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Southern hip-hop superstar Gunna is on top. The proof can be found throughout the Atlanta rapper’s latest and sixth full-lengther, The Last Wun, which is chock full of the beats, traps, and themes that got him there. The Last Wun just dropped on all major streaming platforms via Young Stoner Life/300 Entertainment on August 8, 2025, and it follows the trajectory of Gunna’s masterful ATL-centric 2024 release One of Wun, in turn bringing the artist’s ever-evolving vibes up an extra notch (or five) in the process.
Sound designer Richard King won the first of his Academy Awards for his magnificent sound effects editing work on Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, director Peter Weir’s thrilling period adventure set on the high seas. He’s now taken home a total of five of the shiny statues, most recently for Dune: Part Two, as well as becoming Christopher Nolan’s go-to guy (The Dark Knight, Dunkirk, Oppenheimer, etc.) and snagging a boatload of Grammys along the way, too.
The hot weather’s here: Skip the beach and catch a cool wave of new SteelBooks instead. No pesky sand, seaweed or seagulls, just a refreshing splash of movies and TV, mostly in 4K and all in distinctively designed, collectible metal cases that are cooler than an icy tallboy straight out of the Yeti.
Long days, late nights: Summer’s made for bingeing, and S&V readers know there’s no better way to revisit our favorites or catch up on recent hits than with a complete series package: every episode, every story arc, every watercooler moment on 4K, Blu-ray, or DVD. Some arrive newly remastered, others are just finally getting their due, but all arrive shelf-ready to defy the capricious whims of streaming. Whether you're a longtime fan or just checking a title off your wish list, these TV treasures were made to be owned, watched, and proudly displayed.
Lyngdorf introduced the TDAI-2210 integrated streaming amplifier at Audio Advice Live 2025 in Raleigh, NC, the next generation in the company’s True Digital Amplifier line. Rated at 2 × 210W into 4 ohms, the TDAI-2210 keeps the signal in the digital domain and incorporates RoomPerfect room correction.
One of the show’s headline demos was Focal’s Diva Mezza Utopia, the larger, more powerful sibling to Diva Utopia. Launched July 2025 at $69,000/pair, it is sold exclusively through the Focal Powered by Naim dealer network (Audio Advice included). Focal positions Mezza as “the new hi-fi”: an ultra-connected, all-in-one, high-end system designed to deliver a full-range experience without the usual rack of separates.
At Audio Advice Live 2025, Masimo Consumer’s Phil Jones described Marantz’s new Grand Horizon as “musical art”—a single‑chassis, luxury wireless speaker built to deliver hi‑fi scale without the usual stack of black boxes. The target owner is clear: someone who wants serious sound and a statement object that can live in plain sight.
At Audio Advice Live 2025 in Raleigh, madVR Labs co‑founder and CEO Richard Litofsky previewed Dynamic Subtitle Overlay (DSO), a feature designed to make subtitles easier to live with—both for viewers who prefer them on and for those who find them distracting. The demo ran on a Sony BRAVIA 9 configured to emulate a scope screen.
At Audio Advice Live 2025, North Carolina–based retailer Audio Advice showed the latest addition to its house-brand seating line: the Revelation Luxury theater chair. It follows earlier “Revolution” and “Revelation” models and adds heating, massage, and other usability tweaks aimed at feature-hungry buyers at a mid-tier price. According to Audio Advice, the Revelation Luxury is designed to deliver the feature set found in higher-priced home-theater recliners at a lower cost.
Any fireworks left over? Whatever the theme—a movie star, a character, a single title or an entire genre—collections like these are a celebration of film and music, catering to a wide variety of tastes. With painstaking restorations, remixes, remasters and rediscoveries on 4K, Blu-ray, CD and delicious vinyl, this sweet summer crop has been fresh-picked for our enjoyment, many with new supplements that only deepen our appreciation.
Epson and Bose have announced a partnership resulting in a new line of projectors incorporating Sound by Bose audio systems. The first product in the series is slated for release in the United States and China in September 2025, with global expansion to follow.
Onkyo has announced the C-30, a new CD player that joins its recently introduced Icon Series of high-fidelity components. Scheduled for release in October 2025, the C-30 is priced at $349 and is designed to serve music listeners who still value physical media and dedicated playback hardware. The C-30 supports playback of standard CDs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs, as well as MP3 and WMA files. It features a 24-bit/192kHz DAC and includes Onkyo’s proprietary Vector Linear Shaping Circuit (VLSC), a noise-reduction technology designed to eliminate pulse noise from the signal path.
