LATEST ADDITIONS

CES 2009
Morel Calls It the Fat Lady
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 10, 2009
Which some might construe as weightist. The composite fiberglas, carbon fiber, and resin enclosure makes damping material unnecessary. Two 9-inch woofers share the enclosure with a 6.5-inch mid and 1.1-inch tweeter. The $32,000 pricetag (per pair) may seem stiff but the composite enclosure trickles down to the monitor-size Super Octave. Morel also offers three Sound Spot satellites, all of which have coaxial drivers in a metal pedestal enclosure, but the drivers differ, so pricing ranges from $1500 to $2000 to $2500. The best version has a resin-covered silk tweeter.
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CES 2009
President Tastelessly Exploited for Commercial Gain
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 10, 2009
President-elect Obama has been turned into a fuzzy iPod dock with bobbing head. This is what he gets for delaying the DTV transition. If he delays it long enough, we'll turn him into a power strip.
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CES 2009
Phase Technology Packs the Bar
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 10, 2009
Phase Technology's Teatro PC310 ($1200) has three 5.25-inch woofers, five 1.5-inch soft dome midranges, and three 1-inch soft dome tweeters, some of which you see here, and some of which are mounted at the sides. Imaging was wide, the feel was smooth and natural (more so than most sound bars), and if the regular one-size grille doesn't match your flat panel display, you can have one custom cut.
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CES 2009
Phase Technology Does a More Affordable Bar
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 10, 2009
If you like your speaker bars under a thousand, try the Phase Technology Teatro V3.0 for $800. Besides the half-dozen woofers and tweeters on the front, it also has side-mounted drivers, something it has in common with the one above.
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CES 2009
Phase Technology dARTS Looks Better Than Ever
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 10, 2009
Phase Technology's dARTS has been around for awhile. That stands for Digital Audio Reference Theater System, and it involves custom programming, software tuning and amplification precisely matched to the room. But with the 650 Series speakers, it now has cosmetic sophistication to match its digital smarts. The whole package goes for $20,000, but if you have high-end tastes and a wallet to match, try it before you decide that's too much.
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CES 2009
MK Loves Analog Bass
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 10, 2009
"We like the sound," said the MK Sound folks in response to my question -- "why an analog bass management controller?" The DMC-1 accepts five XLR input for line-level loop-through. Available in February for $1200. MK is the newly returned heir to the M&K legacy, so expect to see lots of classic models return with upgraded parts to make them even better.
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CES 2009
Mirage Video Prowess, Continued
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 10, 2009
While I liked the HDMI-equipped jack panel at the Mirage -- and envied Tom's at the Hyatt even more -- the aspect ratio on my Philips LCD set left something to be desired. The hotel appeared to be feeding 4:3 analog signals and using the stretch mode. Suze Orman and Anderson Cooper couldn't have gained that much weight, could they?
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Audio Video News
CES 2009: A screen worth screaming about
SV Staff  |  Jan 10, 2009
It's tough for a projection screen company to put on a captivating press event, but Da-Lite pulled it off yesterday at CES when it demonstrated a final production sample of the new JKP Affinity series screen. The screen was designed in...
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CES 2010
HP MediaSmart Server
uavKim Wilson  |  Jan 10, 2009

HP was demonstrating the MediaSmart Server that will come out at the end of the month. Designed to store and stream your media, the unit comes with a 750GB drive for $599 and for $749 you get a 1.4TB drive. It provides automatic backups and allows for automatic collection of data and files from other computers on the network. It won Best in Show at the recent MacWorld (that overlaps CES). I figure if the Mac and PC world are finally learning to co-exist, there is still hope for peace in the Middle East.

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CES 2010
Powerline Networking
uavKim Wilson  |  Jan 10, 2009

While wireless networking seems to be getting all the headlines and buzz, another networking method is to use your existing powerline. There are a couple of associations promoting this, with two to three dozen manufacturers and a few chip designers supporting the technology. The concept being– why create something new when you can use what already exists in your home. I'll admit I don't know all the intricate details behind this technology but the first thing I can see as a negative is all the extra external devices (i.e. wall warts) you are adding to your electrical outlets. It just doesn't seem very green to tax the power grid even more. What I would like to know is how does this effect your electrical bill?

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