Don Lindich’s Sound Advice Blog

Olympus E-P1 (left) and E-PL1 (right)  

Ever since the introduction of the Panasonic DMC-G1 and Olympus E-P1 Micro Four-Thirds cameras, the compact interchangeable lens camera (CILC, my term) category has been smokin’ hot.  The compelling combination of digital SLR-like image quality along with compact bodies and lenses seems to be just what a lot of photographers are looking for.  If you are a serious photographer they won’t replace your digital SLR, but much like myself you may find a CILC perfect for travel and for those times you would prefer to leave the SLR bag at home.  If you aren’t as serious and want the best camera and image quality you can get without going to an SLR, a CILC will blow away most any compact camera.  There is simply no comparison.Since last year Panasonic and Olympus have improved or added to their Micro Four-Thirds model lines. I wrote about the Olympus E-PL1 earlier this year.  I finally received get a review sample from Olympus and later this week will have some sample pictures and comments about my experience with the camera.  In the picture above you can compare the E-PL1 to my E-P1. The E-PL1 is slightly smaller, has a plastic body and includes a pop-up flash.  My initial impression is I prefer my E-P1 (especially since the price has gone down to $569) but the E-PL1 makes for a great way to get started with a CILC with a lower cost, less weight and the utility of a built-in flash.

Canon and Nikon are rumored to be entering this category soon.  Samsung has already jumped into the fray with their Samsung NX10. Reviews of the NX10 have been very mixed and I recommend you stick to the Olympus and Panasonic models for now.  You can also add a new dark horse candidate to the CILC cameras that belong on your shopping list.

The dark horse on the horizon?  It’s definitely Sony.  This week I was introduced to Sony’s NEX-3 and NEX-5 cameras and I became an NEX-5 owner in very short order, though I have not been much of a Sony fan lately.  I was blown away when I saw how tiny the NEX cameras are and believe me, pics on the web do not do them justice.  You really need to hold one in your hand to “get it.”  I will write more later this week, but for now let me say that the NEX-5 is a technological tour de force that is unmatched in the category, though using it sometimes it feels more like using a cell phone than a fine photographic instrument.  I am flabbergasted at what Sony has accomplished with these cameras, despite their quirks and flaws.  If they make the next NEX body seem more like a camera and less like a gadget they might well own the CILC category. I am looking forward to telling you more about the NEX-5 later this week.

Questions? Email Don

Every dedicated photographer knows that the times you most need a tripod are the times you did not bother to bring one.  Given the bulk and weight of even modern carbon fiber tripods you can hardly blame someone for not bringing a tripod everywhere.  With the incredibly small, incredibly light, incredibly easy to use Tamrac Zipshot you won’t have excuses anymore!

I came across the Zipshot at Ritz Camera today and knew I had to have one.  It is stunningly simple in its design and execution and is a boon to anyone looking for an effective tripod that is truly painless to tote around. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve received an awful lot of questions about photography lately as people gear up for vacations and look to but new equipment.  I am also working on a new photography-related website that should be launching in a few months, one that will be rather unique on the web.  With that in mind I am going to have a week’s worth of post about photography.  Stop back every day, there are neat things in store!

I often receive questions asking about tiny surround speakers that can be placed very discretely in the room.  I’m not usually a fan of tiny speakers and prefer to match the speakers with the fronts, but sometimes tiny speakers are all that will keep the peace with the wife, or all that will fit in with the decor.  If that is the case check out the Boston Acoustics SoundWare Speakers.  They are small but can fit almost anywhere and can be painted to blend in. If you don’t want to take a can of Krylon to them they come in seven finishes.  They have an agreeable sound that will work well with most main speakers of any brand, though if you can match the fronts you should.  Of course, if you need tiny all the way around you could use five SoundWares and a sub, and I would not argue with you if that was your decision.  Way better than Bose for much less!

 Arx A3 towers before unboxing. Miniature dachshund provided for scale.

Yesterday Fedex Ground stopped by and dropped off some double-boxed happiness: a pair of brand new Arx A3 tower speakers.  I’ve been anxious to see and hear these since The Audio Insider announced they were dropping Acculine and developing something new based on the Acculine concept.  Acculine has been off the market for over a year now and since The Speaker Company folded their tent in late 2009 the need for high quality and very affordable speakers had never been greater.

