CES 2015

NAD wisely hedges its bets with a modular design that enables the M17 surround pre-pro to accept a future 4K upgrade.

Remember when Nakamichi was a leading maker of cassette decks? No? Maybe you haven't been around long enough...

Neil Young's Pono presentation was loaded with wit and wisdom and included three newsworthy developments. One is that Harman International will market a car audio version of the portable Pono high-res music platform, with early design efforts being shown at the Vegas Hard Rock Cafe. Another development is that Pono has licensed 2.1 million tracks from the big three record companies and is now courting the independent labels. And finally, Pono will make its retail debut on Monday of next week at 80 retailers throughout the U.S. But Young had so much more to say; I could hardly scribble fast enough. Here's a taste:

Mobile lifestyle product maker, E FUN, is joining the smart home fray with the introduction of a line of DIY home automation devices. The new smart home systems and devices will be sold under the Nexturn brand name. Neturn systems will initially be available in three starter kits labeled Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The systems are built around…

Think hi-res audio has to stay planted indoors? Think again. With these portable DACs, you can plug into your mobile device and enjoy audio quality as good as your headphones permit. Onkyo's DAC-HA200 and new DAC-HA300 digital-to-analog converter/amplifier combos are bite-sized and they sound awesome.

Audeze, the oft-lauded makers of planar magnetic cans, announced the release of the EL-8, their first more-portable planar magnetic headphones.

The first announcement of a 4K Blu-ray player and the return of the storied Technics audio brand, along with word of a new flagship UltraHDTV, were the big headlines for AV enthusiasts at Panasonic’s CES 2015 press conference this morning in Las Vegas.