Tom Norton

The folks from Accell make great HDMI switchers and splitters, but they also do cables, and while I visited there they handed me a sample of their new locking HDMI cables, a relatively new category and one long overdue.

Built (that's the company's name) apparently makes interesting accessories, such as a unique backpack for a laptop. But that wasn't my main interest here. Take a look at the odd-looking "wall" that was used to set off Built's exhibit. It consists of an accordian-like construct of stiff brown paper, and when stretched out becomes free-standing with an outside edge that resembles thin vertical ribs with gaps in between. I immediately thought "acoustic room treatment." Just a thought, of course, and it might not work at all, but it's perhaps an interesting idea for a cheap (perhaps--I don't know the price of the product) diffusor. The product itself is made by a Canadian company called Molo, the paper is fire-retardant, and it apparently comes in a variety of colors.

OK, the wording should be One Adam 12, but if you know the reference you’ve been on the planet and watching TV for far too long. But Adam Audio GmbH, of Germany, was one of several manufacturers (including KEF, Totem, and Wharfedale) attempting to make music on the open show floor. The strikingly styled Tensor Gamma Mk2 shown here is the smallest model in Adam’s top of the line Tensor Mk2 Series.

I'm fascinated by the drive units manufacturers select or design for their speakers. Here and in the following entries I'll cover a few of them. Shown in the photo above are the midrange and tweeter in the new Aerial Acoustics 7. The midrange is made by SB Acoustics and the tweeter by Scan-speak, customized for Aerial.