Among the seemingly infinite number of monoblock power amps available in the world is the Janus from Italian maker Absoluta. Its understated elegance bespeaks careful attention to looks as well as performance.
Digital Projection will be making quite a splash at the CEDIA Expo this year, with at least four new DLP projectors and a new media server. The company also promises a couple of surprises and a kick-ass party at the Hard Rock Cafe.
One of the more interesting press releases to hit my inbox in anticipation of the CEDIA Expo next week was one announcing the Programmable Modular Amplifier (PMA) from Pro Audio Technology (formerly Professional Home Cinema or PHC). Aimed mainly at custom installations, this thing packs a highly configurable punch.
Video projectors are always front and center at the CEDIA Expo, and this year is certainly no exception. Among the many introductions in this regard will be the Starlight 3 from French maker DreamVision.
For 30 years, Canadian Classé has been making audio electronics of distinction, and this year is no different. At the CEDIA Expo next week, the company will introduce four new power amps in its well-regarded Delta line.
"Albedo" is defined as the ratio of reflected light to incident light on an object, often a celestial body such as a planet or moonthe higher the albedo, the brighter the object appears. So it's no wonder that the tag line of Italian speaker maker Albedo is "Brightness in Sound."
With just about everything being made in China these daysincluding high-end audio gear from companies based in other countriesit seems inevitable that native manufacturers would join the party. Founded in 1995, Shenzhen Danyigao Audio Equipment Limited uses the trademark Dared to brand its tube-based electronics, including the Flagship Series DV-805 and DV-845 single-ended monoblock amps, whose model numbers indicate the specific tube on which each is based.
I've known the name Nagra for decades, but only in the realm of professional audio, especially field recorders. Recently, I learned that the Swiss stalwart also offers a line of high-end consumer electronics, such as the Pyramid Monoblock Amplifier (PMA) and Pyramid Stereo Amplifier (PSA).
I happened upon the Planet speaker from South Korean Metal Sound Design (MSD) by accident, but as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to profile it here. All of MSD's products are as much sculpture as speaker, and as the company's name implies, the medium of choice is metal.
Among the myriad press releases I've received latelyno doubt in preparation for the upcoming CEDIA Expowas one with a particularly audacious headline: "Mozaex Ships World's First 3D Blu-ray Multi-Room Media Server." Intrigued, I contacted Mozaex (pronounced like "mosaics") to learn more.
Canada-based Verity Audio has been making high-end speakers for 25 years, culminating in the flagship Lohengrin. Now in its second generation, this impressive speaker tops the company's eXR (extended-range) lineup.
In 771 C.E., a huge bronze bell was cast by King Hyegong of the Silla Empire in what is now South Korea to honor his grandfather, King Seongdeok. Called the Emillé Bell, its remarkable sound can be heard evenly in all directions, and its reverberations last for three minutes, longer than any other bell in the world. Some 1220 years later, Korean high-end audio maker Emillé Labs took its name and inspiration from the famous bell, handcrafting all of its tube-based electronics, including the new Rapture monoblock power amp featured here, to sound as incredible as the company's namesake.
In the pro-audio worldespecially live performance and commercial cinemano speaker company is better known than JBL. So it makes perfect sense that the California-based company would apply its considerable expertise to high-end consumer speakers, as it has in the JBL Synthesis line, which includes several models designated Project Array that seem ideally suited for upscale home theaters.
Just because a product isn't the company's most expensive doesn't mean it can't perform exceedingly well. Take, for example, the Maestro Utopia, which occupies the middle of Focal's Utopia III lineup.