The Sound Room

All Things Vinyl, February 25, 2009

by Oliver Amnuayphol

This week, a little o' this, a little o' that. Looking for a good resource for all your vinyl/turntable basics and tools and don't wanna shell out too much coin? Then be sure to check out the aptly named turntablebasics.com, a web merchant slangin' various vinyl wares that includes everything from set-up/alignment tools to phono preamps and record sleeves. Yours truly bought the $20, universal, mirrored cartridge alignment protractor way back in the day as a reasonably priced and effective cart-align tool and still loan it out to friends who want a simple set up tool. Easy to use, versatile, and stupid cheap--What's not to like?

If you're looking for a low cost upgrade for your licorice pizza spinner, peep the products from SRM Tech, a small, UK-based outfit specializing in analog upgrade/tune up kits, power supply upgrades, record cleaning accessories and various other sundries. Upgrade kits for certain Thorens, Regas and Linns are on offer, including what looks to be one mighty fine upgrade kit for the Sondek LP12, the Ultimate LP12 Enhancement kit with Silent Base. I haven't gotten a chance to hear one yet, but I'm trying to get my mitts on an older stock LP12 n' SRM kit as I write. With any luck, I'll have the results to report on in a future installment.

And how about some more analog luvin' the YouTube way? Check out this sweet video documentary of the Audiophile Club of Athens and feast your eyes on some killer vinyl-spinning rigs. Since this isn't strictly a 'table/analog video, you can also visually ogle some pretty boss systems. Enjoy!

Home Theater Week in Review, February 16-20, 2009: Plasma TV Woes

by Oliver Amnuayphol

Tough economic times + dwindling flat panel margins = bad news for plasma display TV manufacturers: Pioneer recently announced they're pulling out of the plasma flat screen business by 2010. In a bid to curtail losses, Pioneer started outsourcing manufacturing of its panels to Panasonic last year to no avail. The company's flat panel division  had been losing money since 2004 and expects to reduce its workforce by 16 percent, focusing instead on its home and car audio, DJ gear, and cable STB business sectors.

Vizio also recently announced they're getting out of the plasma game, citing neglible price differences and dwindling popularity when compared to LCD panels. This is truly sad news for fans of plasma's superior picture quality; while Vizio's plasmas have never been cutting edge, they've always been a good value, and their exit means home theater fans are now left with only three plasma manufacturers--LG, Panasonic and Samsung. Let's hope this trio will keep the fires a burnin.'

 

Movie Releases for Next Week.

DVD: NFL Superbowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers Champions DVD; Summer Heights High; Breaking Bad - The Complete First Season; Iton Weed; Oliver Twist; WWE: Royal Rumble 2009; The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show, Vol. 7 and Vol.8; Painted Lady; The Matador. 

Blu-ray: Akira; The French Connection 1 and 2; Vanishing Point; Samurai 7 - Box Set; Zulu; What Just Happened?; Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970; Friday the 13th Part 2 and 3; The Fog; Hurricane on the Bayou; Freedomland; Ronin; Hounddog.

 

Home Theater Week in Review, February 2-6, 2009: Free Vizio LCD, DTV Transition

by Oliver Amnuayphol

Flash! Vizio wants you to get your mitts on a new flat panel TV for free! That's right--we're talking exactly 0 ducats for some HDTV luvin. Turns out Vizio ain't really feelin' the recessionary pinch like the rest of us Plebes and have decided to share the wealth by giving away 500 55" LCD TVs worth a million bucks. Each week, one lucky home theater nut will be drawn at random for said prize from Feb 23 until Aug 31 '09. And word on the street is the new Vizios are mighty boss indeed: Ultimate AV recently reviewed the 50" Vizio LCD, pretty much proclaiming it the best value flat panel ever! You can enter for your chance to win here.

 

Looks like some of you loyal Week in Review readers heeded my words last week concerning the DTV bill by calling your congressional reps: On Wednesday both chambers of Congress voted 264-158 in favor of delaying the DTV transition until June 12 '09. So hooray! Chalk one up for the procrastinators--even if there's only 8 in 10 of yooze: According to research conducted by the National Association of Broadcasters, 82% of you analog boob tube diehards out there are already on board with the whole digital thang. Regardless, any chance to make sure everyone gets on board before legacy broadcasting goes dark can only be a good thing. Oh--and don't forget to pick your DTV set top box n' coupon if you haven't already; you can get a coupon here.

