New Products

D-Link DIR-890L/R Ultra Wi-Fi Router
No this is not a colorized, computer-enhanced photo of a suspected UFO flying near Roswell in the 1940s. The DIR-890L/R is one of four new Ultra Performance Series (IEEE 802.11ac) routers designed to support the “most bandwidth-demanding applications.” 4K streaming, anyone? Not to mention smartphones, speakers, tablets, game consoles, you-name-it, all feeding off your Wi-Fi. The DIR-890L/R has six antennas to optimize coverage and automatically switches between its three bands (one 2.4 GHz and two 5 GHz) to ensure the fastest connection for each device on the network.
Friendly as Routers Go: A new user interface is said to make it easy to adjust parental controls, block unwanted devices (revenge, at last), set up guest networks, and otherwise control your network from a smartphone or tablet. Eat your heart out, Trekkies. Price: $310 D-Link • (800) 326-1688 • us.dlink.com

Cambridge Audio Azur 851N Network Player
We’ll let you decide whether the 851N is in fact “the pinnacle of digital and streaming performance,” but it certainly makes a strong case for itself, offering not only 192-kHz/24-bit native playback but 192/24 upsampling for all sources. The goal? To make phones and other suspect “audio devices” sound better than you thought possible.
It’s About Time: Upsampling is handled by ATF2 adaptive time filtering, which is said to improve sound quality by reducing jitter. The 851N bristles with connections, including four USB ports (one for asynchronous audio), optical and coaxial digital inputs (two each), balanced outputs, and the one we can’t live without—Wi-Fi. Playback options include Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay, Internet radio, DSD via USB, and all the common audio formats, including high-resolution FLAC and uncompressed WAV and AIFF. Price: $1,999 Cambridge Audio • (800) 663-9352 • cambridgeaudio.com

PSB Alpha VS21 VisionSound TV Speaker Stand
PSB may be late to the soundbar party but appears to have the bases covered with an active three-way design that doubles as a TV stand ready to support up to 88 pounds. Bluetooth apt-X streaming lets you tap into the VS21’s 100 watts of power and dual tweeter/midrange/woofer speaker setup when you get the urge to stream Celine Dion from your phone (just make sure no one’s around). Want more bass than the 4-inch woofers can deliver? No sweat—there’s a subwoofer output alongside the optical, coaxial, and analog inputs.
NRC-Approved: A Dialogue setting developed at Canada’s renowned National Research Council enhances vocal clarity by separating voices from background sounds, while an onboard Dolby Digital decoder and WideSound processing deliver “three-dimensional sound.” Price: $599 PSB Speakers • (905) 831-6555 • psbspeakers.com

Sony XBR-75X940C 75-Inch Ultra HDTV
Even though a record number of UHD TVs will hit store shelves this year, we still have a ways to go before 4K content is ubiquitous, which is why upconversion is so important in UHD TVs. Sony says the triple-threat of its new 4K processor, X-tended Dynamic Range Pro technology, and X-Reality Pro upscaling algorithm enhances the color, contrast, and clarity of all incoming sources and improves 4K streaming quality. The XBR-75X940C supports Google’s Android TV platform for simplified streaming and phone-to-big-screen “casting.” A serious (for a TV) sound system is also on board.
Big Screen, Big Potential: Of greater note to videophiles, the TV is ready for the impressive pinpoint brightness of high dynamic range (HDR)-encoded content, which is expected to start trickling into the market later this year. Pricing was unavailable at press time. Sony • (877) 865-7669 • sony.com

Klipsch Reference Premiere Speaker System
The fifth revision of Klipsch’s 16-year-old Reference Series has a new name and a redesigned Tractrix Horn with a circular “throat” that funnels sound from a titanium tweeter into a square “mouth” to improve detail and reduce harshness (a trait of some horn designs). The lineup comprises three floorstanding models, three center speakers, two bookshelf models, and two wall-mountable surround speakers. All models (except surrounds) are available in cherry or ebony woodgrain vinyl with a durable brushed polymer veneer. Tower-based system prices (five speakers excluding subwoofer) start at $1,900.
Surprise: A WiSA-enabled wireless version of the system is due in the summer/fall. The tower-based system will cost about $5,000 and include a wireless hub with four HDMI ports, coaxial and optical digital inputs, and Bluetooth streaming with apt-X. Klipsch • (877) 412-7467 • klipsch.com