New Products - Oct. 2001

Marantz

Just add speakers and a DVD player for 6.1-channel surround sound: Marantz's SR7200 receiver can decode Dolby Digital Surround EX and DTS-ES (both Matrix and Discrete) soundtracks, as well as 5.1-channel Dolby Digital and DTS, and deliver a rated 105 watts (into 8 ohms) to six speakers. It can also give your old recordings a new sound with a 6.1-Channel Stereo mode and with Dolby Pro Logic II, which creates 5.1-channel audio from two- and four-channel source material. A six-channel analog input accommodates a Super Audio CD or DVD-Audio player. There are two component-, four composite-, and four S-video inputs, plus two coaxial and three optical digital audio inputs. A full-function learning remote is supplied. Price: $850. 630-741-0300, www.marantz.com

B & W

Move over, Nautilus - there's a new flagship at B&W, and it's the Signature 800. But since it stands 47 inches tall and weighs 275 pounds, "dreadnought" might be a more appropriate term. The vented enclosure houses two 10-inch paper/Kevlar woofers. A sphere embedded in the top of the cabinet holds a 6-inch Kevlar midrange driver, while the tapered enclosure of a 1-inch metal-dome Nautilus tweeter sits at the summit. Its rated frequency response is 37 Hz to 23 kHz ±2 dB, sensitivity 91 dB. A cast-aluminum plinth serves as the cabinet base and houses the crossover network. The finish is gray tiger's-eye wood veneer with black leather trim. Price: $20,000 a pair. 800-370-3740, www.bwspeakers.com

Zenith

The MP360 portable MP3 player from Zenith starts you off with two 32-megabyte SmartMedia cards, each of which can store about half an hour of music at the de facto MP3 standard of 128 kilobits per second. Files are swapped via its built-in USB port, and the player measures only 3 x 3 x 5/8 inch and weighs 3 ounces. Accessories abound: earphones, a wired remote control, a rechargeable battery, and a battery charger are all included. One charge is said to last 4 1/2 hours. Price: $230. 847-391-7000, www.zenith.com


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