CES 2014

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Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 07, 2014  | 
The Holy Grail of 3D has long been 3D without glasses—technically known as autostereoscopic 3D. But past CES demos of this technology have been notable duds.

The only way to do 3D without glasses is to process the image so that the images to each eye are isolated. But this has a side effect. You can see the 3D when viewed straight on. Move off center by a few degrees and the 3D disappears, taking some image quality with it. Move a bit further off-axis and the 3D returns. And so on—and off. The result is you get 3D only in a limited range of viewing zones, and poor image quality in others.

Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 07, 2014  | 
Dynaudio has rethought its Excite line, of which the smallest member is the X14 ($1500/pair). Just about every part has been overhauled, including the one-inch silk dome tweeter, said to have 65 percent more usable surface area than a typical same-sized driver; and a 5.25-inch proprietary woofer made of magnesium silicate polymer. Yes, there's a matching horizontal center, the X24 ($1000). There's not an Excite sub as such but Dynaudio suggests the 10-inch Sub 250. All shipping end of January.
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jan 10, 2014  | 
Take a look at these speakers. Although Edifier has named it the Spinnaker, I can’t decide if they look like sails or a pair of devil’s horns, especially when I checked out the beautiful burgundy-colored ones. The Spinnaker is available in this lush color, or a more standard black.

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.
Brent Butterworth  |  Jan 10, 2014  | 

Epos Acoustics could justify the claim that its new K-series speakers are fine-tuned for today's audio world based solely on the sleek, seamless design. But there's more to the K-series than cool looks.

Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 06, 2014  | 
Eton has made a name for itself with its extreme audio products. If you need a portable radio, an emergency radio, a solar-powered speaker, or even a crank-powered radio, Eton probably has just what you're looking for. Now they have something new in their outdoorsy lineup.

Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 10, 2014  |  First Published: Jan 11, 2014  | 
ivee Sleek is a “hands-free, voice-activated, internet-connected assistant for the home that answers questions, obeys commands and controls other internet-connected devices.” ivee Sleek uses the AT&T Speech API powered by the AT&T Watson speech recognition engine to begin the process of turning voice commands or questions into system actions or answers. ivee Sleek has the smarts and the capabilities to understand and answer questions in 33 categories, including time and weather conditions and stock prices. The smart assistant is also able to integrate with Iris from Lowe’s and Staples Connect systems, giving it the ability to control internet-connected devices, such as smart thermostats, motorized locks, security cameras, and smart plugs. Oh, yeah, it’s also a digital clock, too. ivee Sleek is available for pre-order now for $229.99. No subscription fees are required.
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jan 07, 2014  | 
While most press conferences here at CES are geared towards big, life-changing electronics, there is a growing segment of conferences and products devoted to kids and families. While most companies target products to women by making them smaller and well, cuter, other companies are recognizing that moms also purchase serious technology to make their lives easier. Another oft-overlooked segment is the educational and children’s technology market.

Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 07, 2014  | 
You've seen lots of pocket speakers. They clip onto a phone case or otherwise connect wirelessly or not to your phone to improve playback fidelity. Given the abysmal state of built-in phone speakers, it's true that most pocket speakers provide quantitatively better sound. But, most of them are still awfully lacking in the fidelity department. Felt Audio's Nomad is a pocket speaker that actually takes its duties seriously.

Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 10, 2014  | 
After a week of CES buffet food, I could probably stand to lose a few pounds. Maybe I should strap on some Fitness Technologies gear and go for a swim. FT specializes in sports electronics, offering three small players, each with a different wrinkle, and each advertised as "the world's smallest." In addition, to being small, the players are also waterproof. And when FT says "waterproof," they mean it; these players can be submerged in up to 10 feet of water (IPX8 rating). Swim, sail, surf, kayak, snorkel, ski, jog, scuba - you get the picture.

Mike Mettler  |  Jan 09, 2014  | 
"We knew this was a bunch of people who love music," said an appreciative Stevie Nicks about the Monstrous crowd at Fleetwood Mac's muscular 75-minute set, which capped Monster's 2014 Retailer Awards at the Paris Ballroom in the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas on January 8. The mighty Mac were the headliners for a night that saw Monster celebrate its 35th anniversary with style and class.
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.

Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2014  | 
The 6.5-inch woofer in Focal's Aria 906 monitor is made of a hollow flax fiber sandwiched in a layer of transparent plastic-like glass tissue. The combination is light and tough and we've never seen the like before. The tall stand-mount also includes a one-inch aluminum-magnesium tweeter. The monitor began shipping in October 2013 for $1499/pair and can be accompanied by a matching center; a sub will follow in May 2014. Three towers are also available. In an adjoining room Focal showed its first soundbar, the Dimension, which will get separate coverage. The products are made in France so you know they'll be delicious.
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 11, 2014  | 
Dolby Atmos, a new object-oriented surround standard, was perhaps the biggest audio story at CEDIA, with speaker and receiver makers both unveiling Atmos enabled products. At GoldenEar Technology that was the HTR 7000 ceiling speaker ($500/each), which angles sound at the downward angle recommended by Dolby. There were four of them running along with GoldenEar's world-beating Triton One tower in front, SuperCenter XL, and smaller Triton Two in the rear, powered by a combination of Pass and NAD amps fed by an Integra pre-pro. One of the cool things about Atmos is that the ceiling speakers are fed with genuine spatial information specified by the mixer, as opposed to fake height channels derived from other channels. Combined with GoldenEar's signature folded ribbon tweeter, this made for strong height effects, which were especially striking in the Dolby demo material. A scene from Transformers: Age of Extinction showed off the system's dynamic prowess, including the folded ribbon tweeters' ability to remain coherent at high volumes.
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 08, 2014  | 
GoldenEar Technology's SuperCinema 3D Array XL, for TVs of 70 inches and up, is an upsized version of the existing SuperCinema 3D Array soundbar. The three-channel bar features a trio of the company's signature folded ribbon tweeters which provide wide dispersion and in general a beautifully listenable top end. The 2.5-way center-channel driver array is derived from the SuperSat 60. Price $1499. Also shown was the new flagship tower Triton One. (Another contributor will fill you in on that.)

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