You can learn more about Acculine at the linked text above but if you want the Reader’s Digest version, Acculine speakers were offered by The Audio Insider and sold directly to consumers.  They used exotic technology leaf tweeters that are usually found in multi-thousand dollar speakers, combining them with good quality conventional woofers.  The drivers were placed in plain looking black cabinets to make an Acculine speaker, selling for as little as $250 per pair for the bookshelf models.  If a car analogy works for you, think of getting BMW performance and technology wrapped in generic sedan bodywork.

With Acculine you could build an incredible-sounding five-channel speaker system with tower main speakers for under $1,000.  Add a sub and you have great sound for most any room.  Go with four Acculine bookshelf speakers and an Acculine center channel and you are under $700 before you add a sub.  That’s amazing.

Read the rest of this entry »

I just got the news- the long-awaited Arx speakers from The Audio Insider are shipping starting today, June 16, 2010. I have my order in and will be reporting on them soon.  This product has been anxiously awaited by many of your readers and I am happy to report that you can finally give these speakers a try.  If they are as big of an improvement over the Acculine Speakers as they are cracked up to be, they are really going to be something special.

When I placed my order I was told the following:

• The prices are the same as the Acculine speakers, but sound quality is noticeably better.
• The speakers have a relatively long break-in period due to the new woofer technology, which I was told to be “the real deal”as far as high performance drivers go.
• They work really well with tube amps.  These could be a nice match for the Neuhaus Laboratories amplifier.
• Placement is somewhat more critical than it was with the Acculines so experimentation and careful placement will make a big difference.
• No Arx subwoofer yet.

The latter two comments are to be expected from most any high performance speaker.  I am anxious to hear these and you can count on reading about them once I have put them through their paces.

Prices are:

Arx A1 bookshelf speakers $249/pair

Arx A2 center channel  $189

Arx A3 towers $499

See and order them at the Arx page at The Audio Insider.   If you do order a pair please drop me a line and let me know.  I’ll be interested in hearing your impressions since the Acculines were one of the most successful and well-received recommendations I have ever made.

Questions? Email Don

Creative Vado HD

The original Creative Vado HD can now be had for under $75 online.  That is a far cry from the original $229 MSRP or even the $156 and change it sold for not long ago.  If you want a pocketable HD camcorder and don’t have to have the absolute latest model you won’t go wrong with this deal.  It even includes the Mini HDMI to HDMI cable you will need to connect it to your HDTV for the best possible picture.

You can read what I had to say about the Vado HD by reading on below- I have copied the old post here for your viewing pleasure. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Facebook’s recent changes to their privacy policy have put me (somewhat) at ease and I have restored my account.  If you want to add me, add away!

If you have been wanting to get into the high-def audio and video goodness that is Blu-ray, the timing is good.  You can get a passable player for as little as $78 at Wal-Mart and movies are regularly selling for around $20 or even less on Amazon.com.  In fact, Wal-Mart has some movies selling for as little as $8.00, and double feature packs containing two movies for as little as $20!

Ready to get started?  Here are some good player values:

Magnavox at Wal-Mart: $78

This player is not on the Wal-Mart website but the stores are full of them.  It is a good, basic player without internet connectivity.   My dad has an early Insignia model that is very similar under the hood and it has worked well for him.  If you just want to go to the store and get a player this one should be fine.

Panasonic DMP-BD35 for $135.oo including three Blu-ray movies

This is the best deal going right now.  The DMP-BD35 has fast start-up and operation, top quality DVD upconversion picture quality as well as outstanding Blu-ray performance, and it streams from the web (including Netflix and Pandora.)  A current Amazon promotion gets you get three free Blu-ray movies with your DMP-BD35 purchase.  Hard to pass this one up and it is hard to recommend anything more expensive. Unless you want the player that follows this one in my recommendations…

Playstation 3 Slim $399

Still one of the very best Blu-ray players you can buy, and it plays games, too. Streams Netflix with a free disc, just use your Netflix account to request one. Don’t forget the Blu-ray Disc remote if you are buying this as a Blu-ray player.

Need an HDMI cable or two? Get them for $2.30 each. (Not a typo! See my page on HDMI cables.)

Learn more about Blu-ray at my Blu-ray Audio Explained and my Blu-ray Player Buying Guide pages.

Questions? Email Don

I’ve had some inquiries recently regarding whether or not plasma or LCD is better for 3D.