DVD: Nights in Rodanthe; W; Miracle at St. Anna; The Paradine Case; The Inauguration of Barack Obama on CNN; Frozen River; The Lodger; The Guitar.

Blu-ray: Nights in Rodanthe; W.; Miracle at St. Anna; Raging Bull; Pretty Woman; Amadeus; The Boondock Saints; Donnie Darko; The Pelican Brief; A Time to Kill; Soulmen; The Rundown.

 

Coachella Lineup 2009!

By: The Graviest Dave

The long awaited lineup for Coachella 2009 has been announced. Feast your eyes...

If you've lived in a cave for the last 10 years or so, then you might not know what Coachella is all about. For you cave dwellers, it is quite simply one of the largest music and art festivals that you will ever have the opportunity to feast your eyes upon. It takes place in Indio, CA at the Empire Polo Club which is basically a massive outdoor space that get's filled with tents, bands, art, food, and booze. One of the things that makes Coachella really unique is it's crowd sizes. Only at Coachella would 60,000 people be considered a small turnout, as it's not unheard of for the crowds to reach figures topping 130,000 strong. What brings the masses out in hordes? Why, the bands of course...

I have been to Coachella a few times...once in 2004, and once in 2005. Usually the event is so packed with exceptional bands that you have to make some really tough decisions on who you want to see. Should I see famous indie rockers Mogwai, or hip hop legend MF Doom? Broken Social Scene, or Sage Francis? And while you may have to make some really hard calls, you will no doubt get to see a few bands that take no consideration at all to decide to watch There's headliners which are usually the last bands of the night, but also just big name bands where you don't give it a second thought. For my trips, it was Radiohead, The Cure, The Pixies, M83, Bright Eyes, Cursive...what an amazing 2 years.

This year's event is going to have a bit more sprawl then I would like to see. There are some really epic bands, but they are sprinkled over 3 days instead of the traditional 2, which really leaves me hard pressed to find the "winner" show date. Friday boasts such bands as Leonard Cohen, Beirut, Crystal Castles, and A Place to Bury Strangers. Some of 2008's finest will be in attendance on Saturday...TV on the Radio, Fleet Foxes, and hip hop's finest, Atmosphere are sure to make that day quite unforgettable. Sunday will be a day of some legendary acts including My Bloody Valentine, The Cure, and Public Enemy. Seeing any one of those bands in a single day would certainly leave me smiling for days to come, but seeing all 3 in one day? I am not sure if there is an emotion in the English language that can describe the feeling...I suppose that's what Coachella is all about.

Home Theater Week in Review, January 26-30, 2009: DTV transition update

by Oliver Amnuayphol

No real hardware news this week, but if you've got an older, analog TV and have been dragging your feet on the whole DTV thang, call or write your congressional representatives: this week the House of Representatives voted down a bill that would've delayed the DTV transition from February 17 until June 12--not good news if you've procrastinated on getting that set top converter box for that TV in your garage, kid's room or grandma's living room (see Caleb's Soundroom post, "DTV Delay: Right intentions, wrong call" for the skinny on grandma and the DTV conversion). The bill will be reintroduced on the floor this coming Wednesday, so if you're interested in getting the necessary delay for the DTV transition, make that call.

 

Movie Releases for Next Week.

DVD: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa; Zack and Miri; The Secret Life of Bees; Bottle Shock; Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist; Afro Samurai: Resurrection - Director's Cut; Hounddog; Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway; Oliver and Company; Being There; Xanadu; Sliverado.

Blu-ray: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa; Zack and Miri; The Secret Life of Bees; Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist; Afro Samurai: Resurrection - Director's Cut; Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway; Oliver and Company; Being There; Little Miss Sunshine; Office Space; Sideways; Napoleon Dynamite; Starsky & Hutch; Get Smart.