ULTRA COOL If you think it's hard to believe an in-ceiling speaker could sound top-notch, THX would like a word with you. Polk's RTS100 is the first in-ceiling model to earn THX Ultra2 status, thanks in part to its driver array.
We seem to be going through a mini-renaissance in the hallowed tradition of the American hi-fi show, what with this year's burgeoning crop of existing shows and welcome upstarts. Yet Southern California audiophiles, despite living in what some would consider the nexus of the audio industry, haven't been treated to a good show for years.
Panasonic With portable music players, the question is, how small can you get? About 1 5/8 x 1 3/4 x 5/8 inch, according to Panasonic, whose SV-SD80 digital audio player, shown larger-than-life below, weighs less than an ounce. It uses postage-stamp-size Secure Digital (SD) memory cards and can play music encoded in the MP3, WMA, and AAC formats.
Danish manufacturer Jamo's been making a splash with the spherical speakers we saw back at the 2012 CES, and this week they've announced a pair of 5.0 setups in the appropriately named 360 Series, based around their unique architecture: the S 25 HCS ($649.99), including five of the company's S 25 speakers, and the S 35 HCS ($999.99), which groups four of the larger S 35 units with a C 35 center channel.
Can't we all just get along? Up to 12 of your home entertainment devices can do just that, thanks to Logitech's Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360 ($130). Simple setup has you connect the remote to your computer, enter the model numbers of your A/V gear, and answer some easy questions.
A NEW LIGHT So you think you know the big benefit of NuVision's 52LEDLP TV just from the name, do you? Well, yeah, having an LED "illuminator" instead of a regular lamp will get you better contrast, but did you know you also get a much longer life, full brightness as soon as you turn it on, and less power consumption?
Been lusting after a pair of KEF's cutting-edge (sorry!) Blade speakers, but don't happen to have $30,000 lying around idle? Well, those of you without Apple Computer–style cash reserves can now enjoy some of the Blade's design innovations at a much lower price point.
Thanks to their portability, personal navigation devices (PNDs) are finding their way into the hands of more and more drivers of multiple vehicles. PNDs not only assist in getting you from point A to point B - as well as locate every ATM and Starbucks in between - they also offer features such as MP3 compatibility and real-time traffic info.
CLEAR CENTER Nothing that special about supermodel-thin speakers (3.5 inches) made to match flat TVs . . . unless they're designed to give you three channels of sound from just two speakers.
Since returning to independence under the leadership of founder Chris Byrne in 2007, NHT has moved on from its DSP-focused experimental phase (which resulted in interesting products like the Xd), emphasizing straightforward, high-quality, reasonably priced speakers.
LEAN AND SO MEAN The leading 58-inch plasma panel costs 5 grand and can't even display a 1080p signal without downconverting it to 720p. Seems like JVC's got it all figured out with its new slim HD-ILA LCoS HDTV. For $3,300, you get a crisp 58-inch 1080p screen in a cabinet just 10.8 inches deep that goes flush against a wall and can even be wall-mounted.
As our own Geoffrey Morrison pointed out earlier this week, a lot of AirPlay-enabled speakers are expensive enough that they're bound to get you thinking about building your own system around a cheaper device like an AirPort Express.
It's the side view of a speaker with no sides - and no back either! Jamo's dipolar Reference R 909 ($15,000 a pair) has two 15-inch woofers, a 5.5-inch midrange, and a 1-inch tweeter. But it doesn't have a traditional cabinet.
Almost all high-end audio products focus on stereo music, fovcing those who dig 5.1 music – and, of course, movies – to use audio products designed primarily for home theater.