As I write this, I am 34,000 feet above the Bering Strait traveling at 575mph aboard a new Boeing 777-300. We just crossed the International Date Line, turning Monday into Tuesday, after passing over Adak Island, a small member of the Aleutian chain stretching westward from Alaska. I can't help thinking of my father, who spent much of his Navy service there during WWII as a member of the band that played for high-ranking officers and other dignitaries who stopped at the remote base going one way or the other.

In its continuing quest for perfection, JBL is introducing the K2 S9900 speaker ($22,000 each) for the discerning—and well-heeled—audiophile. This full-range floorstander is an update of the K2 S9800 with greater bass extension down to 33Hz (topping out at 50kHz) and 35 percent more power-handling capacity. The driver compliment includes a 15-inch fiber-pulp cone woofer; 4-inch, horn-loaded, mid/high compression driver; and 1-inch supertweeter.

JBL's Synthesis is among the finest integrated audio systems available, and it's about to expand with the addition of three new power amps—the S7165 (seven channels, pictured), S5160 (five channels), and S280 (two channels). The S7165 and S5160 each produce 160Wpc into 8 ohms, while the S820 delivers 200Wpc into 8 ohms or 400W in bridged-mono mode, all with a frequency response of 20-20,000Hz with less than 0.03% THD.

The beloved game show <I>Jeopardy!</I> celebrated its 25th anniversary by taping a week's worth of shows at CES. Interestingly, <I>Jeopardy!</I> and <I>Wheel of Fortune</I> were the first game shows to be produced and broadcast in high-def in 2006.