New Products - Nov. 2001 Page 3

Paradigm

Giving you theater sound without theater-size speakers is the idea behind Paradigm's six-piece Cinema 90 system. Each front left/right and surround speaker measures just 4 1/2 x 7 1/8 x 6 inches and has a 4 1/2-inch woofer coupled with a 5/8-inch dome tweeter. The Cinema CC center speaker has the same drivers but adds a second woofer. The 10-inch, 100-watt PDR-10 subwoofer is rated down to 27 Hz -3 dB. Price: $936 (speakers also sold separately). 905-632-0180, www.paradigm.com

BDI

Finally got the plasma TV you've always wanted but reluctant to drill holes in your walls to hang it? With BDI's Callisto plasma-TV stand, you won't have to. Your slim plasma screen can hang on Callisto's height-adjustable plywood panel (up to 61 inches high), as long as it's 50 inches (diagonal) or smaller. Finished in a natural cherry veneer with steel supports, the stand also has a raised glass shelf to hold a center-channel speaker and a ventilated 53 1/4 x 8 1/2 x 25-inch shelf space for a couple of components. A wire-management system routes cables from the TV through the steel supports. Price: $1,795. 800-428-2881, www.bdiusa.com

Blaupunkt

MP3 is hardly passé, but a growing number of listeners are using other audio-compression schemes. Enter Blaupunkt's San Jose MP41, which claims to be the first in-dash receiver to play not only CDs with MP3 files but discs with Windows Media Audio (WMA) files, too. Search functions let you find songs on crowded discs quickly, and the front-panel display shows file and folder names. The MP41's amp is rated to deliver 50 watts to each of four channels, and it has preamp outputs as well. A credit-card-sized remote control is supplied. Price: $399. 800-950-2528, www.blaupunkt.com

Monsoon

Want desktop speakers but can't find any that aren't obtrusive? Don't get mad - get flat. Instead of cones and domes, Monsoon's MM-702 desktop speaker system uses planar-magnetic drivers for its two satellites, so they're a mere 1/2 inch deep. The skinny guys can stand on their own with the supplied adjustable stands, and they're accompanied by a 7 1/4 x 9 1/2 x 11-inch powered bass module. System bandwidth is rated as 50 Hz to 20 kHz. A remote volume-control "puck" and an AC adapter are supplied. Price: $149. 604-271-2237, www.monsoonaudio.com


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