LATEST ADDITIONS

Out Of The Blu
Évocateur, The Frozen Ground and The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 28, 2013
Mort the Mouth returns to our television screens, Nicolas Cage and John Cusack square off, and the grip of post-9/11 paranoia gets personal.
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CEDIA 2013
NAD HP20 In-ear headphones
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Sep 28, 2013
The PSB M4U 2 and M4U 1 headphones are some of the best you can get. The M4U 2s even won our product of the year last year.

The same guy behind those headphones, Paul Barton, has designed some in-ear headphones, VISO HP20. Color me intrigued.

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CEDIA 2013
It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… No, it’s GoldenEar Speakers
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 28, 2013
Walking into the GoldenEar Technology demo room at CEDIA 2013 was like stepping into an intimate jazz club. The mellifluous voice of Jane Monheit accompanied by guitarist extraordinaire John Pizzarelli filled the room. I immediately thought, Wow, those new tower speakers sound damn good. Little did I know until the demo ended that I was actually listening to Invisa HTR 7000 speakers—mounted in the ceiling. As GoldenEar founder Sandy Gross explained, “That’s the idea.” A mind blowing experience.
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CEDIA 2013
MartinLogan’s Stealthy Speakers
John Sciacca  |  Sep 28, 2013
While MartinLogan is definitely known for its large, electrostatic speaker panels, they also make some wonderful sounding in-wall and in-ceiling speakers. The Stealth Series uses a 60% larger version of the company’s Folded Motion XT tweeter than that found in the lower-end ElectroMotion series. The tweeter can also be easily rotated to insure that it is always correctly positioned – vertically – whether the speaker is being used horizontally or vertically. The Vanquish – being held in the photo – is the in-ceiling version and features a unique selector switch that allows the installer to optimize the speaker for either left, center, or right and front or rear use, ensuring that it will minimize interactions with the nearest wall.
CEDIA 2013
Primacoustic Offers Acoustic Kits Starting at $200
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 28, 2013
When it comes to audio system design, the importance of room acoustics is overlooked all too often. You can put thousands of dollars worth of speakers and electronics in a room with bad acoustics and it’s going to sound like…well, crap. “It’s not about creating an acoustically perfect environment, it’s about getting the right amount of acoustic treatment in the room,” said Primacoustic’s James Wright in an impromptu interview at CEDIA 2013. “You want to get the right amount of absorption into the space, which means treating 20-25 percent of the room.”
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CEDIA 2013
A Blast from Custom Installation’s Past
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 28, 2013
Prominent among the Hall of Fame exhibit at CEDIA 2013 is Audio Design Associate’s (ADA) towering System 56, an expandable multi-zone AV system introduced before CEDIA even existed. Multisource/multizone capability and features such as electronic volume control and turn-on volume presets were cutting edge back 1977.
CEDIA 2013
Able Planet Shows Eye-Catching Neon Headphones and More
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 28, 2013
It was impossible to miss the neon burst of color as I walked past the Able Planet booth at CEDIA 2013. Choose between a variety of brilliant colors with NC180 headphones ($70) or opt for the True Fidelity BT400B compact, foldable Bluetooth headphones, featuring an on-ear microphone and controls ($90), or the True Fidelity IR310TM wireless headphones, featuring a 60-foot range and 40-hour battery life ($110).
CEDIA 2013
Sonance Goes Head to Head to Head
John Sciacca  |  Sep 28, 2013
You very rarely see a manufacturer directly comparing one of their products to another manufacturer’s model. This year, Sonance wanted to prove that its new Visual Performance series of loudspeakers are the real deal and that they aren’t afraid of direct comparisons to any competitor. To prove their mettle, Sonance built a wall in their high-performance audio room and directly compared the new VP66 speaker against similarly priced models from Bowers & Wilkins (CWM663) and Revel (W563).
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CEDIA 2013
Revel Speakers Are So Shallow
John Sciacca  |  Sep 28, 2013
In-wall or in-ceiling speakers require there to be a minimum depth to mount into, but if you have a narrow cavity you can be out-of-luck. Or worse, out-of-luck AND with a big hole in your wall or ceiling. Fortunately, Revel has just the speaker, the new low-profile version of its 2-series in-wall/in-ceiling speaker. Designed to fit in a depts. Of only 2.8-inches these speakers will fit where others won’t. Fortunately, you won’t be skimping on sound just because you are going shallow, and you can choose between a 6 ½-inch or 8-inch woofers. Both models feature high-quality drivers including aluminum cone woofers and 1-inch aluminum-dome tweeters. They include the popular micro-bezel design and use multiple neodymium magnets to securely hold the grills in place.
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CEDIA 2013
Monitor Audio CP Goes Trimless
John Sciacca  |  Sep 28, 2013
Monitor Audio has released the new Controlled Performance – CP – Trimless range of speakers with ten new models, delivering high performance across a range of budgets and sizes. The line-up includes eight two-way models in three performance levels and two three-way designs. All models in the line-up will features the company’s signature 1-inch Gold C-CAM dome tweeter, a Ceramic-Coated Aluminium/Magnesium material originally developed by the aerospace industry for use as blades in jet engines. In a speaker, it results in increased clarity and reduced distortion. The speakers also integrate fully-sealed back boxes, meaning they are not going to be affected by the unknown acoustics elements of an open wall or ceiling cavity and offer better acoustic isolation from adjoining rooms. The trimless bezels offer a much more discreet and clean design aesthetic.

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