LATEST ADDITIONS

CES 2009
The Dawn of THIELnet
Tom Norton  |  Jan 10, 2008  |  First Published: Jan 11, 2008

Thiel's Dawn Cloyd shows off the back panel of one of the powered, wireless Thiel SCS4D speakers that will be the backbone of the THIELnet system.

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CES 2009
Epson Ensemble
Tom Norton  |  Jan 10, 2008  |  First Published: Jan 11, 2008

This wasn't a show for major video projector launches or even major projector demonstrations. That's CEDIA. But JVC, Optoma, Panasonic, Samsung, and a few others took a crack at it.

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CES 2009
Epson Emsemble II
Tom Norton  |  Jan 10, 2008  |  First Published: Jan 11, 2008

The ceiling mount that covers the Epson projector incorporates the Surround speakers.

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CES 2009
Baby Mythos
Tom Norton  |  Jan 10, 2008  |  First Published: Jan 11, 2008

Fred Manteghian recently reviewed the Definitive Technology Mythos ST and had a lot of good things to say about it. Now Definitive has introduced the Mythos STS, a similar but smaller design at $2998 per pair.

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CES 2009
Belly Up to the Sound Bar
Tom Norton  |  Jan 10, 2008  |  First Published: Jan 11, 2008

Sound bars are becoming popular for flat panel displays. While we prefer a typical setup with separate left, right, and center speakers arrayed properly across the front (which will always produce a better soundstage than any single enclosure serving all channels), that type of setup doesn't work for everyone. To that end, Definitive Technology demonstrated two new sound bars, or in their words, Mythos Solo Surround Arrays: the SSA42 ($899 for panels from 30" to 46") and SSA50 ($1099, for panels 50" and up).

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CES 2009
Finding The One
Tom Norton  |  Jan 10, 2008  |  First Published: Jan 11, 2008

The One, a limited edition speaker from Totem Acoustics, has been released to celebrate that Canadian company's 20th anniversary. A 2-channel pair produced a sound that defied their size, and the dynamics of the speaker suggested that five or seven of them would not be out of place in a home theater system, mated to a suitable subwoofer. For music, the bass of the subwoofer-free pair in the demo was also surprisingly solid. $3495/pair.

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CES 2009
Ripping Your Vinyl to Bits
Tom Norton  |  Jan 10, 2008  |  First Published: Jan 11, 2008

Music Hall is distributing the Bellari VP530 ($399), a tube phono preamp (moving magnet only) that offers both conventional L/R analog outputs and a USB output for sending the contents of your vinyl to a computer for processing and storage. There's also a rumble filter, and the RIAA phono equalization may be switched off if you are equipped (and wish) to perform the equalization in the digital domain.

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CES 2009
Boomerang
Tom Norton  |  Jan 10, 2008  |  First Published: Jan 11, 2008

The Davone Rithm, from a Danish speaker maker new to the U.S., utilizes a 5" coaxial driver in one of the oddest shapes ever for a product category (loudspeakers) known for inspiring odd shapes. $5000/pair.

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C-ya, CES: A Parting Shot
Adrienne Maxwell  |  Jan 10, 2008  |  First Published: Jan 11, 2008
That's funny, the damage doesn't look as bad from out here.
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Words of Wisdom
Adrienne Maxwell  |  Jan 10, 2008  |  First Published: Jan 11, 2008
For my last CES demo of the year, I spent 15 relaxing minutes in Wisdom Audio's suite at the Venetian. The company was showing off its Sage Series of hybrid speakers that use both traditional woofers and thin-film planar magnetic drivers. An outboard system controller handles the electronic crossover between the speaker's different elements, and it performs room correction using Audyssey MultEQ XT technology. The line includes four models ranging from 20 to 75 inches tall, and each speaker is available in a freestanding, in-wall, or on-wall configuration. The demo consisted of various 2- and 5.1-channel music tracks, and the top-of-the-line L75s sounded absolutely fantastic, impressively spacious and dynamic for such thin speakers. After five days of chaos and concepts, this moment served as a tangible reminder of all that we love about home theater.
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