Parasound has packed a few more features into their Zphono moving coil/moving magnet pre, adding to the Zphono·USB ($350) an A-D converter and (obviously) a USB port, making it even more handy as a general-purpose interface for those with older and esoteric turntables (or pretty much any other stereo gear) looking to digitize their collections.
Denon The first universal player from Denon, the DVD-2900 will play both DVD-Audio discs and Super Audio CDs, and it has Dolby Digital and DTS decoders, too.
PACK LEADER Up to 40 components will pledge themselves to Universal Remote Control's Medius TX-1000, probably out of respect for the capable touchscreen controller.
MULTITASKER Although described as a "multimedia" projector, Canon's REALiS SX60 has a Home Cinema mode for when you want images to pop. Its rated 2,000:1 contrast ratio means nice, deep blacks, and the 1,400 x 1,050-pixel resolution is more than enough for 720p HDTV.
The Peel universal remote is a combo platter including a transmitter and receiver that keeps in touch with your home network via ZigBee and passes on commands to your gear via IR, operated via a free app for
Barco Once you start thinking a 70-inch TV might not be big enough, it's time to consider a front projector. The CineVersum 70 from Barco, a Belgian company, creates 16:9 widescreen images up to 90 inches diagonal. The projector's DLP (Digital Light Processing) chip renders them at 1,280 x 720 pixels - just right for the 720p (progressive-scan) HDTV format.
Emotiva has announced that it's now shipping its new top-of-the-line monoblock amp, the XPR-1. Each $1,499 XPR-1 is rated at 1,000 watts into 8 ohms and 1,750 watts into 4 ohms.
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.
ALL ABOARD Now that your PC is full of photos, music, and videos (all legally downloaded, of course), they need a place to be appreciated. HP's MediaSmart LCD TV lets them bust out on its 37-inch display, streaming all your PC goodies through your home network or a Wi-Fi connection.
ROOM WITH A CLUE The downside of having an entertainment room is that it demotes your other rooms' status. But not if you set up a multiroom system, and Sonance's C4630SE can spread the joy to six other areas in your house.
Krell is synonymous in the minds of many with high-performance audio, but they're not the first manufacturer that comes to mind when you mention DACs or headphone amps. That's about to change, perhaps, with the introduction of the Phantom III stereo preamplifier.