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This Week in Music and Blu-rays: September 6, 2011
Brett Milano  |  Sep 06, 2011

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New Products
Roundup: IFA 2011
Michael Berk  |  Sep 06, 2011

The 2011 edition of the massive Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (that's "Berlin International Radio Show," or just "IFA" for those of us who don't speak German) comes to a close tomorrow, with an overwhelming number of products from some 1,400 exhibitors on display, from super-automatic espresso machines to soundbars. Our own Corinne Iozzio was there, and managed to get a look at some of the latest (and just plain weirdest) stuff on offer from the world of consumer electronics.

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CEDIA 2011
Atlantic Technology H-PAS PowerBar 235 Soundbar
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 06, 2011
When I first heard H-PAS (Hybrid Pressure Acceleration System) technology from Solus/Clements and Atlantic Technology at CEDIA two years ago, I was very impressed at the depth of bass produced by relatively small drivers in a specially ported cabinet. Since then, we've reviewed the AT-1 floorstanding speaker, which garnered a Top Pick designation. At CEDIA this week, Atlantic Technology will be demonstrating its new H-PAS PowerBar 235, a 2-channel, 42-inch soundbar that claims to reach down to 47Hz at -3dB with no subwoofer. Can't wait to hear it!
Tech2
CEA-2010: A Good Baseline for Bass?
Brent Butterworth  |  Sep 05, 2011

The way the audio industry has been measuring subwoofers for decades has turned out to be inadequate. But the new method they’ve come up with may be causing as much confusion as the old one.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Scarface
David Vaughn  |  Sep 04, 2011
Tony Montana (Al Pacino), a young Cuban immigrant, lands in Miami in search of the American dream. There he meets Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia), who mentors the young man on how to succeed in a life of crime, and Montana eventually becomes one of Miami's most feared drug kingpins. Staying at the top isn't easy, especially if you're mentally unstable, and when Montana neglects the two most important pieces of advice from Lopez, his empire begins to unravel and all that's left is his "little friend."

Written by Oliver Stone and directed by Brian De Palma, Scarface is a gritty tale filled with violence, foul language, and a fantastic performance by Pacino. That being said, this isn't one of my favorite gangster films. While I enjoy the mesmerizing cinematography, I find the screenplay to be a tad shallow, and at 170 minutes, it's much too long.

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Vote
What Are You Most Interested In From CEDIA?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 02, 2011
Right after Labor Day, the consumer-electronics industry converges on Indianapolis, Indiana, for the annual CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association) Expo, which focuses on high-end home theater and other custom-installation products. Of course, we'll be there to cover all the home-theater announcements, but I'd like to know which type of products you are most interested in learning about from the show.

As always, I encourage you to leave a comment with more details about your choice. What brands are you especially interested in? Are you thinking about hiring a custom installer, or are you a DIYer? If you picked "Other," what are you referring to? Let us know so we can provide exactly the coverage you crave.

Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.

What Are You Most Interested In From CEDIA?
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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Morel SoundSpot Music Theatre 2 Ultra Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 02, 2011

Performance
Value
Build Quality
Price: $2,199 At A Glance: Spherical steel sats and rounded fiberglass sub • Attractive aesthetics, high construction quality • Outstanding sound quality

Life is full of strange synchronicities. Around the time my friends in the country were posting pictures of their spring mushroom harvests on Facebook, I just happened to be setting up Morel’s SoundSpot Music Theatre 2 Ultra, a 5.1-channel satellite/subwoofer set based on the adorably spherical SP-2 sat and PSW10 sub. Would Morels in my system sound as good as morels taste on pizza? In omelets or pasta? With steak or veal? With asparagus? In wine or cream sauces? In gravy?

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New Products
KEF Rolls Out the R-Series
Michael Berk  |  Sep 02, 2011

Been lusting after a pair of KEF's cutting-edge (sorry!) Blade speakers, but don't happen to have $30,000 lying around idle? Well, those of you without Apple Computer–style cash reserves can now enjoy some of the Blade's design innovations at a much lower price point.

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Tech2
Spotify and MOG: Of Pirates, Truck Poo, and 99¢ Thank Yous
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Sep 02, 2011

"It's great, I never have to pay for music again!" Such was the exclamation from someone I know in regards to Spotify.

I was baffled at first, but the more I thought about it, the more it annoyed me. Because my acquaintance isn't alone in this thought. It's prevalent among many, and it extends beyond music.

What they're really saying is: "I want you to entertain me, but screw you for trying to make a living at it."

What the what?

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CEDIA 2011
SIM2 Nero 3D Projectors
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 01, 2011
Most manufacturers are keeping a tight lid on their product introductions at CEDIA until the show starts, but SIM2 has announced a new line of four projectors in advance. Going by the series name Nero, all models are single-chip DLP designs with 3D capabilities using active-shutter glasses. (The company's much-more-expensive, 3-chip Lumis Duo 3D dual-projector system uses Infitec spectral-filter glasses, the same technology employed by Dolby 3D.) The four Nero projectors differ in their feature sets and brightness/contrast specs, and one even offers a native 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Three different lenses will be available, and the grayscale and colorimetry of all models can be separately calibrated in 2D and 3D mode using a PC-based interface. Pricing starts at $19,990. Stay tuned for our impressions of these projectors from the show floor next week.

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