LATEST ADDITIONS

CEDIA 2010
Smyth Research Realizer A8
CEDIA 2010  |  Sep 26, 2010
The Smyth Realizer is a system designed to produce full surround sound through headphones. It has been shown at previous shows over the past four years or so, but has only recently become available at $3360, which includes a pair of entry-level Stax phones. To explain, how it works would be far beyond the space limits of a blog, but we hope to have a closer listen at one very soon. All I will say here is that it does work, and the result is an uncanny simulation of a full surround system with loudspeakers.
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CEDIA 2010
Mitsubishi 3D
Tom Norton  |  Sep 26, 2010
Mitsubishi's Diamond 3D prototype was being shown on an 107-inch wide, 2.1 gain Draper screen. Without the 3D glasses in place, the image was very bright. With them on, it was unacceptably dim. More work is still underway on this design (including the 3D glasses; Panasonic glasses were used in the demo). Photo courtesy of Scot Wilkinson of www.ultimateavmag.com.
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CEDIA 2010
NuVision has a New Vision
Tom Norton  |  Sep 26, 2010
NuVision was demonstrating its P2, LED-illuminated, 2D single-chip DLP projector on an 87" wide, Stewart Studiotek 130 screen. Using 0.95-inch DLP chip, or DMD, it was more than satisfyingly bright and punchy, though I did note what appeared to be a slightly too vivid color balance and (perhaps) minor gamma issues. $17,000. The anamorphic lens shown in the photo is an extra cost option, and was not used in the demo.
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CEDIA 2010
Runco With Danish
Tom Norton  |  Sep 26, 2010
With a flourish that says Scandinavia, Runco has introduced Copenhagen Design, a new Danish-flavored style to be incorporated into a number of its new products. But as always, the important story for us was the tech, not the look, and Runco has obviously been busy in the lab this year.
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CEDIA 2010
Velodyne Digital Drive Plus Subwoofers
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 25, 2010
Looking like a scene from CSI, Velodyne's booth is emphasizing the goal to "kill the competition" with its new Digital Drive Plus subwoofers, which come with drivers measuring 10 ($3000), 12 ($3500), 15 ($5000), and 18 inches ($6000). These models feature 4.5 to 7dB more output depending on model, new rohacell driver material, redesigned cabinet, and much easier setup with 8-band EQ. Retained from the previous Digital Drive models is the same high-gain servo technology that reduces distortion to a mere 0.5% at 20Hz.
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CEDIA 2010
DreamVision Starlight3 LCoS Projector
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 25, 2010
Last week, I wrote about the DreamVision Starlight3 LCoS projector ($9500), which is available in several finishes, such as the faux carbon-fiber pictured here. Today, I popped in to see a demo of the Starlight2, and it was mighty impressive on a Perfect Vu unity-gain screen (2.35:1, 140 inches diagonal) using a Schneider anamorphic lens ($8000)—great blacks and colors on clips from Avatar and Up.
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CEDIA 2010
Focal Viva Utopia Speakers
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 25, 2010
Focal is growing its Utopia line with the Viva, which comes in two varieties—a vertically oriented LCR that is also used for the surrounds and a horizontal center-channel that is otherwise essentially identical. Both incorporate the company's IAL2 beryllium tweeter and third-generation W-cone midranges and woofers for a frequency response from 39Hz to 50kHz (±3dB) and a sensitivity of 92dB/W/m.
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CEDIA 2010
Pathos Adrenalin Monoblock Power Amp
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 25, 2010
At $50,000/pair, the Adrenalin monoblock from Pathos is a serious investment. But for all that bread, you get 180W of pure class-A power with a tube input stage and MOSFET output stage. And it looks wicked cool, too!
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CEDIA 2010
SIM2 HDR47E LED-Backlit LCD Monitor
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 25, 2010
Aside from a bunch of projectors, SIM2 was also showing its 47-inch HDR47E LCD monitor, which uses Dolby's high-dynamic range LED-backlight technology in which each of the 2206 LEDs are individually dimmable with 20 bits of resolution, leading to a claimed contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. Normally, I dismiss contrast specs, but I can believe this one—even on the show floor, the blacks were stunning, and bright portions were really bright; according to SIM2, the peak light output is 4000 nits, which is equivalent to 1167 foot-lamberts!

The HDR47E is intended for professional applications, such as automotive and medical imaging, and there are no specific plans to bring anything like it to the consumer market. And $35,000 for a 47-inch LCD is mighty steep. But it sure looked great playing Avatar.

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CEDIA 2010
Krell Evolution 555 Blu-ray Player
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 25, 2010
Krell is finally about to ship its Evolution 555 Blu-ray player ($15,000, November), and a rep was quick to point out that it's not a rebranded Oppo—it was designed and built from the ground up by Krell. It has most of the bells and whistles, including access to Hulu and Netflix, WiFi, UPnP (not DLNA), and an iPad control app; 3D will come in a firmware update next year. Processing is provided by Sigma Designs VXP, and if you connect it to a Krell pre/pro via HDMI, it will jump right to the disc menu, skipping all those pesky trailers and FBI warnings.
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