LATEST ADDITIONS

I don’t know how humid it gets in Boston, but I do know how humid it gets in my bathroom after one of my children takes a luxuriously long shower (the kind that sucks every last drop of even lukewarm water out of the hot water heater). Boston Acoustics’ new HH 460T2 is a “high-humidity and weather-resistant” single-point stereo in-ceiling speaker that includes a foam collar around the center post that protects the voice coil from dampness and a crossover that is covered with a special type of varnish to protect it from the elements. The speaker also uses the same type of binding posts found on Boston’s Voyager outdoor speakers, so they’re easy to seal with silicone after the wires have been connected. Two models are available. The HH460T2 is $275 each. The higher-end VH470 T2 is $450 each.

AVRak’s new Fatrak component rack is 36” wide – enough for two components to sit side-by-side on each shelf – so the rack can hold the same amount of gear as a 72” tall standard rack. The Fatrak pulls out far enough from the cabinet so that you can swivel the rack for easy access to the cables and wiring that will look like a rat’s nest no matter how hard you try to organize it. The 36” tall model (FT-36) is rated to hold up to 350 pounds of gear. There are also 24” and 30” versions available. Custom heights can be ordered as well. The FT-36 sells for $2,172.

Sonos had a great booth at the show to display their new wireless audio servers. I’ve been using them for quite sometime in my own home and love their performance. Sonos was showing their new slimmed down Zone Player 90 along with the new Zone Player 120.

Panasonic has two new players on tap: the DMP-BD35 and the DMP-BD55. Both players are Profile 2.0 compatible.The DMP-BD55 features 7.1 analog outputs. It's not clear if these will replace Panasonic's DMP-BD50 player, which has only been...