LATEST ADDITIONS

I was looking at Directv's new MPEG4 DVR. The pipedream now has innards and according to the map they had posted, Hartford and my zip code are eligible to get the box! What a perfect last visit for me. I'll be ordering this as soon as I can, but I hear there's about a four to six week wait to get them. I had other questions.

BG's in-wall ribbon speakers are very impressive (and expensive so they should be), but this stunt took real guts. Apparently, the wine goblets were in less danger from their subwoofer than from passing visitors who already took it down once.

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.

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.