LATEST ADDITIONS

Pioneer Elite has an AVR coming that aims to wipe clean all that came before it. Don't believe me? I'm going to need to post two pictures to even try to do this thing justice. This is an all-out assault on the state-of-the-art, and in reality is more like conjoined separates than an AVR. Lemme 'splain.

Is it possible to get all the goodness of the Canton exhibit into one photo? We'll die trying. At left is the revamped Vento, with a rounder gloss enclosure, new midrange and tweeter and crossover, and smoother mids and highs (we're told). Available in a month or so. At right is the Karat, revised from 3-way to 3.5-way to eliminate lobing. A 5.1-channel set will go for $4500. Not pictured: the new Chrono line, positioned between the GLE and Ergo lines, about $5000 for a 5.1 set, and the rather stylish looking DSS 303 iPod docking system, also with USB for non-Apple players, for $499, available in a few months and so new it hasn't even been announced till now.

In addition to showing the Nanosat Prestige, which uses Mirage's familiar spoon-shaped device to emphasize reflected sound, the brand also showed three new subs including the Prestige S8. The strategy is less acoustic output for the surround and more for the shiny eight-inch woven-fiberglass cone. There's a wet-sanded high-gloss lacquer enclosure outside and 400 watts inside. Look for it in late November.

The new speaker lines from Mordaunt-Short include the Alumni, shown, with compact satellites, a fairly big center, and sub for $1000. Also new is the larger Mezzo, a step down from the Reference Series, with tweeter top-mounted in separate subenclosure.