LATEST ADDITIONS

CEDIA 2013
New Monitor Audio Silver Series Tower Speakers
Brent Butterworth  |  Sep 27, 2013

Monitor Audio's known for slim tower speakers, so the introduction of a new Silver Series line didn't surprise me much. But the prices did.

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CEDIA 2013
Elegant A/V Storage from Sanus
Al Griffin  |  Sep 27, 2013
The Sanus Trillium A/V console is a trend-driven design that the company hopes will appeal to buyers beyond the hardcore home-theaterphile. To that end, they’ve gone for a classic modernist look and an affordable price point: $799 for a 63-inch wide version and $599 for a 53-inch version. The larger console supports TVs up to 70 inches, while the smaller one holds up to 60-inch screens. Color options include Dark Cherry (shown here) and Walnut.
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CEDIA 2013
New BG Radia FS-880 Line Array Tower Speaker
Brent Butterworth  |  Sep 27, 2013

I've been digging BG Radia's big floorstanding ribbon speakers since way back when S&V's Al Griffin and I were running Home Theater magazine. (That's before anyone had ever heard of MP3.) But the company hadn't done any new tower speakers for years -- until the new FS-880, which the company demoed at the CEDIA Expo in Denver.

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CEDIA 2013
The Appropriately Named GoldenEar
Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 27, 2013
I had to stop in and listen to the $699/each GoldenEar Triton Seven speakers. They’re such an easy recommendation for somebody looking for instant audiophilia. Thanks Sandy, now back to work. . . .
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CEDIA 2013
KEF says: Mia KASA500 e sua KASA500
Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 27, 2013
KEF gets more diverse each year, which I suppose is a good idea. The Extreme Home Theater line of in wall speakers looks very promising, almost too good to hide. The Ci5160RL-THX has four 6-1/2” low frequency drivers and a Uni-Q based midrange and tweeter, and will probably retail between $2,500 and $3,000. In the picture you’re also seeing an in wall subwoofer, the Ci3160RLb-THX with three 6-1/2” bass drivers. To drive them, KEF will introduce the KASA500 stereo amplifier. In fact, that amp can be coupled to other KEF in wall subwoofers via its internal DSP. The estimated price target for this dual channel Class D amp is $1,000.
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CEDIA 2013
LG Adds Two Models to Ultra HDTV Lineup
Al Griffin  |  Sep 27, 2013
LG may not be at CEDIA proper, but they are definitely in Denver. The company held an off-site press event to debut a pair of new Ultra HDTVs. Its LA9650 Series arrives in 65- and 55-inch screen sizes, priced at $4,999 and $3,499 respectively. The addition of the pair brings LG’s total UHDTV count up to five, with the line still topped off by its 84-inch LM9600 ($18,000).
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CEDIA 2013
Yamaha Takes the Aventage
Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 27, 2013
The CX-A5000 is the new crowning jewel of the Aventage series introduced by Yamaha a few years ago. The 11 channels (not even counting the subs here folks) pre-pro uses Yamaha’s proprietary YPAO room correction software, four distinct zones and more ins and outs than the revolving doors in Washington D.C. The extra channels are a Yamaha trademark, you know the old, you bring a knife, I’ll bring a gun chestnut. But they are used to create front and rear “presence” channels which, if your room and budget allow, could make your movie experience all that much more intense.
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CEDIA 2013
Ripwave Media Streamer Does it All
Barb Gonzalez  |  Sep 27, 2013
Two-year old RipWave has come out with the ultimate media streaming machine. Not only can it rip your Blu-rays and DVDs to its hard drive, you can add a cable card or off-air antenna and use its hard drives as a DVR. It can also stream videos from most any video streaming website using the PlayOn server or stream to other devices using the Plex DLNA server.

Models names follow the surf theme. They are offering a dedicated movie player model, the Tsunami for $2000. The media player line can also play music and photos and includes the Stingray with 3 to 12 TB of storage, the Barracuda, and the Orca with 9 TB up to 30 TB of storage. The software menus are as impressive as the hardware features. Users can choose from a number of graphic menus from a carousel to a grid to extensive information about a movie that displays metadata from 7 different sources. The menu options make it one of the truly intuitive devices as each user can choose the view that is easiest for them to use.

The Ripwave is the best media server I've seen yet. Let's see if it performs as well as its first impression.

CEDIA 2013
CEDIA Fact of the Day
SV Staff  |  Sep 27, 2013
As part of its annual market research report, The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) asked systems integrators (a.k.a. custom AV installers) how they see the demand for 4K/Ultra HD TV sales shaping up over the next 12 months. Survey participants said they expect the new high-resolution sets to account for only 11 percent of their TV sales, suggesting the need for content to catch up. Is an Ultra HD TV in the cards for you?
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CEDIA 2013
Krell Debuts New Media Streamer for the Discerning Listener
Barb Gonzalez  |  Sep 27, 2013
Krell Industries, manufacturer of high-end audio components has added an audio streaming unit to their line. The Krell Connect can handle up to 24/192 decoding so it will stream uncompressed audio. It is available as a fully digital model for $2500 or with analog output for $3500. The analog version includes a resolution D/A converterr and can do up to 24/192 decoding. When connected to Krell's Foundation audio processor and pre-amp, digital music could sound better than you ever thought possible.

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