NuVo Technologies showed off the company's new Grand Concerto multiroom audio system. The coolest part of the system is the new control pad that uses an OLED display that the NuVo people say can show up to eight readable character lines. The character height for each line is selectable, and different lines can have different character heights. The NuVo folks say that, in addition to being bright enough to be readable in rooms with lots of sunlight, the control pad display has a 180-degree viewing angle.

What really draws your attention to the control pad is the use of capacitive touch controls - the no-moving-part control "buttons" you find on lots of kitchen appliances - for menu and control functions. I've seen this type of control used in lots of things over the years, but I still think it's slick as snot anytime I see it. Good call, NuVo.

The face of the Control Pad is made from polycarbonate, the same material used to make eyeglass lenses. NuVo says the material is precision manufactured to be perfectly flat. That gives a two-for-one bonus: it ensures proper touch functionality, and it makes the Control Pad look gorgeous and expensive. NuVo finishes out the look with a magnetic bezel trim plate that sits flush with the wall - and each system is shipped with four different color trim plates (white, almond, ivory, black) for each of the Control Pads.

The basic Grand Concerto system can handle six sources distributed to six zones. It includes six Control Pads and retails for $3,499.