CES 2014

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CES 2014
What the World Needs Is More Swag for Mark
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 10, 2014  | 
If Mark, who is now writing about himself in the third person and enjoying it too much, hasn't gotten more audiophile demo material for use in reviews, it's due more to an inexplicable shyness on his part than stinginess on anyone else's. He asked Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab and Ray Kimber for some high-res analog and digital software, and guess what? They said yes! MoFi pressings are half-speed mastered and pressed on 180-gram virgin vinyl. The 45 rpm set of Dylan's Blonde on Blonde may prove especially tasty. Kimber, best known as a cable magnate, is also a virtuoso recordist using DSD and his IsoMike technology, which employs baffled microphones to defeat infrachannel interference. If you're one of those people who say SACD is dead, shut up. Can't wait to dig into that big box of Mozart piano sonatas, performed by Robert Silverman.
CES 2014
Wolf (Cinema) in the Fold
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 14, 2014  | 
Wolf Cinema was the second of only two home theater demos I found at the Venetian Hotel (the other being the MSR discussed above), which was otherwise (apart from a few soundbars) a sea of 2-channel, audio-only demos. Wolf Cinema showed three of its offerings. The fabulous photo shown here was the headliner, the $25,000 SDC-25. It's a single-chip DLP design with lamp-free, LED illumination, and looked plenty bright on a 102-inch (wide) screen.
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CES 2014
Would You Wear an Epson TV on Your Nose?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 06, 2014  | 
Epson. The printer and projector guys, right? Well, yes. But Epson, in a display of diversity, has jumped on board the wearable bandwagon. At its Monday press conference, Epson unveiled its vision of wearable technologies, as well as a number of new wearable products. Most interestingly, Epson showed glasses with built-in home theater technology.

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CES 2014
Yes, You Can Afford Totems
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2014  | 
Canada's Totem Acoustic has been making great speakers for the high-end market for quite some time, and by high-end standards, they're not all that expensive. But Totem reaches into the most affordable territory yet with the Kin monitor. It has a four-inch honeycomb paper woofer, 0.75-inch silk dome tweeter, and (despite its modest size) dual terminals for biamping or biwiring. The Kin ships in May for $499/pair, and can be bought in odd-numbered lots for surround use. There will also be a Kin sub ($699).
CES 2014
You Can Rain on iHome's Parade
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 09, 2014  | 
iHome's booth is a must-see on my yearly tour of the floor. They always have lots of cool stuff. This year, the iBN6 caught my eye; it is a waterproof Bluetooth stereo speaker. It also doubles as a speakerphone, and features NFC (Near Field Communications); you can take calls through the unit or your paired phone. It was a winner of the CES 2014 Innovation and Design award, as well as an iLounge Best of Show award.

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CES 2014
Your Own Mini Marshall
Bob Ankosko  |  Jan 09, 2014  | 
If you love to listen to or play rock—particularly classic rock—then you know (love?) the Marshall sound. You can now own your own mini Marshall in the form of the Stanmore compact stereo speaker system, designed to look like a vintage Marshall guitar amp.

Available in black or cream, the finely appointed, 11-pound cabinet measures roughly 14 x 7 x 7 inches and packs a 5.25-inch woofer and two 0.75-inch dome tweeters powered by a 40 + 2 x 20-watt Class D amp.You can wirelessly stream music to the Stanmore via Bluetooth/aptX or plug in via an RCA input, minijack (coiled cord included), or optical input. Sorry, you can’t jack in your Les Paul. Pricing is expected to be in the $600 to $700 range.

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CES 2014
Zombies at CES (sort of)
SV Staff  |  Jan 09, 2014  | 
I love the Walking Dead as much as the next guy, but a Walking Dead guitar? At 2014 CES, Peavy showed a number of character guitars. Don’t like zombies, how about a Captain America or Incredible Hulk axe?
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