Unlike Tom Norton and 99% of the other journalists who attend CEDIA, I don't carry a laptop computer to the show. I also take very few notes. The reason goes beyond basic laziness. I want to write about the truly memorable new products from CEDIA. What better way to accomplish my goal than to postpone writing till several days after CEDIA to see what I remember? What follows are the top new audio products I saw and heard at CEDIA 2005.

McIntosh unveiled the biggest, most powerful, and most expensive monaural power amp they have ever built, the MC2KW. Providing up to 2000 watts into an 8 ohm load and weighing 437 lbs., this $30,000 behemoth requires two separate, dedicated 20-amp AC power lines, one for each of its power modules. To call the MC2KW massive would be an understatement. If you wanted to use five of them to power your 5.1-channel home theater system you would need 10 dedicated AC circuits, $150,000, and a pair of sumo wrestlers to install them. While it's easy to write this amplifier off as more of a publicity stunt than a real-world product, McIntosh claims to already have orders for six pairs. Indeed.

Mini Me's
Bel Canto's new e.One REF1000 is a microscopic spec compared to the McIntosh MC2KW. This miniscule monoblock puts out 500 watts into 8 ohms and 1000 watts into 4 ohms, while weighing a mere 13 lbs. and occupying a 8.5" by 5.3" x 13" space. Priced at $2000, the e.One REF1000 trumps Bel Canto's 2005 Ultimate A/V Platinum award-winning Evo-2 amp with more power, a smaller footprint, and a lower price. I heard the amp in several different systems at "T.H.E. Show," an unofficial "outboard" show held across town and featuring high-end audio setup, both 2- and multi-channel. It impressed me each time with its suavity, transparency and dynamic ease. Of course I want to review the e.One REF1000 ASAP. Who wouldn't?

Music Minus One
Lexicon's new software revision to their flagship A/V processor, the MC-12, combines the latest versions of 5.1 Logic7 and Dolby PLXIIx with a unique piece of software called Lexicon Live. This isn't your typical DSP processing mode for pre-recorded music. Instead Lexicon Live changes its sonic characteristics to make it sound like your room is more hospitable for acoustic instruments. Originally developed on Lexicon's pro side to transform concert halls, theaters, auditoriums, and classrooms at music schools into acceptable acoustic environments, Lexicon Live can turn a overly dead home theater space into a great place to play live music. A technical description of Lexicon Live would fill up far more space than I have allotted, but it combines room equalization with variable frequency-based digital reverb to create a virtual room. Lexicon's demo proved to me that Lexicon Live works. Anyone who plays acoustic guitar or hosts house concerts will find this new addition to the MC-12's feature set especially exciting. I know I do.

Levinson, The Company
Mark Levinson, the company (not to be confused with Mark Levinson the person, former owner of Mark Levinson the company and ex-husband of Kim Cattrall, who is no longer associated with either Mark Levinson the company or Mark Levinson the person), unveiled a new 3-channel amplifier, the N 433. This well-endowed triple mono 200-watt (8 ohms) power amplifier doubles its power rating to 400 watts at 4 ohms. It also has independent power supplies for each channel along with individual heat sinks. Its convection cooling design means that even when driven hard the N 433 needs no fans, so it can be installed into even the quietest rooms. Although I didn't have an opportunity to hear it, if the N 433 sounds half as good as it looked it will make beautiful women blush and strong men swoon. Its projected price will be around $10,000.

Flat as A Pancake
At the CES 2005 Bob Carver of Sunfire demonstrated a prototype 7-channel amplifier. At CEDIA Sunfire unveiled its new Flat8 8-channel amplifier based on this prototype design. Weighing only 7.2 lbs. the Flat8 delivers 144 watts into 8 ohms and 200 watts into 4 ohms. Its energy efficient design uses only 1.3 watts in sentry sleep mode, 8 watts in standby, 24 watts at idle and 1024 watts at full power output into all eight channels. Sunfire claims that even when driven hard the Flat8 will never get more than slightly warm to the touch, making it ideal for installation into spaces where other amps would roast to death. Slated for delivery by the last quarter of 2005 and tentatively priced at $1500, the Flat8 looks like an elegant solution for home theater systems that want to be heard but never seen.

Vincent With Two Ears
Vincent Electronics are built in China, the home of more and more electronics manufacturers. Distributed in the US by Q-Audio, which also supports Elac speakers and Thorens turntables, Vincent makes several amplifiers that could fit nicely into a high-end home theater. Vincent's SP-T100 ($2495/pr) hybrid monaural power amp mates a tube front end with a solid-state output. It can switch from a 100-watt A/B amp into a 10-watt class A amplifier at the push of a button. Vincent also makes an all solid-state mono amp, the SP-997 ($995 each) for folks who would prefer not to have their home theaters infused with a warm tubey glow.

NAD Masters Series M15 Preamp-Processor

Mister, Masters
NAD unveiled their long awaited new reference products, dubbed the Masters Series. The line includes a surround sound processor (M15 $2999), 7-channel power amplifier (M25 $2999), universal disc player (M55 $1799), and stereo integrated amplifier (M3 $2799). The M15 processor sports HDMI video switching and upconverts composite and S-video sources to component video. Their 160-watt per channel, 7-channel M25 amplifier features NAD's proprietary soft clipping feature as well as a dynamic power peak potential of 540 watts into 2 ohms. The M55 universal player includes the HDMI outputs and features a dual discrete video output that allows standard and upconverted high definition outputs to operate simultaneously. These new Masters Series components all share a similar front faceplate design that looks far more luxurious than previous generations of NAD components. Yum.

Tea for Two
Parasound products have a well-deserved reputation for delivering high-end products at mid-fi prices. Their latest offerings include their first universal disc player, the NewClassic D 200 ($1500). This player handles DVD-A and SACD as well as standard DVD and CD formats. The D 200 includes Faroudja deinterlacing and an HDMI output that can be configured for 480P, 720P, or 1080i. Parasound's Zpre2 ($350) is a "miniature A/V preamplifier" that allows two-zone operation for four analog audio and two composite video sources. Designed for multi-room distributed audio, the Zpre2 could also fit nicely into a small den, desktop, or guest room system.

Up One, Over Two
Anthem demonstrated their newest preamp/processor, the D2 (no price announced). Although Anthem has long been known for stellar sound, the D2's video capabilities may eclipse its audio features. Along with four HDMI inputs the D2 has provisions for video transcoding S-video and composite video sources to both component and HDMI outputs. The D2 can also upconvert all sources up to 1080P using a Gennum GF9350 VXP image processor. Its on-screen displays are also available via HDMI and component video outputs. Good news for owners of earlier D1 preamp owners, these new video capabilities can be added to their units for a $1500 conversion charge.

Theta Valis preamp processor

Yamaha AV Network Center: A tantalizing glimpse of next year's hot product category, or a future victim of content protection?

Yamaha Blu-ray

Sony Blu-ray. Apart from a few prototypes, a panel session on Blu-ray, and a low-key Toshiba demo of HD-DVD, Blu-ray and HD-DVD were the major non-stories at CEDIA Expo 2005

Pro-ject Perspective: It doesn't play DVDs, but was too pretty to leave out.