New Products

A 65-inch Ultra HDTV from Sony, a guitar tone processor that turns any speaker into a guitar amp, JBL's new wireless outdoor speaker, and more new gear.

Line 6 Amplifi TT Guitar Tone Processor
If you’re one of the many A/V geeks who likes to do a little shredding in your spare time, here’s a first-of-its-kind gizmo that’s worth checking out: The Amplifi TT guitar tone processor turns any speaker system in to a guitar amp with Bluetooth streaming that mixes in guitar and amp sounds. Connect the TT to your stereo and see if you can keep up with Zakk Wylde.
Pick a Sound: Best of all, when you launch the Amplifi app (iOS and Android), you can pull up a guitar sound that matches Wylde’s from a database in the cloud, select from more than 200 amp tones and effects, or create your own sound. Jam on.
Price: $200 (on musiciansfriend.com)
Line 6 • (818) 575-3600 • line6.com

Episode Signature 1700 Series In-Wall/Ceiling Speakers
Don’t bother looking for Episode speakers in your local electronics store or online for that matter—you won’t find ’em. The nine models in the new super-secret Signature 1700 Series are available only through custom A/V installers. As company founder Jay Faison puts it, “Performance isn’t just about the product. It’s about placement, installation, and integration with other components.” Designed with home theater in mind, the line includes five in-ceiling and four in-wall models featuring 6- or 8-inch Nomex-reinforced fiberglass woofers, adjustable titanium-dome tweeters, and a thin-bezel design with a paintable magnetic grille for a near invisible minimalist look.
Satisfaction Guaranteed: Episode’s lifetime warranty covers parts and labor on speakers found to be defective.
Prices range from $330 to $500 each.
Episode • (866) 424-4489 • episodespeakers.com

JBL Control X Wireless Speaker
If you haven’t gotten around to getting speakers for your patio, now’s the time. And if you do decide to bring the show outside, why mess with wires? Designed for use indoors or outdoors, the Control X Wireless supports Bluetooth streaming and is said to play for up to 4 hours when its battery is fully charged. Its enclosure is weatherized to protect the 5.25-inch woofer, 1-inch tweeter, and 60-watt amp within, and there’s a boundary compensation switch for when the speaker is placed on or near a wall.
Four Play: Want to serenade a large area? One Bluetooth stream can feed two pairs of speakers without additional wires. Available in graphite, red, and white.
Price: $500/pair ($300/pair for the non-powered Control X wired model)
JBL • (800) 336-4525 • jbl.com

Sony XBR-65X930C 65-Inch Ultra HDTV
Videophile dreams of true-to-life brightness can come true with the XBR-65X930C, one of the first Ultra HD televisions to support (via a future firmware update) the high-dynamic-range (HDR) content Hollywood plans to start delivering later this year. The Android-based TV facilitates phone-to-big-screen casting, voice search via the remote control, and easy access to content from Netflix, YouTube, Hulu ,and many other apps.
Triple Threat: The combination of Sony’s new X1 4K engine, X-tended Dynamic Range processing, and X-Reality Pro upscaling is said to enhance the color, contrast, and clarity of any source, while support for hi-res audio formats and oversized speakers produce sound that is better than most TVs. Gamers have not been forgotten: PlayStation 3 games can be streamed directly to the TV.
Price: $4,500
Sony • (877) 865-7669 • sony.com

Yamaha RX-V379 A/V Receiver
Not only does the entry-level RX-V379 provide 4K/60p passthrough with High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP 2.2), but it may be the least expensive AVR to offer this critical feature—critical, that is, if you’re interested in streaming 4K/UHD content (and who isn’t?).
Loaded: The 5x100-watt receiver is packed with goodies, including Bluetooth streaming with signal processing said to enhance compressed music files, automatic speaker calibration, a subwoofer trim control, four HDMI inputs, a redesigned large-button remote, and one-touch Scene buttons that power up a second component (think Blu-ray player) and select input and DSP mode. The RX-V379 also has a Virtual Cinema Front mode that lets space-challenged listeners put all five speakers in the front of the room and still experience virtual surround sound. Weird but cool.
Price: $300
Yamaha • (714) 522-9105 • usa.yamaha.com