LATEST ADDITIONS

CEDIA 2014
Paradigm Has Two New Stories to Tell
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 11, 2014
Paradigm introduced two new speaker lines, one for the home theatrically inclined, one for two-channel. The Millennia LP XL on-wall speaker ($699/each) handled the front channels with the LP 2 ($499/each) handling the surrounds. The whole system, but especially the dual Monitor SUB 10s, benefitted from Paradigm's homegrown ARC room correction in the MRX 710 receiver. The climactic scene of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit sounded as if it were playing through a much larger speaker system. Then we got an earful of the new Prestige line, which includes three towers and a monitor. The tower playing was the Prestige 85 F tower ($3999/pair and up depending on finish). This 2.5-way model's PPA tweeter uses a phase aligned lens that improves not only phase but output. While the k.d. lang and Boz Scaggs tracks sounded pretty upfront in the upper midrange, they also had a delicious lower midrange richness, underpinned by tight but extended bass. Both series are worth a demo if you have the chance. Incidentally, Paradigm continues to manufacture in North America, in Mississauga, Ontario.
CES 2014
GoldenEar Does Atmos
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 11, 2014
Dolby Atmos, a new object-oriented surround standard, was perhaps the biggest audio story at CEDIA, with speaker and receiver makers both unveiling Atmos enabled products. At GoldenEar Technology that was the HTR 7000 ceiling speaker ($500/each), which angles sound at the downward angle recommended by Dolby. There were four of them running along with GoldenEar's world-beating Triton One tower in front, SuperCenter XL, and smaller Triton Two in the rear, powered by a combination of Pass and NAD amps fed by an Integra pre-pro. One of the cool things about Atmos is that the ceiling speakers are fed with genuine spatial information specified by the mixer, as opposed to fake height channels derived from other channels. Combined with GoldenEar's signature folded ribbon tweeter, this made for strong height effects, which were especially striking in the Dolby demo material. A scene from Transformers: Age of Extinction showed off the system's dynamic prowess, including the folded ribbon tweeters' ability to remain coherent at high volumes.
CEDIA 2014
The House of HEOS
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2014
HEOS is Denon’s answer to the question, “Who on the planet can come up with a wireless, streaming music system that’s even close to sounding as good and being as easy to use as the ever-popular Sonos system?” The much-anticipated system, officially called HEOS by Denon, is being introduced at CEDIA EXPO 2014.

The HEOS system currently consists of...

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CEDIA 2014
Dolby Atmos Takes Center Stage
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 11, 2014
Left to right: AVS Forum’s Scott Wilkinson moderated a panel discussion with Greg Russell, re-recording mixer who worked on Transformers: Age of Extinction, Onkyo’s Paul Wasek, Jeff Cowan of Denon/Marantz, Pioneer’s Andrew Jones, Definitive Technology’s Joel Sietsema, and Dolby’s Brett Crockett.

At a pre-show press conference, Dolby rallied the AV/home entertainment industry around the new Dolby Atmos surround-sound platform, calling it the most significant advancement in home theater in 20 years.

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CEDIA 2014
Rachio Waters the Lawn with Wi-Fi
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2014
When it comes to gardening, some people have a green thumb. Others say they have a brown thumb. In my case, I happen to possess one of the few thumbs covered in sand and tumbleweeds. It’s not that I hate plants. (Although, it seems, plants evidently hate me…) I simply can’t remember to take care of them. It’s always weeks after plants at my home have turned to petrified wood when the thought finally pops into my head that I ought to give them some water. Lawn care is similarly problematic for me. Fortunately, Rachio is a new company that offers an alternative to brown lawns and dead gardens.

The Rachio Smart Irrigation Controller is a DIY sprinkler controller that...

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CEDIA 2014
LG Gives Ultra HD New Meaning
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 11, 2014
LG launched a wide range of new TVs at a press event on the first full day of the show but the eye-catcher was a 105-inch curved, Ultra HD, LCD/LED set with a 21:9 aspect ratio. The company also showed a flat 98-inch 16:9 Ultra HD LCD/LED model. At $100,000 (OK, it’s actually $99,999.99) for the 105-incher and $40,000 for the 98-incher, they’re not exactly impulse purchases.

But both use IPS panels for better off-axis performance, have full array backlit local dimming, and incorporate 7.1-channel audio systems designed in cooperation with Harman Kardon.

CEDIA 2014
LG Announces New OLED/Ultra HD TVs
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 11, 2014
Bolstering its dedication to OLED, LG announced two new models, both with Ultra HD resolution and both curved, at 77-inches (available in November at $25,000) and 65-inches (October, at $9,999). The company will also be bringing out a wide selection of new LCD/LED Ultra HD models from 40 inches to 65 inches, with the price for the largest model topping out at $3,500.
CEDIA 2014
OmniMount Keeps Full Motion Flat
John Sciacca  |  Sep 11, 2014
People like the idea of having a full motion, articulating arm flat panel TV wall mount but they generally avoid buying them for two big reasons: 1) They stick off the wall too far and look ugly when the TV is pushed back “flat” against the wall and 2) They are too stiff and hard to move. OmniMount’s new OE120IW recessed in-wall mount system solves both of these issues.

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CEDIA 2014
DarbeeVision’s Darblet Gets a Big Brother
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 11, 2014  |  First Published: Sep 10, 2014
DarbeeVision introduced a follow-up to its popular Darblet video enhancer at a Media Preview gathering on the eve of the CEDIA Expo 2014.

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CEDIA 2014
Steinway Lyngdorf Announces Super Surround Processor
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 10, 2014
Steinway Lyngdorf, the Danish company that teamed with Steinway & Sons in 2005 to design, develop, and manufacture fine audio gear, offered a sneak peek of the P200 “three-dimensional surround sound processor” it plans to start selling in early 2015 for $18,000. (No, that’s not a typo.)

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