MartinLogan’s newest loudspeakers have us questioning the old adage about getting what you pay for

The sad fact of the matter is that most readers of Home Entertainment will take one look at the prices of MartinLogan’s new Motion Series loudspeakers and never even consider auditioning them. That’s a curious thing to say, perhaps, in a publication that has reviewed and enthusiastically endorsed speaker systems with stickers comparable to a Porsche 911 Carrera 4, but without the installment plans or leasing options.

Brèagha ceòl: Linn's new Majik DS-I combines the best bits of their digital player, preamp and digital amplification, all squeezed into one package.

To be honest, I think Linn is an odd company.

Looking at their product lines, you have to wonder if they lack a decent spell-check or are just lifting names straight out of the Ikea catalog.

Sure it's cool and trendy, but what can the iPad do for the A/V Enthusiast? Well, quite a lot it turns out.

Somewhere after the time the fanboy lines abate and before it cures cancer or something, the iPad turns out to be a ridiculously useful device for the ePerson.

The Pass Laboratories INT-30A integrated amplifier doesn't do much, and that's what makes it great!

I've probably reviewed well over a hundred amplifiers, but I can't say I've ever really heard one. I'm always listening to an amplifier driving a speaker, so the sound is really the combination of the two.

I'm pretty sure Nelson Pass has not only listened to more amps and speakers than I have, he's designed more than a few of my favorite high-end amps.

Digital Audio
Analog Sound

Everyone has music on their computer.

The question though, is what’s the best way to get it from there to your ears?

We take a look at how it all works and poke at three DACs vying for your attention while we're at it.

Don't let the size fool you

Wadia is the maker of one of my favorite products of the past few years: the 170iTransport, the only digital iPod dock.

It was clearly a success for them, as the 151PowerDAC mini was designed to match up with the 170, with a nearly identical form factor.

Wireless DAC

The AirStream is an interesting product.

It's a wireless DAC, nothing more, but in its standard setup the way it goes about it is rather quirky.

10 Best winner, scaled down and spruced up

The 300D is, for the most part, the DAC portion of the 10 Best Award winning MOON i3.3 Integrated Amp.

Zu Audio's Essence speaker breaks almost every high-end design rule and sounds all the better for it!

A great speaker should make you feel like you're there, with the music. That's the idea, but it almost never happens, even with some of the very best speakers money can buy.

They can sound great, but they rarely sound like the real thing.

World Cuppage

This morning ESPN 3Dⁱ broadcast their first real program, the opening match of the 2010 World Cup, a game between South Africa and Mexico.

Using a new Panasonic VT25 series plasma, I take a look at this next generation of television.