CEDIA 2014

Harman Kardon offered a sneak peek of its forthcoming Wi-Fi-based Omni system, which comprises the stylish Omni 10 ($200) and Omni 20 ($300) wireless speakers plus Adapt ($130), a module for adding wireless capability to an existing home stereo system.

Epson introduced two new projectors that not only use laser illumination (no lamp to replace) but also reflective LCD technology (Liquid Crystal on Quartz, in contrast to reflective LCDs from Sony and JVC that use Liquid Crystal on Silicon). While both of them employ 2K chips, the top model can accept 4K inputs and reproduce them using technology similar to that found in JVC's upscale projectors. (We call it wobulation in homage to early DLP rear-projection sets that employed a similar idea but to different purposes (they weren't 4K, of course), but JVC and, we presume, Epson, would likely take exception to this characterization!)

The LS10,000, which is expected to sell for under $8000, is rated at

Christie Digital, a big name in theatrical digital presentations, made its first appearance at a CEDIA EXPO. Here is the biggest projector they had on display, a 4K, 3-chip DLP. Christie's Josh Kolbeck stands next to it for perspective.

While not on demo at Christie's own booth, it was being used in a Stewart Filmscreen demonstration elsewhere on the show floor. On a 15-foot wide Stewart Director's choice Gray Matte 70 screen, and with 4K sources, it produced what was easily the best-looking images I saw on the show's first day. I didn't catch the price (it took Christie personnel several minutes to find the price on the Christie laser projector shown below), but it definitely falls into the "if you have to ask" category. You'll also need to put it in a separate projection room. It's cooling fans are loud.

You're looking at a cutaway of the coaxial driver array that makes Pioneer Elite's Dolby Atmos enabled speakers special, in the hand of designer Andrew Jones. It has a one-inch textile tweeter nestling amid a four-inch aluminum woofer. With two of Jones' very substantial looking crossovers, this coaxial array lives on both the top and front of the Elite monitor and tower speakers, shooting Atmos height channels out of the top, and everything else out of the front in the usual manner. Models include the SP-EBS73 monitor ($749/pair), SP-EFS73 tower ($699/each), SP-EC73 center ($399), and SW-E10 sub ($599). Pioneer's Atmos demo, using the company's Class D powered SC-89 receiver ($3000), was the best Atmos demo we heard on the first day of the show, with not just strong height effects but an overall tonal balance that made even the most aggressive movie soundtracks a treat. Can't wait to review these. Pioneer also showed its $349 SP-SB02 Speaker Base, with pairs of front-firing tweeters and midbass drivers and bottom-firing bass drivers.

Listen Audio captured our attention by stating its intention to build the kind of product that "allows the listener to shut off from the world." One such product is the Diffuse, an absorptive panel that takes the form of a modular 2 x 2 foot panel in foam, vinyl, wood, or laminate finishes, starting at $90 for the foam version. It uses differing slot widths and a 3/4-inch air gap to increase bandwidth. It can zap high-frequency flutter echoes but operates down to low frequencies. Benefits: "More stage. The walls seem to push away." Listen also showed the Voice ($3995/each), an in-wall speaker with a 3.5-inch-thick enclosure, 3/4-inch-thick cabinet walls, coaxial drivers, and a 94dB sensitivity rating. It is designed "to compete with the highest-end freestanding two-channel speakers" while also satisfying multichannel and in-wall needs. Listen's Concierge service will dispatch one of its several acoustic design firm partners to the location. Once they determine the specs, the installer comes in and does his work, and then the engineers return to see how the installation worked out and assess the need for tweaks. This is a most impressive company.

Sonance has set out to change the way installers think about in-ceiling speakers with the new Discreet Opening System it introduced at CEDIA 2014. “We’re trying to get our dealers to think more about in-ceiling speaker systems for music instead of just pairs of speakers,” explained Jay Lazzaro, director of sales.

Definitive Technology's Dolby Atmos demo sounded excellent, with the A60 elevation speaker ($499/pair) plugged into the top of the BP8060ST powered tower ($1998/pair). The height effects were good, the midrange was well dialed in, and the powered tower's bass was awesome. Why, then, are we running a picture of The Borg? It's actually part of Def Tech's new line of products built on the DTS Play-Fi wireless platform. You're looking at the W7 powered speaker ($399). It joins the W8 powered speaker ($699), the rack-mountable W Adapt ($399), the W Amp ($499), and the W Studio soundbar ($1299). The beauty of Play-Fi is that it's not limited, Apple-style, to a single manufacturer. There will be more Play-Fi products from the likes of Polk, McIntosh, Paradigm, and MartinLogan. Oh, and Def Tech plans to provide 24-7 tech support for its Play-Fi products. Play-Fi is going to be huge. Resistance is futile.