Whenever I post something on Facebook about Blu-ray players or CD players, guaranteed somebody will reply:’ Do people still buy these?’ While obviously nowhere near in the same amounts as say 15 years ago, the answer is still ‘yes’. Despite the convenience of streaming and the romance of vinyl, the truth is: CDs are still an excellent music format. 

At the Rapallo home, Spotify Premium gets a lot of use for all sorts of reasons (the presence of young people not being the least of it). But we’ve also got hundreds of CDs in the cupboard, and we’re not getting rid of them. After all, the humble CD player still offers high-quality audio that trumps a lot of the streaming services out there.

This is the story of three shades of black: grey, white and black or the intriguing story of projection screen fabric.

One of the holy grails in projection is how black the “colour” black can be. As we are projecting light on a white surface, and the light is then reflected on our retina, black can never be really black. Black is an absence of light reflected on a white surface, so black becomes….dark grey, sort of. Unless, of course, you change the projection screen fabric colour from white to….black (or grey)!

At Rapallo, we have been supplying projection screens for over a decade and we have had a great relationship with our supplier. So when they sent us their new grey acoustic transparent projection fabric, we jumped at the opportunity to test it and see what the difference was. The results are interesting, to say the least.

On the back of a blog we wrote a few months ago about multi-room audio, we got the following question: Is there such a thing as multi-room video? You may scratch your head when you hear the term “Multiroom video” and think…what the heck is that? 

At Rapallo, we regularly receive inquiries from customers who would love to have the ability to share a few video sources such as their Sky box, Apple TV and Blu-ray player in different rooms. It’s a great way to save time and money. And you guessed it, depending on your situation there are a few solution to choose from. It can really be as sophisticated or as simple as you want it to be.  

Which brings us to the question: How do you go about creating a multi-room video system?

If you’ve never installed a projector or screen before, the process can be quite intimidating and maybe even confusing. The general idea is simple, and you probably already have a good idea of where you want each piece to go, but the specifics are unclear. Which is mounted first, the screen or the projector? How far back should the projector be from the screen? How high should the screen be? How do you fine tune the projector’s position to fill the entire screen? This guide answers all of those questions, and hopefully any others you have about how to mount a projector and screen as well.This guide answers all of those questions, and hopefully any others you have about how to mount a projector and screen as well.

We have some introducing to do. 

In the weeks before Christmas, Rapallo saw a small flood of new products that landed in the Rapallo showroom. 

But… the new ELAC Vela speakers kind went under the radar a little bit. I don’t know what it is with European brands (UK brands being the exception), but they are rather complacent when it comes to marketing. Every single one being outstanding products, there seems to be some assumption that quality will sell itself. The result is that on this side of the world at the very least, these very same high-quality products remain unnoticed. And that should absolutely not be the case. 

Time to change this, we say. 

Just like soundbars, satellite speakers often get frowned upon by the audiophiles and AV enthousiasts. The problem they are referring to is the limited mid and lower range they are typically able to provide because of the small speaker cabinets.
But satellite speakers do have a place in certain situations. We highly recommend them as a first step in the process of building full blown home theatre set-up without compromise. What’s more, sound quality has improved a lot over the years. And we haven’t even started talking about some of the cool designs out there.
The trick is to know what to look out for and you may be very pleasantly surprised about what some of these little satellite speakers are capable of

One of the most popular blogs on the Rapallo site is the one about projector technology.

A lot of noise is made about the rise, development, benefit and cost of 4K projector technology. But projector bulb technology (LED, Laser and traditional lamps) and display technology are the bones of a home theatre projector and should not be forgotten in making a choice for your new home theatre projector.

Once you start digging, acronyms start flying: DLP, 3LCD, LCoS. Different technologies have implications on performance, common issues and cost, so it’s time to dust off the whole LCD vs DLP vs LCoS argument.

It’s come to our attention how turntables are no longer a marginal option in a home entertainment set-up. More and more people from all ages and walks of life recognise the joy of having a turntable in a much more casual manner. Where say only a year ago, we would have people pop into our store only every so often asking about a turntable. Now, it happens constantly and it’s no longer a thing solely reserved for the discerning active listening audiophile. 

It’s not a digital vs. vinyl choice either. People choose to have both. Yep, both. Because beyond the whole ‘warmer sound’ debate, vinyl is an experience.  

Ah, the romance….

Us Kiwi’s do outdoor entertaining like nobody else. We love spending time outdoors; whether it’s pottering in the garden, reading on the patio, or firing up the BBQ with a bunch of friends, outdoor speakers make total sense with our outdoor Kiwi lifestyle. After all, the fun shouldn’t stop at the back door. 

Outdoor entertainment is a bit of art on its own (I mean, there are no walls to start withJ), but just like with any AV set-up, planning is the word if you want to do a half decent job. 

Last week, we got asked the following question: ’Do audio cables go bad?’

Now you may find the answer to that question a very obvious one, fact is that when you type in this exact question in Google, it comes up with quite a long list of exact this question on forums. 

Clearly, it’s on a fair amount of peoples mind. And it is a question that actually has a short plain-and-simple-answer AND a long there-is-more-to-the story-answer. 

So let’s get cracking.