LATEST ADDITIONS

On Wednesday I got my first look at Sharp’s XV-Z20000, a 1080p single-chip DLP front projector, albeit in a static demo. The new unit is finished in a sleek, glossy black and peaking around the back revealed two HDMI inputs in addition a DVI/HDCP input,

The Pearl SXRD projector was not Sony’s only significant product introduction yesterday. Also shown to reporters and reviewers for the first time was the STR-DA5200ES AV receiver. This product shows that when Sony is big on something it shows up in all its products. That something here is 1080p.

In a world where manufacturers all too often behave with a depraved indifference toward the muscles of the lower abdomen, Thiel has introduced a speaker that poses no hazard to the delicate. True, Jim Thiel dodged the all-important weight question, but judging from the way he picked it up and casually hefted it, the SCS4 should be just my kind of speaker. It has the same coaxial driver array as the SCS3, uses a challenging (Jim said) first-order crossover, and will ship before year-end for less than $1000. I will try this at home. The Thiel exhibit is using it as the center and surround speakers in a demo system with the floorstanding CS3.7--unveiled nine months ago at CES and previously unheard--serving as front left/right.

The show floor can be a messon the days before the event. You wonder how they'll ever get it ready in time, but somehow they always do!