LATEST ADDITIONS

In a world where manufacturers all too often behave with a depraved indifference toward the muscles of the lower abdomen, Thiel has introduced a speaker that poses no hazard to the delicate. True, Jim Thiel dodged the all-important weight question, but judging from the way he picked it up and casually hefted it, the SCS4 should be just my kind of speaker. It has the same coaxial driver array as the SCS3, uses a challenging (Jim said) first-order crossover, and will ship before year-end for less than $1000. I will try this at home. The Thiel exhibit is using it as the center and surround speakers in a demo system with the floorstanding CS3.7--unveiled nine months ago at CES and previously unheard--serving as front left/right.

The show floor can be a messon the days before the event. You wonder how they'll ever get it ready in time, but somehow they always do!

Stewart Filmscreen announced its new StarGlas rigid rear projection screen with the screen element sandwiched between two layers of safety glass. It's available in both 0.6 and 1.0 gain versions and is said to be durable, easily cleaned, and, according to Stewart's Joachin Rivera (shown here with the screen), ideal for indoor, outdoor, or even exterior wall use (rear projection from inside, viewing from outside).

OK- Sony's Pearl is probably the worst kept secret the industry’s seen in years. And yes, I tried to remain a jaded, even cynical reporter during its introduction here at CEDIA 2006- especially since just this morning, several hours before Sony’s press event, a well-informed reader sent me some of the projector’s key specs and even the price!