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Pioneer also had its new S-3EX speakers on static display. A smaller, $6000/pair variation on the floorstanding S-1EX we reviewed recently, the S-3EX keeps the price down by employing a simpler cabinet, substituting carbon graphite for the tweeter diaphragm instead of the beryllium used in the S-1EX, and using a slightly smaller midrange cone (but still made of magnesium). While the S-3EX should ship soon, you'll have to wait until mid 2008 for the matching center channel and "bookshelf" models.

Sherwood Newcastle's new R-972 AV receiver looks hot. At $1799 it has HDMI 1.3a and on-board decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio, Trinnov room equalization, 100Wpc x7, and Faroudja video processing. The smaller R-872 also has HDMI 1.3a, Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio decoding, and something called SNAP room EQ. There was no one available to verify shipping dates, but I'll definitely be checking back-watch this space. $1700-$1800 seems to be the new sweet spot for high-end but pocketbook friendly AV receivers.

Lexicon showed a new AV receiver, the 7.1-channel RV-5 ($3999). It offers automatic system calibration and equalization, Faroudja video processing (though oddly the upconversion is limited to 1080i), and multichannel PCM audio via HDMI. But it does not directly decode Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD Master Audio.

As LG prepared its second-generation combination Blu-ray/HD DVD player for market, we held out hope that Sharp's oft-delayed foray into next-gen DVD was the result of rethinking its commitment to a standalone Blu-ray player. Our hopes were dashed...