setup are designed to send cats and dogs into fits of madness. Do not try to audition this unit in a 'big box' store. It relies on nearby walls to help it work. If you have a friend who has taken the plunge, go and listen to it within a real listening area. Anyone who lives in or visits Central FL leave a comment on this thread and I will cheerfully invite you to visit and make up your own mind. If you live in a place where you cannot drill holes in your wall or if you do not want wires and speakers all over the place - this may be the solution for you. It was for me.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Yamaha YSP-4000BL Digital Sound Projector (Black)

The new YSP-4000 Digital Sound Projector offers versatile new features such as, 1080p-compatible HDMI, analog video to HDMI digital video up-conversion, and component/composite inputs. Other features include: iPod and XM HD surround compatibility, built-in FM tuner, RS-232C for custom installation and a wide variety of beam settings, including My Surround Beam, for a true multi-channel surround sound experience from a single component. The YSP-4000 applies the Digital Sound Projector technology to precisely control the orientation of the sound by focusing it through multiple beams. The center channel sound is heard directly, while sounds from other channels are heard after reflecting off walls. The result is true multi-channel surround sound that sounds just like a multi-speaker system but without the need for extra speakers! As amazing as it seems, the YSP-4000 can actually deliver multi-channel sound that surrounds listeners the same way that sound from front, center and rear speakers does. DVD movies and other digital sources sound just the way they are supposed to. Dolby Pro Logic II is included, so even 2-channel TV's sound can be heard in true multi-channel surround. Its elegant space-saving design avoids the need of numerous speakers and cables. It can be wall mounted or placed on a shelf or rack. The YSP-4000 has a powerful and efficient digital amplifier built in. It powers the 40 beam drivers at 2W each and the two woofers at 20W each, for a total of 120W of power. There is no need for the customer to purchase an additional amplifier or receiver.

Get 22% OFF

Click here for more information about Yamaha YSP-4000BL Digital Sound Projector (Black)

Read More...

Sonos ZonePlayer 90 Wireless Multi-Room Music System for Home Theater or Stereo Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Seeking to upgrade my home audio setup, I picked up some ZP90s along with a Logitech Squeezebox boom and duet, figuring I'd play around with them and then sell what I didn't like.
Overall, I did feel the Sonos setup offered the best usability. The setup was a breeze, the software very use-friendly and easy to quickly find what you want and play it on the appropriate player(s). Another real treat was the iPhone application, which lets me use my phone as the remote and eliminates the need for the costly and bulky controller. Rhapsody, Pandora, and Last.fm are the 3 major music services offered, and all work very well. There's also the bonus of listening to local radio stations without the static, although I was disappointed to find you could only configure it for one location at a time (listening to KEXP in Seattle would have been great).
However, there were two shortcomings when compared to the Squeezebox. The first is the requirement that at least one of the Sonos players be hard-wired in to the network. This wasn't a problem for me since the Sonos is just 20 feet away from my router, however I'm sure there are users out there that won't be as fortunate. The Squeezebox was completely wireless and could go anywhere in the house, so it has a clear advantage there. The Second was not having support for the Slacker music service. I slightly prefer this service over Pandora, and find myself turing on the Squeezebox more due to that reason.
Summary - If you have the money and want something easy to use, and are OK with having at least one Sonos device hard-wired to the network, then this is for you. But if you love Slacker, need something 100% Wireless, or just don't quite have the budget, go with the Squeezebox.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sonos ZonePlayer 90 Wireless Multi-Room Music System for Home Theater or Stereo

The Sonos ZonePlayer 90 lets you play all the music you want, all over your house, on all the audio equipment you already own - your home theater receiver, stereo system, powered speakers, and more. Just connect the ZP90 to any amplified audio device in any room and it's instantly part of the wireless Sonos system. The ZP90's digital and analog outputs deliver superior sound to every room. And with the ZP90's superior wireless range, no room is out of reach. The ZP90 is super small, so it will fit just about anywhere. Plus, every ZP90 includes a Sonos Desktop Controller for the ultimate in control and convenience.

Click here for more information about Sonos ZonePlayer 90 Wireless Multi-Room Music System for Home Theater or Stereo

Read More...