Audio Video News

<A HREF="http://www.dts.com">Digital Theater Systems Inc</A> hopes to get a financial boost through an initial public offering of stock to take place later this year.

Lowell/Edwards
It's pretty. It's functional. It's Lowell/Edwards' Asymmetric Wall Unit. This elegant unit manages an entire A/V system. The central section is a matte-black-lacquered cabinet that houses all of your components, and you can add drawers to the 36-inch-high granite countertop to hold remotes, software, or whatever you like. The right section of the unit features a platform that can accommodate up to a 32-inch-diagonal display and swivels 180 degrees. Other nice perks are handsome display shelves, cherry-veneer pocket doors that open to reveal a dry bar, and space for three small monitors to suspend from the lower of the two horizontal top panels. This simply beautiful wall unit retails for $12,500.
Lowell/Edwards
(212) 980-2862
www.lowelledwards.com

Pink Floyd—The Dark Side of the Moon (SACD, EMI Records)
I can't think of many rock bands that are a better fit for the multichannel treatment than Pink Floyd. In addition to their music's many other pioneering aspects, toying with dimensions and perspective has never been something that the band was afraid to do. While it must've been a great temptation to incorporate sonic gymnastics of every kind into this material, the SACD's 5.1 mix has enough presence to make it interesting but enough subtlety to keep it legitimate. You get your experimentation, but it's rarely distracting or overpowering.

By December of this year, home-theater-in-a-box systems may be able to record television programs, archive digital videotape on recordable DVDs, and perform other technical feats now possible only with megabuck gear.

In these days of DLP, is there room for any other projector technology? Thomas J. Norton sets out to find the answer as he reviews the <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/showarchives.cgi?109">Sony VPL-VW12HT LCD video projector</A>. As TJN discovers, there may be life yet in the LCD, especially when combined with a FireHawk screen.

Atlantic Technology
The motto may already be taken, but we think Atlantic Technology ought to steal "Have it your way" from a certain fast-food chain. The THX Ultra 2–certified System 8200 is all about customization. This modular speaker system includes the 8200 LR three-way front speaker, the 8200 C three-way center channel, the 8200 SR bipole/dipole surround speaker, and the 8200 PedWoofer, a 12-inch subwoofer that's powered by the external SA 8200 amp. You can mate the 8200 LR with the 8200 PedWoofer to create a powered tower. Or, if you just want the look of tower speakers, you can get an empty pedestal to place under the 8200 LR or 8200 SR. Every piece is finished in Atlantic Tech's duraBlac speckled lacquer finish, and you can choose from accent-panel kits in high-gloss black lacquer, natural maple, oiled cherry, natural mahogany, or unfinished MDF that you can finish any way you please. Depending on the options you choose, the System 8200 can cost anywhere from $6,000 to $18,000.
Atlantic Technology
(781) 762-6300
www.atlantictechnology.com