Audio Emporium
Newsletter
Runco Now on
Display! Runco has been a high end name in projectors for 30
years. In 2007 they were bought by Planar. Now Runco has the money to come to market with
edge of the art products at fair prices. They also have the capital to run a proper
R&D department. They have a commitment to serious service. The products are actually
made (& serviced) in
There’s a lot more to the
picture you see from a projector than which chipset is used, or how brightly the lamp is
rated. We can fill you in when you visit. But just as a speaker with a flimsy cabinet and
stamped frame 15” woofer won’t deliver the solid bass of a strong cabinet with
an 8” cast woofer- we need to look beyond the numbers claimed on the spec sheet. In
fact, the performance of these projectors belies traditional specs. We’re featuring
the two most exciting projectors in our industry right now!
The mass market names
provide a relatively soft picture with mediocre black levels to my taste. I see the screen
door on LCDs, so I prefer DLP or LED. The service the mass marketers provide is less than
acceptable. Of course you’ll only find this out when it’s too late! We’ve
been there, done that. We have added Runco to up our video performance. Runco Q
$15,000
This new LED projector does not
have a traditional lamp. Hence no replacement will be needed! The guesstimated lifespan is
over 20 years at 1000 hours per year. The picture is rich and even. Most projectors are over
bright and full of blooming and hot spots. Not only is the Q “uniform” in its balance, but it has the best
contrast ratio and black levels we’ve seen. It costs more than LCD or DLP designs-
but it’s worth it!
Runco LS-3
$5000
This new DLP projector is the best
we’ve seen in this category. We have compared it to the Panasonic 4000 LCD design for
$3500 which gets raves. The Panasonic is a fine product. But the LS-3 produces a clearer,
brighter picture with deeper blacks. We’ve had them right next to each other! For a
little more money the picture is a nice step up. For service, we would much rather deal
with Runco than any large manufacturer who really couldn’t care less about
you- or us!
Sonos Now on
Display!
We’ve looked at Sonos several times
over the years. It had lots of promise for musical convenience with minimal wiring. One of
the big sales pitches was the rotary keypad controller. But I never liked it. Various
sales people would brag, “It’s designed by a woman, so women will like it.” For all the cool stuff it was supposed to do, it was
too cumbersome. The rotary pad didn’t cut it for me.
Here we are a few years down the road
and, son of a gun, they actually listened to us! Not Audio Emporium necessarily, but the
public. Please save us from that awful controller and get us something from this century.
Smart Controller 200 (SC200) makes Sonos usable!
Sonos can be used as a background music
system. But, if music is as important in your life as it is mine, its real purpose is to
be a fun SOURCE to run through the nice hifi gear you already have. Various services come
through at different bit rates.
Stop in so we can show you! Lost, Then
Found- FOUR MILLION DOLLARS!
Well, not $4m cold cash. And not “lost.”
Here’s the story. The Gibson Stradivarius violin built in 1713 is considered to be one of the world’s
finest violins. In the early 1900s it was owned by violinist Bronislaw Huberman. It was
stolen from him twice! The first time was 1919. He got it back quickly. The second time
was 1934. It was missing for 51 years. Lloyds of London paid Huberman $30,000 as he
insured it through them. Violinist Julian Altman died in 1985. He made
a deathbed confession admitting HE had stolen the violin in 1934 while Huberman was on
stage with another violin. Altman had been using the Gibson Stradivarius for 51 years.
Ultimately current violin virtuoso Joshua Bell managed to purchase this violin for a
measly $4m in 1988! |