Regular readers know I am a fan of plasma, and it holds especially true for 3D.  The wider viewing angle of plasma is very desirable for watching 3D programming, especially if viewers will be scattered around the room. Combine this with plasma’s superior motion rendition and freedom from motion artifacts and you have a technology that is pretty much a perfect fit for the demands of 3D HDTV.  Panasonic’s investment in plasma technology when so many manufacturers abandoned it is looking like a really smart bet right now.

That said, I have seen some very impressive Samsung LED-LCD demonstrations at Best Buy lately, notably Monsters vs. Aliens 3D on Blu-ray.  I wouldn’t turn that TV away if someone offered it to me!  I am interested in seeing how it deals with real-life subjects rather than cartoons and hope they have a suitable demo soon.  If you have not seen the demo at Best Buy yet, check it out!  The 3D effect as well as the beautiful colors and sharpness are a joy to behold.  It really is like looking through a window to another world.

Given recent privacy concerns I am deleting my Facebook account.  To all those I have added and who have added me, it is noting personal!

More posts coming when I get home next week.  Stay tuned.

I was always a fan of the Acculine speakers from The Audio Insider, and readers who purchased them upon my recommendation were absolutely delighted.  Understandably, I was disappointed when they were discontinued but was told that something even better was in the works, called Arx. I was promised that Arx speakers would use even better technology and much better performance at the same price points.  It’s been a bit of a wait but Arx will be available to purchase very soon.

Since mentioning that Arx is on the way I’ve received a lot of email from readers asking when they would be available and what the differences would be.  I emailed Jon Lane of The Audio Insider and asked for an update, and he provided me with a beautifully written, detailed response along with these pre-production images. I asked his permission to edit and post it for Sound Advice readers, and he agreed.  I had to edit out some confidential information about future plans for the line and I won’t comment on them, other than to say the future for Arx looks bright indeed!

My commentary, along with pricing and availability appears at the end of the post.  Enjoy!

Arx A1 bookshelf speaker

Jon Lane of The Audio Insider writes:

“The Arx line includes technology and performance upgrades over the prior Acculine models, although in terms of style, price, category, and driver/model size, it’s as close to Acculine as we can make it.  The biggest difference is the switch to the XBL² woofer technology, which is partly where the “Arx”  name comes from.

Read the rest of this entry »

Neuhaus Laboratories T-2

The Neuhaus Laboratories T-2 is a product of two generations that merges two different worlds of electronics. The two generations are represented by George and Daniel Golik of Miami-based Neuhaus Laboratories. George is a high-end audiophile and his son Daniel, a member of the iTunes generation. Their product, the Neuhaus Laboratories T-2, brings both together by combining an audiophile-quality vacuum tube amplifier with a high quality digital-to-analog converter (DAC.) The result is a single hi-fi component that is also plug-and-play compatible with Mac and Windows computers.

You may be surprised to read about vacuum tubes in this day and age, but tube gear is still manufactured and is favored by guitar players and audiophiles who love the warm, rich sound. This warmth and richness is exactly why George and Daniel thought tubes would be a natural for use with computer music files. Both noted the poor sound when playing compressed music from iTunes through high quality sound systems, leading them to develop the vacuum tube T-2 to bring the music back to life. Read the rest of this entry »

Olympus E-PL1 Micro Four-Thirds interchangeable lens camera with 17mm lens

Readers of my site and my column know I am a big fan of Micro Four-Thirds interchangeable lens digital cameras and specifically of the Olympus E-P1.  The new Olympus E-PL1 brings Micro Four-Thirds down to the new low price point of $599 MSRP including a kit lens.  This is a very exciting development as the E-P1 produces some of the best looking digital images I have ever seen, and with a minimum of fuss.  The E-PL1 looks to duplicate the E-P1’s image quality.  The E-P1 is also one of the most fun-to-use cameras I have ever experienced. Here is what I had to say about the E-P1 when it was introduced:

“The E-P1 combines the convenience and compactness of a compact camera with the image quality and interchangeable lenses of a digital SLR.  It is also a 720p high definition camcorder (with noisy autofocus, focus manually.)  Combined with image quality that appears phenomenal straight out of the camera, this is the camera a lot of people have been waiting for.  I have to tell you, just holding it makes you want to take pictures.  It feels like you have an old style, high-class precision rangefinder camera  in your hand.  By all accounts Olympus has knocked one out of the park with this one and I am anxious to put the PEN E-P1 through its paces.”  See the complete post here.  E-P1 video sample, shrunk for web use is here.

