LATEST ADDITIONS

Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 06, 2008

At the bottom left, the RSX-1560 is Rotel's new flagship receiver, putting out 100 watts into 7 channels at 8 ohms (200 watts at 4 ohms) using the same IcePower Class-D technology that worked so well in the RMB-1085 amp I just reviewed. Catching up to the competition, the receiver does in-AVR decoding of both Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD MA bitstreams. $2,599.

Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 06, 2008
ZvBox’s Zv-100 takes the VGA output of a PC, encodes it on the fly to 720p, and creates a channel that can be sent via coax to any HDTV in your house that has a digital cable (QAM) tuner. Since all it does is convert the output to an HD channel, your computer operates the same way it always does, and you’ll be able to watch or views any content your computer can provide as long as it has the proper codec or program. The beauty of the ZvBox system is that since it is codec agnostic, it can work with iTunes as easily as it works with Windows Media Player – or any other player or website.
Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 06, 2008

Now you can ISF calibrate each of the four HDMI inputs on Integra's new flagship DHC 9.9 pre-pro. Differences between your setup box, BD player and gaming machine can be leveled before hitting your display device. Prior to this, your choices were calibrate your device for the "best" of your sources., or calibrate them all in your display device and remember to switch between the memories manually (remember, they're hitting your display via a single HDMI cable), and that's only if your projector or flat screen had that many memories! Integra worked extensively with Joel Silver of the ISF to make sure this worked right and the DHC 9.9, as well Integra's two top AVRs, the DTR-9.9 and DTR-8.9, get this ISF capability and that elusive seal of approval.

Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 06, 2008

Both the DTR-9.9 ($2,600) and DTR-8.9 ($2,000) offer the same ISFccc level internal processing found in the DHC-9.9 pre-pro along with a near identical feature set, minus the balanced outputs and with amplification. In the case of the flagship, DTR-9.9, that 7 channels that put out 145 watts into 8 ohm.

Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 05, 2008  |  First Published: Sep 06, 2008

Cool new device to hang your plasma. Four of these slip in, pop-up modern versions of a molly bolt will hold a 150 lbs of high definition plasma heaven. Cost is only $16 a pair, but they'll only sell to your dealer. So with labor, permits, taxes, that comes to /. . .

Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 05, 2008  |  First Published: Sep 06, 2008

At one rung below Velodynes cost –no-object top line comes the new Optimus series, in three sizes and two finishes. Shown here, the 12" model in high gloss black (high gloss cherry is also available) which puts out 1,200 watts RMS (2,400 dynamic peak) of power. Add in 7-band room equalization and a remote, and the $1,800 price doesn't seem so stiff. Those looking for perhaps a little less bass could investigate the Optimus 10 (10" woofer, $1699) or the the Optimus 8 (8" woofer, $1,299).

Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 05, 2008  |  First Published: Sep 06, 2008

Canadian audiophile speaker manufacturer Totem has a new in-wall and in-ceiling line called Totem Tribe. The ceiling mounted speaker caught my eye, as its angled woofer-tweeter-woofer array nicely aims at the listening area while three dual-stage passive radiators help extend bass performance down to 57 Hz. The sound of the single playing unit was remarkably alluring.

Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 05, 2008  |  First Published: Sep 06, 2008

Monster Cable and SpeakerCraft put on quite a party Friday night. After Monster's Dealer of the Year awards were handed out, the Doobie Brothers took the stage at the Wells Fargo Theater and rocked out for an hour and a half. Man, those old guys can still kick it pretty good.

Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 05, 2008  |  First Published: Sep 06, 2008

Here's another product I learned about months ago but couldn't write about under embargo. Mitsubishi's 149 line of LCD TVs includes an innovative speaker system called the Integrated Sound Projector (ISP) at the bottom of the screen. This sound bar has 16 drivers with beam steering for a convincing simulated surround in an enclosed room. The user interface includes a very cool control screen for the ISP (pictured here), and the demo was actually quite impressive, way better than conventional TV sound. The 149 is available now in 46- and 52-inch sizes that list for $3100 and $3600, respectively. Finally, a TV audio system that I could listen to with pleasure.

Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 05, 2008  |  First Published: Sep 06, 2008

Unveiled first at Samsung's line show a couple of months ago, news of the BD-P2500 Blu-ray player was embargoed until the launch at CEDIA, but the 2550, an identical player intended exclusively for Best Buy, let the cat out of the bag well before that. The 2500 is fully compatible with BD-Live, including 1GB of <I>onboard</I> memory&#151;none of this memory-stick nonsense. Also, HQV processing is back&#151;huzzah! It should be available in October for $500.

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