Deep-pocketed audiophiles, rejoice. Bowers & Wilkins claims its new high-end Formation wireless system is the “new standard in whole-home audio.”  Similar to Sonos, the market leader in wireless speakers and gear, it promises to unite speakers throughout the home with the help of a proprietary mesh network. But true to its luxury hi-fi heritage, B&W …

With Oppo bowing out of the race in 2018, Sony is one of the only manufacturers still catering to the high end when it comes to 4K Blu-ray players. With the new X800M2, announced at CES, it also fixes something the company left out of the original X800: Dolby Vision. While the cheaper X700 offered it (and hence earned our …

Sony has detailed pricing on one of the sound bars announced at CES 2019 —  the HT-S350 — while the Dolby Atmos X8500 is yet to receive a release date. The $280 HT-S350 sound bar lacks any smart features (such as a voice assistant) but includes a wireless subwoofer and a claimed 320 watts of power. Unlike competitors that now use …

This Saturday is Record Store Day 2019, and to celebrate, budget turntable manufacturer Crosley is releasing a turntable. A really, really weird one. You’ve heard of 45s, EPs and LPs but have you heard of Triple Inchophones? For Record Store Day on April 13, Crosley is resurrecting the little-known 3-inch vinyl format with its RSD3 player. The $70 RSD3 is …

Samsung has announced pricing for its 2019 range of sound bars, which include the Dolby Atmos compatible Q-series, developed in collaboration between Samsung Audio Lab and Harman Kardon. Samsung’s complete sound bar lineup for 2019 is as follows: Q90: $1,700 Q80: $1,200 Q70: $800 Q60: $500 (£600, AU$799) R650: $400 (AU$699) R550: $280 (AU$549) R450: $200 (AU$349) The Q90, Q80 and …

LG has announced its complete sound bar range for 2019, which includes three high-end models with support for both Google Assistant and Dolby Atmos onboard, plus three more only with Bluetooth.  The high-end models will also include support for Atmos competitor DTS:X.  3.1.2-channel SL8YG ($799) 4.1.2-channel SL9YG ($999) 5.1.2-channel SL10YG ($1299) Meanwhile, the entry- to mid-level models lack Wi-Fi connectivity …

Your phone can make a great controller for music, movies and TV in the home. Maybe you want to send music from your phone or an app like Spotify to your speaker system. Or maybe you want to control Netflix on your mobile device and watch it on your TV.  Two phone-to-AV systems stand out above the crowd: Google Chromecast and …

Samsung announced last week that it was no longer producing new 1080p or 4K Blu-ray players. If you’re looking for the canary in the video-disc coal mine, it doesn’t get any bigger than this. Whether it’s the latest artist or the hip new show on Netflix, streaming media is the norm today, and owning a streaming movie is more convenient …

Samsung appears to be following the lead of Oppo and exiting the Blu-ray player market in the US. Samsung has elaborated on an earlier report that it was no longer making 4K players and has confirmed that it will also halt production on new 1080p models. “Samsung will no longer introduce new Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray player models in the US …

Spotify and Apple Music have another competitor today, music streaming service Qobuz has announced it is now available in the US. French company Qobuz — pronounced ko-buzz– has been available in the UK and Europe for years. Its focus is on sound quality rather than the breadth of its catalog. The company offers hi-res streams (without the need for proprietary …