New Products - Feb. 2002

Marantz With its silver finish and flat, brushed-aluminum faceplates, the Marantz Duetto stereo music system has an elegantly futuristic look. Both the SR110 two-channel receiver (top) and the CD110 CD player measure 8 1/4 x 3 x 12 2/8 inches and have drop-down covers over their front-panel controls. The receiver, rated to deliver 25 watts per channel into 8 ohms features proprietary virtual surround sound processing and has 30 AM/FM station presets. The CD player can output data at 2x speed for synchronized dubbing on compatible Marantz CD recorders. It can play CD-Rs, CD-RWs, and discs with MP3 files and has two coaxial and two optical digital outputs. Though designed to complement each other, the components are available separately for $380 each. www.marantz.com, 630-741-0300

Mirage The newest member of Mirage's OM speaker clan is the OM-9, a floor-standing, two-way model using four drivers in the proprietary Omnipolar array. Its radiation pattern is similar to a bipolar speaker, but the shallow enclosure shortens the distance between the front and back drivers, which is said to improve off-axis response. With two 1-inch titanium tweeters and two 61/2-inch woofers, the OM-9 has a frequency response rated as 38 Hz to 20 kHz ±3 dB and a sensitivity of 90 dB. It measures 11 5/8 x 43 3/4 x 12 1/8 inches and weighs 55 pounds. Prices: $1,300 a pair in cherry veneer; $1,400 in high-gloss black. www.miragespeakers.com, 416-321-1800

SIM2 Sèleco Bring your dreams of huge high-definition TV and DVD video images into reality with SIM2 Sèleco's HT 300 Grand Cinema projector. Using Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology, the projector creates images with resolutions of up to 1,280 x 720 pixels, native for 720p-format HDTV signals. Its rated contrast ratio is 1,000:1, and a built-in scaler with 2:3 pulldown is said to clear up motion artifacts while compensating for differences in film and video frame rates. A six-segment color wheel helps reduce color-separation artifacts. The projector accepts component-, composite-, and S-video, VGA, and RGB+H/V input signals. Price: $14,995. www.sim2selecousa.com, 954-442-2999

Samsung With a download speed of up to 7 megabits per second, Samsung's Yepp-30S MP3 player can fill up its 64 megabytes (MB) of built-in memory in less time than it takes to find and play a song. Music files are transferred through its USB port, and song titles and artist names are shown on the LCD screen. The player measures 1 3/4 x 2 1/2 x 5/8 inch and weighs 2 ounces. It also features a voice recorder, a four-preset graphic equalizer, and a bass boost. Rio-Port Audio Manager software for ripping CDs and downloading online music is supplied along with a neck strap, a belt clip, and an arm strap. Price: $170. www.samsung.com, 800-726-7864


ARTICLE CONTENTS

X