Audiophiles know well the name Wadia Digital, a Michigan-based company that has been making high-quality digital-audio products for over 20 years. Now, Wadia has teamed up with California-based Qsonix to create the Q205 high-end music server, which joins the Q210 in the company's new Q2 series.
One of the hallmarks of twentieth-century physics is the development of quantum mechanics, which describes the properties of matter and energy at very small scales. At its heart, this highly abstruse and esoteric branch of physics is actually quite simple: all matter and energy ultimately consists of discrete units or "packets" called quanta.
I just saw Rango, the new animated western populated by anthropomorphic animals and starring the inimitable Johnny Depp voicing the title character, and I thought it was a real hoot. Not only were the voice characterizations superb, but it has some of the best animation I've seen to dateand it's not even 3D!
As I was listening to the Trinnov demo in RBH's booth, I was told about the company's brand new subwoofer amp, the SA-500, which provides 500W of class-D power. It's so new that only three exist, which were powering the company's 1010-SXN/R sub and the bass portions of two 8300-SX/Rs at the front left and right, and as I said in the Trinnov post, the sound was excellent with no hint of bloat. The rep didn't have pricing or availability.
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—they sound spectacular!
In addition to the news that RealD has partnered with Samsung to make so-called active/passive 3D flat panels, the company had some other interesting announcements and demos at the SID conference this week. For example, even though RealD is known mostly for passive-polarized 3D glasses, it has also developed universal active-shutter glasses that work with any manufacturer's active 3DTV.
If you thought 1080p is as good as it gets, think again. Long known for its reference-quality audio products, <A href="http://www.meridian-audio.com">Meridian</A> now offers a video projector with <I>five times</I> the resolution of 1080p. Dubbed the 810 Reference Video Projector, this 140-pound behemoth uses three D-ILA panels, each with a resolution of 4096x2400 for a total of nearly 10 megapixels.
We are in the process of completing the home theater. It is located in the basement, and I have complete control of the lighting. It was designed to use a projector or flat panel, but unfortunately, it seems a flat panel may be the only option.
I have discovered it is relatively easy to find LCD flat panels in sizes up to 80 inches or more, but I would prefer a plasma rather than an LCD. However, no one makes an 80-inch plasma for under $6000. Panasonic makes the TH-85PF12U and TH-85VX200U, but those are roughly $20,000 and $30,000, respectively! Does anyone make an 80- or 85-inch plasma for under $6000, and if not, why? I can't believe there is no market for this in the HT world.
Colin Robertson, a thoughtful commentator on many <I>UAV</I> blogs, is facing the age-old question as he contemplates upgrading from 2-channel to surround sound:
Founded in 2005, Utah-based Red Dragon Audio is dedicated to class-D power-amp technology. It's flagship product is the Leviathan Signature monoblock, which is designed to lookand feelas good as it sounds.