Great Gear Sites

Audiophile and Videophile Havens

Geek out on TV: If you're feeling alone in your single-minded obsession with TV and video, you'll find plenty of company on the AV Science Forum, where at any time you are likely to find at least a thousand other fanatics browsing and posting to more than 40 discussion groups. You say that you're interested in projectors? Great, but can you be more specific? The site has 4 groups on the topic--1 dedicated just to screens. It also has groups for flat-panel, rear-projection, and tube televisions. Don't be surprised if your post garners a response from a professional installer or an engineer. Despite many members' high level of expertise, they are generally happy to answer basic questions. RSS feeds should be available by the time you read this.

Blab about audio: If you're especially crazy about sound, check yourself into the Audio Asylum. This wildly active community, operated by a self-proclaimed "small volunteer group of audio lunatics," offers more than 50 discussion groups. One downside: The site's 1990s-style interface looks as retro as a vacuum tube amplifier. Or you can 12-step over to Audioholics, a support group that delivers plentiful product reviews (many of them written by engineers), news articles, and editorials, as well as excellent background articles on such topics as room acoustics and the meaning (or lack thereof) of product specifications. Also extremely handy, especially for newbies, are the buying guides that describe and recommend the best components for building sound systems in the $1000, $3000, $5000, or $12,000 range.

Get the dish on music: Once you've set up your system and are ready to play some tunes, read news and reviews at Pitchfork. The site provides daily updates on album release dates and concert tour schedules. And it's bursting with lively, opinionated reviews--like the one about Moby's latest album, Hotel, that states, "Songs tip off impending choruses like a bad poker player leaning back in his chair when he's got a big hand."

Explore high-def audio: More polite, but just as passionate, are the reviews of DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD discs offered at High Fidelity Review. The site's lengthy articles are replete with such gems of information as the history of the artist's original recording, or the technical merits of the new disc in question. The site also posts news about new recordings, technical issues, and insider talk on the high-definition-audio industry. When you are ready to buy, head over to CD Universe to discover good deals on DVD-A and SACD discs, plus a wide selection of DVD video, CD audio, and computer game titles.