CEDIA 2016

CEDIA is a custom installation show by definition, and many or most of the demos used in-wall or on-wall speakers, for better or worse.

One of the “better” was the GoldenEar demo. It used Invisa MPXs (woofer-tweeter-woofer) for the L/R front and surround channels ($499/each), a SuperSat 60C center ($699), Invisa 7000s for the overhead Atmos speakers ($499 each), and a single tiny SuperSub X ($1249). The latter was the main introduction, and was covered here in an earlier blog. The front end consisted of an Oppo Blu-ray player, a Marantz 8802a pre-pro, and Parasound amps.

The system sounded smooth, open and uncolored on the selections I heard, some chosen by GoldenEar (mostly Atmos) and some from a couple of discs I brought with me. While the system lacked the show’s many blastingly loud demos that raised the hairs on the back of your neck (and threatened to wear you out after 20 minutes—I’m not sure how the demo-runners managed to sit through them for three days), it provided a relaxed yet detailed soundscape one could listen to all day.