Premiere Design

<A href="http://www.runco.com">Runco</A> has long stood at the pinnacle of high-end home-theater displays, making some of the finest projectors on the planet. What many folks might not know is that Runco also makes LCD and plasma TVs for the upscale market. In an ongoing effort to improve the state of the flat-panel art, the company recently announced several new plasmas that incorporate its OPAL (Optical Path Alignment) technology.

Press releases announcing new products to be introduced at the upcoming CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association) Expo are now flooding my inbox, so I'll be profiling several of these products leading up to the show. Among the most interesting-looking items so far is the Ferrari Art.Engine System, a single-piece stereo speaker from a boutique company called the <A href="http://www.dwcollection.com">David Wiener Collection</A> (DWC).

The 2009 CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association) Expo is only a month away, and I'm starting to get lots of press releases about products that will be introduced there. Many of these announcements are under embargo until the show, but here's one that isn't&#151;the M15HD surround preamp/processor from respected Canadian manufacturer <A href="http://nadelectronics.com">NAD</A>.

Reader F. Teixeira suggested that I profile a high-end <A href="http://www.vandersteen.com">Vandersteen</A> home-theater speaker system in this blog, and I'm more than happy to oblige. Vandersteen has been among audiophiles' favorite brands for over 30 years with good reason&#151;they sound spectacular!

I've known <A href="http://www.sennheiserusa.com">Sennheiser</A> headphones for a long time. My first pair of studio 'phones was the HD 414 SL, a featherweight, open-back design that I still have 30 years later, albeit with new foam earpads. So it was with great interest that I read about the company's new flagship model, the HD 800.

For the last 30 years, Ken Ishiwata has served as European Brand Director for <A href="http://www.marantz.com">Marantz</A> while designing some of the company's best high-end audio products. To celebrate this incredible legacy, Marantz has announced two limited-edition components designed by Ishiwata and dubbed the <A href="http://www.marantz.eu/kipearl/">KI Pearls</A>.

I've been waiting a long time for the SSP-800 surround preamp/processor from <A href="http://www.classeaudio.com">Class&#233;</A>. Originally announced in May 2008 and scheduled for delivery in July of that year, this Canadian company's statement pre/pro is finally about to ship.