Tom Norton

NAD Flagship
Tom Norton  |  Sep 07, 2007  |  0 comments

At $3000, the new T785 is a new high in price for an NAD AV receiver. But it's loaded with features, including 7x120 conservatively rated watts, 4 HDMI 1.3 inputs, the Audyssey MultiEQ XT room correction system, and multichannel audio (PCM) over HDMI (but no on-board decoding for Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD Master Audio.

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Aviamo
Tom Norton  |  Sep 07, 2007  |  0 comments

I think Aviamo in Italian must mean "expensive," if it means anything at all. At $18,000 this 65" 1080p Fujitsu plasma looked great, but it faces stiff competition for a lot less money. And we thought that the new 60" Pioneer Elite was steep at $7500.

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Penultimate Yamaha
Tom Norton  |  Sep 07, 2007  |  0 comments

Yamaha's flagship may be the new RX-Z11, but it hasn't forgotten about those of us who like our AV receivers to be more or less affordable. Case in point, the new RX-V3800 at $1799. Offering 140Wpc x 7, it also has HDMI 1.3a with Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio decoding, iPod compatibility network connectivity via an Ethernet port, and Yamaha's traditional two front "presence" channels. There's also on-board video scaling up to 1080p.

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Featuring Integra
Tom Norton  |  Sep 07, 2007  |  3 comments

Integra has a range of new AV receivers, but its most interesting introduction is probably the $1600 DTC-9.8 pre-pro. A quick look suggests that it features the same bells and whistles as the company's flagship THX Ultra2 flagship receiver, minus only amplifiers. There's also a matching amplifier, the DTA-9.4, at $3000.

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Integra Features
Tom Norton  |  Sep 07, 2007  |  0 comments

The display card outlines the features of the Integra DTC-9.8. The unit has two HDMI <I>outputs</I>, but they both cannot be used at the same time because there is only a single video processing chip.

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Integra Around back
Tom Norton  |  Sep 07, 2007  |  0 comments

Looking back on the Integra DTC-9.8 pre-pro.

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Integra Inside
Tom Norton  |  Sep 07, 2007  |  0 comments

Here's the inside scoop on the Integra DTC-9.8 pre-pro.

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Small But SUBstantial
Tom Norton  |  Sep 07, 2007  |  0 comments

In addition to its new Synchrony line of full range speakers, PSB has two new, compact subwoofers, the SubSeries HD8 and HD10. The smaller HD8 measures less than a foot in any dimension and weighs a scant 30 lbs. It's shown here next to the Synchrony One tower, the top of the Synchrony range.

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UnWired
Tom Norton  |  Sep 07, 2007  |  0 comments

Infinity will please the custom install crowd, as well as consumers who are constantly repositioning their subwoofers in search of that perfect location, with the first wireless subwoofer we've seen. No, it's not battery-powered, but the PS212W ($679) requires no signal link to the receiver or pre-pro. It incorporates a 400W amp and a 12" Metal Matrix Diaphragm driver.
The wireless banner tastefully emblazoned across the grille does not come standard.

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Samsung 1080p PJ
Tom Norton  |  Sep 06, 2007  |  Published: Sep 07, 2007  |  0 comments

Samsung's new SP-A800 1080p projector, (under $10,000, available Q4 2007), was being demonstrated by video expert Joe Kane, who was heavily involved with Samsung in its development. It exhibited technically flawless color, crisp but natural detail across the entire screen, outstanding optics (I didn't sit close enough to judge for color fringing, but Joe said that superior optics to eliminate this aberration were a key element in the design), and excellent brightness on a 10-foot screen (a new Stewart Studiotek 130) screen using that company's new, fine-trained screen finish optimized for 1080p projection. It also has an iris with Light, Middle, Deep, and Auto settings (no word on how or how well the Auto iris function works, and Joe used the Middle and Light settings for the demo).

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