Much of the goodness of the E-P1 is found in the E-PL1, along with a lower price and a feature set that is suitable for less-serious photographers.  Knowing how much fun the E-P1 is and what great images it produces, I am in love with the idea of this camera as now my readers are more likely to get to experience what I have with my own E-P1.

Read the rest of this entry »

Paradigm Atom Monitor Bookshelf  Speaker

The Paradigm Atom Monitor has long been loved by audiophiles for its fine sound and its  affordable price.  I’ve spent a lot of time listening to the Atom Monitor lately and though they sounded good out of the box, after around 30 hours of break-in the sound opened up and took on a sweet, sublime quality that is eminently listenable and extremely pleasing to the ear.  They have a warmish sound, but not too warm.  Stereo imaging is excellent, the bass is tight and defined with no sense of boominess, and they are brimming with detail from the midbass to the highest treble.  You can listen to them for hours on end with no sense of fatigue. For the asking price of $319 per pair I do not know of a better speaker.

Read the rest of this entry »

There are many classic movies that are not available to the public because the cost of restoring the movies, authoring the DVDs, then replicating and distributing them would well exceed the proceeds from the sales.  Many film buffs have been dismayed over this state of affairs, fearing these classics will never be available to be enjoyed again. Warner Bros. has one of the largest film libraries in existence, having purchased many MGM films and added them to their own vast library.  Now, with DVDs from Warner Archive, you can enjoy many of these movies on DVD.  Warner Bros. has come up with an elegant solution that is a godsend to film fans everywhere.

Read the rest of this entry »

If it is good enough for the Guggeheim Museum, the FAA, the United States Air Force and Navy, Panasonic, Dell,  the Smithsonian, and NASA, it should be good enough for you.  Klear Screen products are the choice of these companies and many others who read like a who’s who of technology.  The Klear Screen HD Screen Cleaner shown above is meant to be used on your TV screen, but NASA also uses it to clean the windows on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.  That’s saying something and has to make you confident your TV is in good hands.  Read the rest of this entry »

Panasonic DMP-BD70V Blu-ray/VHS player

If you have VHS tapes you still enjoy this is a great way to go if you want to add Blu-ray, or even if you just want to play your tapes and want an easier, better way to do it.  The Panasonic DMP-BD70V is a top-rate, full featured Blu-ray player that also upconverts VHS tapes to 1080p.  It doesn’t look high-def but it looks cleaner than it would just running from a VCR and you have the simplicity of a single HDMI connection.  Please note it does not record on VHS… it is playback only.

Learn more at the post where the DMP-BD70V was featured as Product of the Day.  At the time of this posting the Amazon link says $208 but vendors are offering it for less when you get to the product page.  It is worth the $208 anyway, if you are so inclined, but click the link and the $179.99 price should be there.  (I just checked and it was.)

Panasonic DMP-BD70V 1080p Blu-Ray Disc / VHS Combo Player at amazon.com

Audio-Technica ATH-M35 Headphones

Audio-Technica of Japan is well known for their outstanding transducers.  And what is a transducer?  A transducer converts electrical energy into mechanical (sonic) energy, and vice-versa… the hardest tasks in audio reproduction.  Besides speakers, some examples of transducers are microphones, phono cartridges, and headphones… with Audio-Technica being well-represented in all of the latter three categories.

Besides being known for high quality and precision, Audio-Technica products are well-known for their value.  Audio-Technica doesn’t dwell in the high-end realm that much, at least in terms of price… in terms of performance, however, they often do.  For example, the Audio-Technica AT-OC9/MLII phono cartridge (review coming soon)  lists for $699, has a street price of $399 and performs as well or better than some cartridges I have tried that cost several times its price.

Which brings us to today’s Product of the Day… the Audio-Technica ATH-M35 headphones.  Marketed as studio monitor headphones, they work very well in hi-fi applications, too. No fancy noise cancellation or gimmicks, just superior sound… what one comes to expect from Audio-Technica.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hello everyone, sorry I have been out of touch and let the site sit for a while.  You may have heard about the snowstorm that hit us in the east… long story short, I got hurt and have been spending much of my time on my back trying to get back to 100%.  The past few days I have been doing much better and started some fresh photography this evening… look for some fresh product posts starting tomorrow.

Oh, and enjoy the Olympics!

-Don