LATEST ADDITIONS

Look! Up in the Sky, It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a UIW RCS II Reference!
Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 16, 2006  |  0 comments

Definitive Technology had some really intelligently designed and great sounding in-ceiling speakers in their room. Most in ceiling speakers we've seen are appropriate for the shoe department Muzak at Macy's, but I wouldn't let them near the home theater. Sandy Gross of Definitive puts a whole can and a half of whump-ass in these babies. I blew up a picture of the speaker and put it in the bottom right of the photo for you to get an idea. The baffles are angled, looking like what the roof looks like in the attic. Two woofers and a tweeter are angled down and towards the back of the room, while on the other other side of the "roof" you'll find two passive radiators. I was tremendously impressed by the timbre and solidness of the midrange and upper frequencies. Sandy also used some in wall subwoofers to round up the bass. I actually thought the bass was a little on the high side, but I guess that shuts up anyone who is worried that a 4" deep subwoofer can't keep up with the action.

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Against All Odds
Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 16, 2006  |  0 comments

Conducting an audio demonstration on the open show floor is usually only done for the wow factor. As in "Wow, that's loud. Would you mind turning it down or putting air shocks on it so you could drive it out of here?" The Lipinskis (Lukas' dad Andrew was in town too) had five of their 707 speakers setup in as workmanlike a fashion as you might expect given their surroundings. Without missing a beat, Lukas asked me to sit down. Even given the ambient noise, the five channel Manhattan Transfer recording he played for me was impressive. The true timbre of the speakers could still easily be heard through the surrounding ruckus. Lukas said that, noise aside, the open show floor is otherwise preferable to most of the hotel rooms he gets at other shows.

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Would You Like Ice With That?
Steven Stone  |  Sep 16, 2006  |  0 comments

Maine is know for occasionally hostile weather, so it should come as no surprise that a company based in Maine should develop an all-weather speaker designed to handle even the most extreme conditions. Terra speakers "All Climate" models use a molded one-piece enclosure, cast aluminum mid/bass driver baskets, titanium dome tweeters, and a spiderless magnetic fluid centering system for their bass drivers. Available in a variety of colors, they have a sound that is both well grounded and liquid. Priced around $330 each, the Terra AV series will make any ground squirrel stop and take notice.

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Sharp One Bit Audio System2
Steven Stone  |  Sep 16, 2006  |  1 comments

Without fail, every CEDIA show Sharp tempts me with a 1-bit audio system. This year's installment has the catchy designation of BD/MPC10. With a Blue Ray player, 1-bit digital amplifier, speakers that look like high-tech ashtrays, and built-in Odyssey room correction system it looked and sounded very moderne. Price, delivery date, and final specifications are all TBA, naturally

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Viva Las Vegas
Steven Stone  |  Sep 16, 2006  |  0 comments

Although exhibits at THE SHOW were primarily an example of how out of touch some high-end audio manufacturers are with reality, Magnepan's Wendell Diller demonstrated that given a deadline with a wad of money at the end a fertile mind can find a way to solve a technical problem. True dipole ribbon speakers don't lend themselves to in-wall placement, but when the owner of a large and well-heeled casino chose Magnepans for their high-roller suites Diller devised a way. He automated his panels so when the video display is turned on the panels swing away from the wall, ready for action. With an adjustable angle and automatic reset if bumped, these Maggies are ready to deliver more sparkle than a trough full of slot machine quarters

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The Cow as Metaphor
Steven Stone  |  Sep 16, 2006  |  0 comments

See the cow. Is it half here or half gone? Just like true high definition home theater, depends on how you look at it. 2006 CEDIA opened the flood gates on 1080P display devices, be they projectors, plasmas, or LCD flat panel displays, but the format war between Blue Ray and DVD/HD drags on with not clear winners, only losers – the consumer. Will the situation be better by Winter CES? Most likely, not. Perhaps by 2007 CEDIA the format debacle will be past and we will all be happily watching 1080P source material on 1080P displays, but I fear we will still be stuck with only half a cow.

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12-feet Of 1080p Love With SIM2
Shane Buettner  |  Sep 16, 2006  |  0 comments

On Saturday afternoon I made it to an off-site hotel suite to get a sneak peak at prototypes of two of SIM2’s new 1080p DLP projectors with Greg Nicoloso of SIM2 and .Gordeon Sell PR’s Raney Nelson. Fired up at the suite were a Domino single-chip 1080p DLP targeted to sell at around $10K in November, and the HT5000 ($50K, available in November), which is the big dog, three-chip 1080p DLP with an eye-searing 4000-lumen rated light output.

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What Goes On Behind Closed Doors?
Shane Buettner  |  Sep 16, 2006  |  0 comments

Interviews are what go on behind closed doors at JVC, and demos for Shane are not. After getting the download on JVC’s demo of a new $7K D-ILA front projector, compared side by side with Sony’s highly regarded Ruby $10K SXRD projector, I motored right over to see the shootout only to be turned away at the door. Someone from JVC was being interviewed I was told, and could I wait outside just a few minutes.

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Optoma Goes Anamorphic
Tom Norton  |  Sep 16, 2006  |  2 comments

Optoma was producing a terrific picture on a big screen (estimated at about 12-feet wide) using an add-on Schneider anamorphic lens on the company's new HD81 1080p single-chip DLP projector. The projector goes for $7000, the lens is a $4000 option (lens available in November)

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Optoma Stitches it Together
Tom Norton  |  Sep 16, 2006  |  0 comments

Optoma took two of their pro projectors and electronically stitched together this widescreen image. The seam is barely visible here, but a bit more visible in the flesh. Engineers playing games. The image was much sharper than this available light image suggests.

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