Tag: HGG-MEDIAHOUND

McIntosh MXA60 60th Anniversary Integrated Audio System (Media Hound, Cost No Object) If you must have top-shelf, top-notch, wallet-draining audio -- which is the only reason you'd be perusing a McIntosh music system in the first place -- then at least do Santa (and the mailman) a favor and lug home the MXA60 yourself: even though it's a bookshelf system, it weighs a husky 64 pounds. From ...

Grado iGi Earphones (Media Hound, Under $100) To the audio obsessives who consider the quality of their sound gear a way of life, the mere mention of the name Grado elicits the kind of response usually reserved for Santa or, well, Steve Jobs . Since most Grado headphones are priced in the relative stratosphere, its new iGi model ($89) is a welcome entry-level sampler for the iPod generation. ...

Joby Gorillamobile for iPhone (Media Hound, Under $50) Joby first earned fans several years ago when it essentially invented its own market: low-cost, flexible but durable mini tripods for cameras. And Joby's done it again by extending into the iPhone accessory market with the $40 Gorillamobile. Put any iPhone 3G or 3GS (sorry first genners) into the included soft case and then snap it into the ...

HP Beats Laptop (Media Hound, Under $2,500) It's rare that a PC laptop makes even Mac owners look twice, but look twice at the above photo. See? The 15-inch black-and-red stunna -- essentially an HP Envy with a Beats by Dr. Dre veneer -- has a lot in common with the MacBook Pro, actually: the chiclet keyboard, the buttonless, multitouch trackpad, the slim, bezel-etched design, even the ...

Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ (Media Hound, under $250) You've got a hard drive full of movies and television, but playing these digital files where they're meant to be played -- on your living room TV/receiver setup, rather than your computer -- can be tricky business. Though its interface is light years behind that of Apple TV, the FreeAgent Theater+ ($150) excels in flexibility: The device can ...

"High-end" and "iPod dock" are seldom combined, but Wadia Digital has made it so with its 170iTransport, a squat little component that can turn Apple's portable audio and video capabilities into a stellar home media server. The first product to offer iPod's native digital audio output--over SP/DIF coaxial cable, included--the 170i enables your compressed music collection sound purer than it ...

So you're either giving, or you're about to receive, an HDTV and want something to keep the whole family busy this holiday? Well, you're in luck (sort of), since HD versions of some holiday classics have started to make their way onto Blu-ray discs. Surprisingly, there isn't much in the way of TV classics like 'Rudolf, the Red Nose Reindeer' or 'A Charlie Brown Christmas,' but here are five ...

Ever wish you could make any audio setup wireless? We checked out the i2i Stream wireless audio system that essentially takes the place of a cord and allows you to stream audio from nearly any source. The kit comes with two combination transmitter/receiver devices and when you want to make a music source wireless, you simply connect the output to one of these small devices using the included ...

We hate to say it, particularly since you're probably trying to save money, but now is a pretty good time to buy an HDTV. Prices have never been lower for televisions of every shape, size, and technology. In fact, you can get an HDTV for less than $300, which is finally getting close to what a TV should cost. That said, if you're a movie watcher and have a big enough room, then we'd ...

Samsung HL50A650 50-inch DLP 1080p $999.99 at BestBuy WHAT'S A DEAL: It's 50-inches, yo, for those folks who are looking for size (and sorry, but size does matter when dealing with HDTVs). It also has some nice extras like a USB input, so you can hook your video or still digicam directly to the TV and watch a slideshow in full HD splendor. WHAT'S THE CATCH: It's a DLP TV, which means ...

Vizio SV420XVT1A 42-inch LCD 1080p $999.99 at Costco WHAT'S A DEAL: It's got all the things you'd want in an HDTV – 1080p resolution, four HDMI inputs, and three built-in surround sound speakers that actually sound good. Also, it has a 120Hz refresh rate – a rarity in this price range – which means sports and fast-action scenes look smooth (no pixellation). WHAT'S THE ...

Sharp LC-32-D64U 32-inch LCD 1080p $949.99 at Target WHAT'S A DEAL: Excellent picture, insane 10,000:1 contrast ratio, sexy styling, and otherwise high-end features. WHAT'S THE CATCH: It's only 32-inches, and we'd expect a 120hz refresh rate at this price/size combination. BOTTOM LINE: This is a case where smaller is better. In other words, if overall picture quality and decent features ...

Sanyo DP50747 50-inch plasma 720p $948 at Walmart WHAT'S A DEAL: Big size, small price; high 8000:1 contrast ratio; built-in Dolby Digital Surround Sound. WHAT'S THE CATCH: It's only 720p, which will disappoint Blu-ray disc lovers. It also only has three HDMI inputs (compared with the four HDMI inputs increasingly found on televisions of this size). Lastly, its generic looks are a bit ...

Toshiba 46RV530U 46 inch LCD 1080p $899.99 at Costco (up to $1,000 elsewhere) WHAT'S A DEAL: It's hard to find a flat-panel LCD television this big for less than $900, so if you really don't want a plasma instead, then this is your best bet. A generous four HDMI inputs means you'll be able to hook up plenty of HD sources, from your Xbox 360 and Apple TV to your Blu-ray player and cable ...

Panasonic THC50HD18 50-inch plasma 720p $899.99 at Costco WHAT'S A DEAL: A whopping 50-inch flat-panel from plasma pro Panasonic for less than $1,000, generous 3 HDMI inputs, realistic color and black levels. Great for sports, since plasmas handle action scenes better than LCDs. Optimized to work easily with other Panasonic components (DVD players, Blu-ray players, A/V receivers, etc) ...