True, it's not as cool a user experience as moving holographic frames in midair, like Tom Cruise did in Minority Report. But admit it: You get the slightest thrill when you work a touchscreen. And if that screen just happens to be built into a remote control, well, you feel as finger-empowered as E.T.
Confused about which audio codec to use to encode music for your portable player? Drowning in the alphanumeric soup of AAC (iTunes/iPod), MP3, and WMA (Windows Media Audio)? Want to guarantee that you'll get the best possible sound out of your hard-disk collection of ripped CDs?
Jacob George has built the Rethm horn loaded speaker for the purist. A single driver system with no crossovers whatsoever. The speaker itself has a sort of wheezer device that almost looks like the tail of a badminton, but the fact that he was getting full range sound out of a single speaker was impressive enough. The speaker is available in two models, with ($9,500/pr) or without ($7,500) the extension (shown) that drops the speaker's low end from about 50 Hz to 38 Hz. It does make you rethink where you're going to put the TV though. With extension careening off the back end, this isn't designed for those living the i-Life.
Kam M. Leung, designer of the Master 3 speaker from Focus Audio beamed proudly when he I told him music seemed to float between his massive speakers without clinging to them. The center image was stable, deep and just there. At $20,000 / pr, they're not a casual purchase, but if you're at the show, stop in and hear them. Ask Kam to play the cut from Neils Lofgrin: Acoustic Live. It's to die for.
Aperion Audio also showed a nifty and thrifty small system called the 422 S8, which retails for $799. It includes four 422-LR satellites, a 422-C center channel, and, you guessed it, an S8 powered sub.
The great thing about the Home Entertainment shows is the accessibility of great music. Seeing the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet at normal concert venue would find me with the typical seating I procure for paid events – somewhere near the back of the room. But with a little planning and penchant for arriving early, I just enjoyed four of the worlds most accomplished guitarists from the front row. I left invigorated and inspired to go home and try some of the techniques exhibited (beating on my guitar like a drum seems like one of the techniques I might be able to perfect). Telarc recording artists LAGQ hung around after the show at Telarc booths, with Sweet Amanda Sweet, signing autographs for their fans.
Internet-direct speaker manufacturer Aperion Audio won some street cred from me by building a demo in which the picture didn't take a backseat to the sound.
