Mark Fleischmann

CES 2010
B&W Overhauls Famed 800 Speaker Line
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 07, 2010
We hope Bowers & Wilkins will forgive us for using the once ubiquitous acronym B&W – we are old fashioned that way. Any changes in the company's world-beating 800 line, lately known as the Diamond Series, qualifies as major news. The original 13 models have been reduced to 7 ranging in price from $2500 to $24,000. Lineup is what you see here plus two centers not pictured. New stuff includes new crossovers, magnets, gloss black finish, and every model has the cool Diamond tweeter.
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CES 2010
B&W Headphones Are Luxuriously Soft
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 07, 2010
These great-looking headphones have pads made of New Zealand sheepskin. They feel soft to the touch and are said to provide both comfort and isolation. Available this month, price n/a.
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CES 2010
B&W Does Smaller Zeppelin
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 07, 2010
The Zeppelin now has a little sister, the Mini Zeppelin, and it offers a new feature: PC streaming via USB. The iPod dock swivels so your touch or iPhone can be used vertically or horizontally. Unlike the original Zep, which could dominate a large room, the Mini Zep is designed for more intimate spaces. Price $399.
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CES 2010
B&W Goes Multimedia
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 07, 2010
B&W's MM1 multimedia speakers are two-way babies with three-inch woofer and one-inch tweeter, 18 watts, and the company's DSP, which is said to eliminate the need for a sub. Look for them in February, price n/a.
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CES 2010
LG Developing Premium Speakers
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 07, 2010
How do we know that? Because these prototypes were labeled Premium Speakers. Looks like they'll include a three-way, four-driver tower, a three-way center, smaller surrounds, and a pretty substantial and handsome sub with rounded hardwood side panels. The orchestral music trying to be heard above the hubbub of the show floor was as pleasing as anything could be under such circumstances.
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CES 2010
Sony Offers Glimpse of Heaven
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 07, 2010
The Sony booth included a vision of an Italian town with distinctive conical roofs -- about as far from the horrors of Vegas as you can get.
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CES 2010
Samsung Does It with Mirrors
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 07, 2010
Samsung, whose new displays have killer cosmetics, leveraged the power of mirrors to make its booth candy look twice as big, and kind of shimmery in a nice way.
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CES 2010
Press Life Is a Dog's Life
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 07, 2010
You think being a member of the press is a swanky existence? Banish all such thoughts from your mind. When I attended my first CES in 1985, a few people who knew each other had convivial hot lunches in the press room and everyone was guaranteed a seat. The proliferation of bloggers now has people sitting on the floor eating box lunches and most of them are strangers to one another.
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CES 2010
Sherwood Makes Poor Man's Surround Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 07, 2010
Surround sound reaches a new and more affordable price point with the Sherwood RD-5405 a/v receiver, just $149 list. You get five channels of 70 watts each and HDMI connectivity. The step-up model, the RS-7405, may be available with or without HD Radio. Our poster boy is a prototype of the iNet 2.0 which offers iPod, USB, ethernet, and wi-fi connectivity plus internet and FM radio -- and it's a photo frame.
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CES 2010
DTS Causes a Sensation
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 07, 2010
DTS, one of the home theater world's guardians of surround standards, was showing these dongles which are designed to adapt stereo signals to surround headphone use. The resemblance to vacuum tubes was neither here nor there. The company was also talking up its DTS Premium Suite of licensed DSP technologies. They include DTS Connect, for upconverting two channels to 5.1; DTS Surround Sensation, for headphones; DTS Symmetry, which balances levels among input sources; and DTS Boost, which makes laptop sound louder, clearer, and more immersive. Also new to us was the 7.1-channel version of Neural, the stereo-to-surround technology purchased from original developer THX a year ago.
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