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Best- Great stuff - tested and approved in our top-secret labs.
DVD PLAYERS
First Class:
Pioneer Elite DV-09
DVD players let you relax with a crystal-clear version of Brazil or dig deep into extras that don't come on tape. Pioneer's DV-09 follows the connoisseur path with fanatical precision and Russian-tank shielding. A 4.5-mm-thick case of copper-lined steel blocks static from nearby hair dryers, while copper partitions inside eliminate cross talk among subcomponents. A video circuit wipes out discrepancies on imperfectly mastered discs, while audio signal processors expand the player's frequency range up to 50 kHz. The THX-certified sound outputs digitally from optical or coaxial ports. Or you can use the analog stereo jacks.
Elite DV-09: $2,200. Pioneer: (800) 421 1404, www.pioneerelectronics.com.
Business Class:
Panasonic DVD-RV80
Panasonic's picture-perfect player reduces read errors by oversampling the source at 4X and then running it through a noise-reduction process to further improve clarity. The slim DVD-RV80 surpasses even the Pioneer in output possibilities - along with optical, coax, and stereo, it furnishes 5.1-channel analog outs to feed older surround-audio receivers that lack digital inputs.
DVD-RV80: $499.95. Panasonic: (800) 211 7262, www.panasonic.com.
Coach:
Apex Digital AD-600A
Like its brethren above, the best-selling Apex AD-600A plays DVD, video CD, and CD audio. It also handles MP3 CDs and offers twin microphone inputs and voice-suppression for karaoke. Older machines have a "secret" menu that overrides region codes and copy-protection schemes (see www.nerd-out.com), so it's worth checking on eBay if that's your priority. The AD-600A lacks optical audio outs, but it does have a coax digital jack.
AD-600A: $169. Apex Digital: +1 (909) 930 1239, www.apexdigitalinc.com.
COLOR LASER PRINTERS
First Class:
HP Color LaserJet 8550 MFP Printer
Inkjets can't be beat when it comes to reproducing photos, but laser printers work faster and deliver sharper-looking block graphics and text - so they're ideal for charts, reports, and other business uses. HP's big-gun 8550 MFP prints two-sided tabloid-sized pages at 600 dpi, and it shoots out letter-sized ones at 24 ppm monochrome and 6 ppm color. An integrated scanner lets the multifunction workhorse copy as well as print, and the unit's price includes setup by a technician - not a trivial task.
Color LaserJet 8550 MFP Printer: $11,528. Hewlett-Packard: (800) 527 3753, www.hp.com.
Business Class:
Xerox Tektronix Phaser 750DX
This printer can't churn out tabloid pages, but it works beautifully for legal size and smaller paper. The Phaser produces 1,200-dpi prints that are as sharp and detailed as any laser's - and they come out at a brisk 16 ppm monochrome, 4 ppm color, on both sides of the page. In addition, the 750DX sets up quickly and easily, more so than any of its competitors.
Tektronix Phaser 750DX: $4,095. Xerox: (877) 362 6567, www.xerox.com/officeprinting.
Coach:
Minolta-QMS magicolor 2 DeskLaser
Per page, toner costs less than ink. So if you print a lot, the magicolor 2 DeskLaser is the economical alternative to an inkjet - even before you factor in the time-is-money savings of more pages per minute. The 600-dpi printer matches the Phaser's ppm speeds, although its print quality certainly isn't as good. This popular, budget-priced model may be nearing the end of its product life cycle; if so, Minolta promises a worthy successor.
magicolor 2 DeskLaser: $1,499. Minolta-QMS: (800) 523 2696, www.minolta-qms.com.
LONG-LIFE LIGHTBULBS
First Class:
Holly Solar AC-36
The eternal symbol for good ideas, the lightbulb continues to evolve. Edison's screw-in base hasn't changed, but newer technologies inside the bulb outshine the old tungsten filaments. Holly Solar's Methuselah uses 36 white LEDs, made of blue-ultraviolet indium-gallium-nitride emitters and the same phosphors used in fluorescents. Together, they turn 3.3 watts into nearly 700 lumens of light - comparable to a 40-watt incandescent. And with a lifespan of 100,000 hours, the sturdy, coldproof bulb lasts 100 times longer. Its bluish light will illuminate your house numbers for the next decade.
AC-36: $190. Holly Solar: +1 (707) 763 6173, www.hollysolar.com.
Business Class:
GE Genura EL23/R25/WW
Fluorescent lights die because their electrodes burn out, even though gas and phosphors remain. The Genura excites its mercury vapor with an electromagnetic field rather than directly applied electrodes, so it's less efficient but lasts longer: A 23-watt Genura puts out 880 lumens for 15,000 hours, then gradually dims as the phosphors deteriorate. It's just the thing for those hard-to-reach track lights.
GE Genura EL23/R25/WW: $40. Available from Topbulb.com: (800) 867 2852, www.topbulb.com.
Coach:
TCP SpringLamp 10123
The fluorescent tube was reborn in the late '80s as the compact fluorescent (CF) bulb: still efficient and long-lasting, but with a warmer glow and no flickering. However, as with the old tubes, you couldn't dim CF bulbs - and this ruined any mood-lighting potential. TCP's 23-watt SpringLamp solves this problem: The romance-ready luminary puts out 300 to 1,500 lumens, and it lasts for 10,000 hours.
SpringLamp 10123: $29.98. TCP: (800) 324 1496, www.springlamp.com.