At Audio Advice Live in Raleigh, NC, Epson will introduce the Pro Cinema LS9000, a 4K HDR laser projector aimed at the custom integration market. Priced at $3,999, the LS9000 joins the company’s Pro Cinema lineup with a spec sheet that includes 4K UHD resolution, HDR10+ support, 2,200 lumens of brightness (both color and white), and gaming compatibility up to 4K/120fps.
Klipsch will debut a Red Oak finish for its Heritage Forte IV and Heresy IV loudspeakers at Audio Advice Live 2025, paired with gray heathered grilles. This marks the first public showing of the new aesthetic.
If you read my review of Jack Bruce’s most excellent Harmony Row 2CD/2BD box set that posted here on Thursday, June 24, 2025, you found me regaling the re-uprising (if you will) of the not-dead-yet CD revolution, not to mention applauding the ongoing CD-oriented box set cavalcade. So, what’s next on the digitally inclined box set reviewing slate? Glad you asked.
McIntosh has introduced the CR106, a 6-zone preamplifier and audio matrix designed for custom installations and whole-home audio systems. The new unit combines multi-zone management with high-performance audio signal distribution, aimed at users who want to extend McIntosh quality beyond a single room.
Musical Fidelity has introduced the B1xi, an integrated amplifier that revives the company’s B-Series lineup and echoes the original B1 from the 1990s. The new model is a pure transistor class-A/B design rated at 60 watts per channel into 8 ohms and up to 140 watts into 2 ohms.
How much would you pay for a tour of Abbey Road Studios? That’s the hidden question behind the $70,000 price tag for Bowers & Wilkins’ 801 D4 Signature Abbey Road Limited Edition loudspeakers. Sonically identical to the standard 801 D4 Signature, the Abbey Road model is a cosmetic variant—limited in production, not performance. Only 150 pairs are being made, with 70 allocated to the U.S.
Ascendo Immersive Audio GmbH has unveiled its latest subwoofers, the 64-inch The64 Sub Pro Passive Infrasonic Sealed and the 100-inch The100 Sub Pro Passive Infrasonic Sealed, succeeding the The50 and The80 models. The company positions these as the largest home cinema subwoofers available, designed to enhance low-frequency performance for home theater and high-end audio systems.
I do have to admit that I didn’t quite see the full-bore CD revival coming. Sure, artists continue to release their new music on CD—whether it be via their own labels, or through the major labels and their respective distribution arms—but it seemed more like a “gotta do it” kind of exercise since a) they’re relatively cheap to produce, and b) they’re relatively easy to travel with and sell direct to their fanbases at the merch table before/after shows.
In a closely watched annual tradition for video enthusiasts, retailers, and manufacturers alike, the 2025 Value Electronics TV Shootout concluded Saturday with Sony’s 65-inch Bravia 8 II OLED (model K65XR80M2) claiming the title of “King of TV.”
KEF has unveiled the XIO Soundbar ($2500), a 5.1.2-channel all-in-one system designed to bring the company’s HiFi pedigree to a living room-friendly surround-sound system. With 12 Class D amps delivering a combined 820W of power and support for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Sony 360 Reality Audio, and AirPlay Spatial Audio, the XIO is engineered to turn flat-panel TV sound into full-scale immersive playback.
Seems like only five years ago we were celebrating Jaws’ 45th anniversary, and now it’s officially golden. Yes, we’re still talking about Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Peter Benchley’s novel half a century later, simply because it’s that good: It still thrills. It still scares. It still makes us laugh. OG fans re-watch it and generations of first-timers are newly enthralled.
Summertime, and the listening’s easy . . . or something like that. Well, what better way to avoid the unrelenting heat and/or the mugginess that’s hanging in the air than to head down to the cool, cool listening room and cue up some of the latest in vinyl reissuance excellence? Today’s purveyors of cool/hot sounds happen to be none other than a fairly universal favorite, Fleetwood Mac. (Yes, I suppose you could kinda do these listening sessions out near a pool or on a shaded beach somewhere as well, but work with me here, ok?)