Not long ago, I wrote about the death of high fidelity. However, all is not lost. For those of us who care about listening to music in the best quality possible, there are many viable options.

For the digitally inclined, high resolution downloads are gaining popularity. One of my favorites in the Bowers & Wilkens Society of Sound. This is a complete treasure trove of fresh, new unique music available in various lossless formats like Apple lossless, FLAC (including 24 bit) at an affordable annual price. An excellent introduction to basic high rez files and a way to an instant hifi, is to load up your iPod with Apple lossless downloads, then connect it to one of the B&W Zeppelin iPod speaker docks.

Continue Reading »

It’s a great time to be a gamer. Even greater, it’s downright awesome to be a gamer during the gift giving season. There has been no shortage of incredible games this fall. The hardest part of compiling this gift guide was narrowing the games down to this list. You certainly are not relegated to this list, as there are many fine games that are out this season. This is just a suggestion.

Continue Reading »

The Zune HD is the latest portable media player from Microsoft. It will come in a 16GB and 32GB configuration. The first thing one notices about the Zune HD, is the gorgeous 3.3″ OLED screen. It’s absolutely breathtaking. Videos and images pop in stunning fashion.

Apart from the awesome OLED screen, the Zune HD has a fully functional web browser that’s a breeze to use with the multi-touch interface. Wi-Fi is standard. It also has a built-in HD radio tuner, for the folks still listening to the radio, all three of you. (I kid)
Continue Reading »

Buying gifts for people isn’t always the easiest thing in the world. It’s the thought that counts they say, but sometimes you have to wonder what the gift giver was thinking. Thankfully, there is no second guessing vinyl purchases as a gift. Provided you know the musical tastes of the person you are shopping for, then this should be a breeze. Of course, you aren’t limited to my selections. The sky is the limit with vinyl, but these albums are the standouts in their respective genres in my opinion. They would all make fine gifts.
Continue Reading »

God of War burst unto the scene like a juggernaut in early 2005. It was by far the best action game on the PS2. Kratos, the protagonist in the game is a Spartan warrior. He was a loyal servant of Ares, the God of war. Ares bestowed a godly weapon called the blades of chaos on Kratos. These deadly, swinging blades were wielded to his forearms. Over the course of time, Kratos committed massacres on the command of Ares. Unbeknown to Kratos, he killed his family on one of his murderous rampages. Grief stricken, his pain turned to rage when he found out that Ares had tricked him into killing his family. As you can guess by now, the tale is one of revenge. Kratos goes on a journey to destroy Ares, and usurp the title of the God of war.
Continue Reading »

Blu-ray is currently the best medium to view movies for the consumer. Anyone serious about maximizing their audio and video experience at home need not look further than blu-ray at the moment. It’s the pinnacle of home entertainment.

So that said, what should you purchase for the blu-ray addict in your life?

The first thing should be a nice, 1080p display. To get the most accurate, cinematic detail from movies, then a plasma panel is the most ideal. When it comes to displays, my philosophy is always to go big. The price of many 50 inch sets have come down dramatically. Case in point, the Panasonic TC-P54S1. This is a 54 inch television, and it is a steal at the current asking price.

Continue Reading »

The long wait is finally over. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is finally here. Modern Warfare 2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Modern Warfare 2 picks up a few years after the first game. Like all veteran COD players know, you get to traverse various locales in the different mission settings. You will fight in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Brazil and a bombed out Washington D.C. The single player is brief and intense.

After the single player campaign, grab a partner and jump into the Special Ops mode. It’s a cooperative mode that uses locales from the single player not related to that campaign. You can play Special Ops alone, but what fun is that? Coop is definitely the preferred way to play this mode.
Continue Reading »

How do you improve a wonderfully designed universal remote like the Harmony One? For Logitech, it was simple, add an RF (radio frequency) module. Their latest universal remote, the Harmony 900 has RF capabilities.

In terms of functionality, the Harmony 900 is almost identical to the Harmony One. However, the Harmony One is only IR (infrared), while the Harmony 900 is both IR and RF. The main benefit to RF is that you can store equipment in a closet, or even in a different room and be able to control all your components. Unlike IR, you do not have to be in the same line of sight as your equipment to control your gear.
Continue Reading »