Last year Spotify finally debuted in the United States, terrifying iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, and all the rest with its any-song-for-free listening model. However, the free Spotify version is riddled with huge ads, lower bit rates, and extreme time limits, so comparing it to, say, Rhapsody isn’t apples-to-apples. To create a proper battle, I pitted …
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Multiroom Audio Made Simple
Many people love the idea of a house-wide audio system, but they may not love the idea of paying to have one installed. Plus, the fancy features that come with dedicated multiroom audio systems — such as keypad controllers with metadata feedback, and the ability to divide a home into numerous listening zones — might …
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Test Report: Sharp Elite PRO-60X5FD 3D LCD HDTV
I won’t assume that everyone will know what I’m talking about when I drop the word “Kuro,” but longtime Sound+Vision readers may recall a line of high-end, and accordingly high-priced, Pioneer Elite plasma TVs that we heaped praise upon back in the day. (In this case, “back in the day” means circa 2008.) What set …
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10 Trends in Home Audio
A LOT HAS CHANGED over the past few years in the world of home audio. We’ve gotten to the point where we expect more from our listening experience. We want more choice than the 100 or so CDs crammed in our entertainment cabinets, we want better quality than those old earbuds can produce and we …
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Sony Brings Drivers Closer to the Music With New Advanced In-Car Entertainment Products
SONY BRINGS DRIVERS CLOSER TO THE MUSIC WITH NEW ADVANCED IN-CAR ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTS LAS VEGAS, NV (01.17.12) – At CES, Sony introduced four new in-dash A/V receivers featuring smartphone connectivity, superior display technology, and an advanced interface design. A new line of amplifiers, speakers and subwoofers was also unveiled. In addition, Sony …
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Pioneer Announces AppRadio Family
Since its introduction in June, the Pioneer AppRadio—that displays key apps on the radio—has performed well, says Pioneer, so it introduced at CES a full family of AppRadios, including the new AppRadio 2.0 that works with Android AND iPhone apps. Pioneer AppRadio 2 The AppRadio 2.0 also gets a larger screen, at 7-inches. The …
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Onkyo Partners With MP3tunes
Onkyo is cranking up its 2012 receivers with cloud storage. The company just announced plans to partner with MP3tunes.com, meaning that Onkyo owners can access the service’s cloud-based Locker. That Locker provides up to 2GB of music storage absolutely free. Once your music is in the cloud, it can be streamed directly to any …
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CES 2012 Press Day: Sony
Sony’s sprawling CES press event was about. . . OK, it was about a lot of things. I took notes! According to the company’s overview release, it is “giving consumers more access to more content whenever and however they want it.” Sony plans to do just that by selling you mobile devices, including the new …
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Alpine Announces Seven New Models That Feature Pandora Radio
Alpine Announces Seven New Models That Feature Pandora Radio Alpine’s Steve Brown shows some new single DIN head units featuring Pandora to the 12voltnews.com camera. Torrance, CA (01.10.12)- Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. has announced the launch of seven new radio receivers designed to support Pandora® internet radio – including Alpine’s first introduction …
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How to Get Optimal Wi-Fi Reception
How many Wi-Fi connected devices are in your house? I did a mental survey of my house and came up with 12, including iPods, tablets, media streamers, etc. I’ve probably forgotten a few. All of those devices are fed by a single wireless router, and some days that’s a real challenge. How can you …
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