LATEST ADDITIONS

Thank you, Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association, for fostering the growth of an important industry, for staging an annual milestone in audio/video consciousness, and for encouraging a/v excellence in general.

As greenfield home development dwindles, NuVo's Renovia may be the whole-house audio system of the future. We'll repeat the name, Renovia, and assume the hopeful implications are obvious. Don't want to poke holes in your older home for new wiring? Just use the existing power wiring via HomePlug 1.0. The system can cover up to 12 rooms with 50 watts per zone. If the two built-in AM/FM/Sirius tuners don't offer enough entertainment, throw in the Music Port Server, which adds XM, internet radio, Pandora, and RadioTime. Command the 320GB hard drive from any network-connected computer or touchscreen and bask in the auto synchronization tool.

Mordaunt-Short's Performance 2 grabbed our eye immediately with its high-gloss black lacquer finish. The very chunky two-way monitor goes for $4500/pair. More accessible, perhaps, is the new Aviano line, a little of which is lurking in the background of the pic. It includes two towers, two monitors, center, and two subs ranging from $495/pair for the Aviano 1 two-way monitor to $1495/pair for the Aviano 8 three-way tower.

Samsung's HT-BD8200 soundbar has an integrated Blu-ray player, wireless sub, 300 total watts of power, 2.1-channel virtual surround technology, wi-fi readiness, Netflix savvy, and Pandora compatibility for $800. Also shown were a Blu-less bar, plus a couple of HTiBs, one based on a slim tower, one based on small satellites.