In Echo Park, southeast of Hollywood, the lit-hip tone set by iconic bohos like Charles Bukowski and John Fante, and later Tom Waits and Elliott Smith, endures.
So, while the Xbox 360 experience still has a few unique elements that can't be matched by the brand-new Echo -- the animated transitions are still something almost no other set-top box can do -- we found the overall experience more enjoyable than what we've become accustomed to recently.