LATEST ADDITIONS

CES 2014
Bryston Makes a "Normal" Speaker: the Middle T Tower
Brent Butterworth  |  Jan 10, 2014

Bryston's early speakers were boxy, pro-monitor-style creations, but its latest products are a lot sleeker and more home-friendly. They're also designed -- as one might expect from a Canadian audio company -- according to sound, decades-proven scientific principles. That's why the Middle T tower speaker delivered some of the best sound I heard at CES.

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CES 2014
Focal Has a New Angle On the Soundbar
Bob Ankosko  |  Jan 10, 2014
French speaker company Focal made its entry into the burgeoning soundbar market at 2014 CES with the clever two-piece Dimension system, comprising a parallelogram-shaped soundbar and optional matching subwoofer. The slender soundbar, which is only 3 inches deep and made of aluminum, can be used alone and mounted to the wall (bracket included) or mated with the 4.5-inch-deep “vibration-free” subwoofer to form a TV platform. Both pieces are 61 inches wide, making them appropriate for use with screens 50 inches or larger.

The soundbar plays down to 50 Hz and uses five, “ultra-flat” 4-inch drivers to keep the enclosure depth to a minimum. Highlights include “acoustic integration” settings to optimize performance and two HDMI jacks plus optical and analog inputs. The subwoofer, with two elliptical woofers in a push-pull configuration, is rated down to 30 Hz. A built-in six-channel amplifier delivers 450 watts of system power.

The Dimension soundbar is expected to sell for $1,400 when it becomes available later this year; the companion subwoofer will sell for $500.

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CES 2014
Waterfall Audio Creates a Clearly Different Tweeter
Brent Butterworth  |  Jan 10, 2014

Here's something I'm almost 100% positive you've never seen before: a tweeter horn made from glass. Waterfall Audio has been pushing its glass-walled speakers for years; here's a system I reviewed for Sound & Vision a couple of years ago. But the new Victoria Evo takes the concept to a new level.

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CES 2014
GoldenEar Launches Triton One Tower Speaker
Brent Butterworth  |  Jan 10, 2014

What might have been the most anticipated speaker launch of CES definitely delivered when GoldenEar demoed its new Triton One flagship tower speaker. Walking around the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, I kept hearing showgoers rave about the Triton One's sound -- no big surprise, considering that speakers like the Triton Seven have gotten such glowing reviews in Sound & Vision and other publications.

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CES 2014
Aerial Acoustics Slims Down With New 6T Tower Speaker
Brent Butterworth  |  Jan 10, 2014

I wouldn't call Aerial Acoustics' speakers "chunky," but the brand's definitely not known for decor-friendly products. That's partly why I was so happy to encounter the 6T, the company's new tower speaker, which it showed in its suite at the Venetian Hotel during CES.

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CES 2014
Edifier Launches Luna Eclipse, a Speaker with Style
Bob Ankosko  |  Jan 09, 2014
Let’s face it, square and rectangular speakers are boring. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all, which is why I did a double take as I walked past the Edifier booth and spotted a row of colorful and stylish e25 Luna Eclipse speakers. How refreshing, though I had to admit the Luna reminded me of one of those egg chairs from the’60s, and in a setting right out of 2001: A Space Odyssey to boot.
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CES 2014
Man Overboard! Throw Him a Life Jacket!
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 09, 2014
The Life Jacket iMW575 is a ruggedized, portable Bluetooth speaker. It is the flagship in a line of speakers carrying the Altec Lansing name. The Life Jacket stands out with an impressive 16 hours of battery life. It features a rubberized case that provides an IPX7 rating; that means the speaker is waterproof - it can be submerged in a meter of water for 30 minutes. The design also confers a degree of shock resistance, and the speaker can withstand a degree of dirt, sand, and dust.

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CES 2014
MartinLogan Teases New Motion Tower
Brent Butterworth  |  Jan 09, 2014  |  First Published: Jan 10, 2014
MartinLogan didn't have a lot of information to share about this prototype of this new tower, which is intended as the new flagship of the Motion Series speaker line.
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CES 2014
MartinLogan Makes Some Wireless Noise with Crescendo
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 09, 2014
At CEDIA2013, MartinLogan teased us with a sneak peak at a prototype AirPlay/Bluetooth speaker that was absolutely beautiful and sure to sound fantastic thanks, in large part, to its use of MartinLogan’s amazing Folded Motion tweeters. The new Crescendo wireless stereo speaker has burst out of its prototype cocoon and become an official product that includes AirPlay and Bluetooth connectivity. The remote control, normally an item manufacturers tend to overlook, included with the Crescendo is made from extruded aluminum and is extremely well designed with rubberized button caps that are easy to find and use without looking at the remote. Twin Folded Motion tweeters flank the central 5x7-inch woofer. The tweeters are also positioned to fire away from one another to the sides of the room, a design that helps to dramatically widen the stereo soundstage of the Crescendo, and it includes a subwoofer output. The gorgeous sound machine will be available in “early 2014” for $899. Of all the small speaker systems I’ve heard so far at CES2014, the MartinLogan Crescendo is unquestionably at the top of the tall stack.
CES 2014
HDTV Goes Head-to-Head with HDTV+
Al Griffin  |  Jan 09, 2014
Sharp’s new AQUOS Quattron+ TV line is being pitched as the company’s solution for consumers who want a new set capable of handling Ultra HD content, but don’t want to pay a premium price for it. What Quattron+ brings to the table is added resolution: By dividing up subpixels in the display, Sharp is able to double the vertical pixel count.
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