LATEST ADDITIONS

Want your dollar to go further when buying an HDTV, well buy one of these Samsung TVs and get a free Blu-ray player. Plus more HD and gadget deals* after the jump. Guitar Hero World Tour Band Kit plus Free Guitar Hero Wireless Guitar for...

Peter Tribeman's voice dropped to a whisper as he gave me the word a few weeks ago about a bass-related technology that will figure prominently in Atlantic Technology's exhibit at CEDIA. Atlantic will license the H-PAS (Hybrid Pressure Acceleration System) technology from inventor Philip Clements of Solus/Clements. As chronicled in this press release, it will combine bass reflex, inverse horn, transmission line, and a resonance/harmonic filter, all with no active electronics or special drivers. CEDIA-goers will hear (we are told) two 4.5-inch drivers in a 1.4 cubic foot enclosure produce bass output of 105dB down to 29Hz, +3dB, with bass harmonic distortion under three percent. Said Tribeman: "Until now, I would have considered it virtually impossible to achieve such high levels of bass performance and quality in such small enclosures.... This new system is the first ever to break the famous Iron Law of loudspeaker design, which states: 'deep bass extension, compact enclosure, or good efficiency...pick any two at the expense of the third.' For the very first time, due to Phil Clements' breakthrough design, we can have them all." The first product to ship will be the H-PAS-1 floorstanding speaker in the fourth quarter. Another 6.5-inch tower and bookshelf model will follow next year. Pricing TBA. We can't wait for the pre-show demo.

D&M Holdings will not be exhibiting at CEDIA this year. That means no Denon, no McIntosh, no Escient--and no Marantz. However, Marantz issued some new product announcements two weeks ago. The highlights include four new Blu-ray players. Two of them are full-fledged universal players with SACD and DVD-A, including the flagship UD9004, with Silicon Optic Realta video processing for $6000. Three new a/v receivers include the affordable NR-1501, a slimline product that delivers a pretty full feature set for $600. Step up to the SR5004 ($850) or SR6004 ($1250) for the height-enhanced Dolby Pro Logic IIz listening mode and an iPod-compatible USB jack. Some two-channel products were also introduced. See our news item on Denon's product announcements of a few months back.

Morel has enhanced the Octave Signature Bookshelf speakers with a "building block" modular cabinet design plus new subwoofers. The cabinet design hails from the Fat Lady speakers. It adopts an entirely empty cabinet with strategically placed partitions and no internal damping, to provide pure bass and a massive soundstage. The vertically designed subs fit beneath the monitors and have a 250-watt amp. other features include large aluminum coils, neodymium magnets, and silk dome tweeters. System pricing is $1900 for the SpotSound MT2 and $1300 for the SpotSound MT1.