CEDIA 2010

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CEDIA 2010

Cambridge Minx Sat/Sub Set Makes Tiny Debut

Mark Fleischmann | Sep 25, 2010 |

We can think of a few other manufacturers who have showed impressive-sounding new speakers behind an acoustically porous curtain and then whipped the curtain aside to reveal a compact satellite/subwoofer set. The latest is Cambridge Audio's Minx, with its three-inch cube available in single (Min-10) or dual (Min-20) versions with three tough little subs. The smallest 5.1 configuration would cost a reasonable $550/set with additional cubes at $80/each. If you are considering adding, say, DPLIIz height or DSX width speakers to your system with minimal fuss, this modular easy-mount approach may be just the thing. The full-range drivers had a pleasingly warm sound that did well with male vocals and had no nasty ringing. Bass was strong if a little tubby (but we were sitting against the rear wall). Minx got our attention and we hope to follow up with a review.

CEDIA 2010

SpeakerCraft’s BoomTomb

Darryl Wilkinson | Sep 25, 2010 |

SpeakerCrafts’s latest outdoor subwoofer aims to go low – really low, as in subterranean. In fact, this woofer goes so low all you can see is a small, hooded port that’s exposed above the surface of the ground. The rest of the “BoomTomb” is buried underground for a near-total stealth look. Inside the BoomTomb is a 10-inch long-throw woofer, and a hood covers the top of the port to protect the stuff inside from the elements and curious critters. A dedicated 250-watt amp gets to stay inside next to the rest of your electronics where it is (hopefully) warm and dry. No word yet on pricing.

CEDIA 2010

WTF??

Darryl Wilkinson | Sep 25, 2010 |

“Ton Art is a collaboration between artists, designers and craftspeople, creating sonic sculptures that unite light and sound in three dimensional form.” Yes, it’s a speaker. (I think…)

CEDIA 2010

Babes in Toyland

Darryl Wilkinson | Sep 25, 2010 |

You might think CEDIA would be a poor environment in which to meet women – but it turns out that a broad assortment of the best and brightest women in the CE business were in attendance at the Women in CE Breakfast Saturday morning. The organization aims to help women become a more important part of the industry than simply the “W” in Wife Acceptance Factor, and today’s annual meeting kept them abreast of the many benefits of mentoring. Interestingly, the sponsor (who shall remain nameless but she knows who she is) of the table at which I sat had mentored me in the fine act of drinking me under the table the day before, so I feel perfectly justified making this politically incorrect post.

CEDIA 2010

ADA Trinnov Room Correction

Scott Wilkinson | Sep 25, 2010 |

After several years of prototype demos at trade shows, Audio Design Associates (ADA) is finally releasing a consumer version of its Trinnov room correction technology in three standalone boxes—the TEQ-4 ($10,000), TEQ-8 ($12,000), and TEQ-12 ($15,000); the model number indicates how many audio channels each one supports. The first step is to play test tones and measure several listening positions with the included microphone, which uses four pickups spaced so that the speakers' position—including height—can be measured accurately.

CEDIA 2010

RBH SA-500 Monoblock Subwoofer Amp

Scott Wilkinson | Sep 25, 2010 |

As I was listening to the Trinnov demo in RBH's booth, I was told about the company's brand new subwoofer amp, the SA-500, which provides 500W of class-D power. It's so new that only three exist, which were powering the company's 1010-SXN/R sub and the bass portions of two 8300-SX/Rs at the front left and right, and as I said in the Trinnov post, the sound was excellent with no hint of bloat. The rep didn't have pricing or availability.

CEDIA 2010

ADA PTM-7150 7-Channel Power Amp

Scott Wilkinson | Sep 25, 2010 |

Audio Design Associates (ADA) introduced two versions of a new multichannel power amp at CEDIA—the PTM-7150 (seven channels, $10,000) and PTM-5150 (five channels, $8000). Each one pumps 150Wpc into 8Ω, 250Wpc into 4Ω, and around 600Wpc into 2Ω. It operates in pure class-A mode for the first 50 watts, after which it moves to class-AB, and a patent-pending cooling system uses a high-volume/low-speed fan under the heat sinks to keep the amp cool and quiet.

CEDIA 2010

Krell Evolution 555 Blu-ray Player

Scott Wilkinson | Sep 25, 2010 |

Krell is finally about to ship its Evolution 555 Blu-ray player ($15,000, November), and a rep was quick to point out that it's not a rebranded Oppo—it was designed and built from the ground up by Krell. It has most of the bells and whistles, including access to Hulu and Netflix, WiFi, UPnP (not DLNA), and an iPad control app; 3D will come in a firmware update next year. Processing is provided by Sigma Designs VXP, and if you connect it to a Krell pre/pro via HDMI, it will jump right to the disc menu, skipping all those pesky trailers and FBI warnings.

CEDIA 2010

SIM2 HDR47E LED-Backlit LCD Monitor

Scott Wilkinson | Sep 25, 2010 |

Aside from a bunch of projectors, SIM2 was also showing its 47-inch HDR47E LCD monitor, which uses Dolby's high-dynamic range LED-backlight technology in which each of the 2206 LEDs are individually dimmable with 20 bits of resolution, leading to a claimed contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. Normally, I dismiss contrast specs, but I can believe this one—even on the show floor, the blacks were stunning, and bright portions were really bright; according to SIM2, the peak light output is 4000 nits, which is equivalent to 1167 foot-lamberts!

The HDR47E is intended for professional applications, such as automotive and medical imaging, and there are no specific plans to bring anything like it to the consumer market. And $35,000 for a 47-inch LCD is mighty steep. But it sure looked great playing Avatar.

CEDIA 2010

Pathos Adrenalin Monoblock Power Amp

Scott Wilkinson | Sep 25, 2010 |

At $50,000/pair, the Adrenalin monoblock from Pathos is a serious investment. But for all that bread, you get 180W of pure class-A power with a tube input stage and MOSFET output stage. And it looks wicked cool, too!

CEDIA 2010

Focal Viva Utopia Speakers

Scott Wilkinson | Sep 25, 2010 |

Focal is growing its Utopia line with the Viva, which comes in two varieties—a vertically oriented LCR that is also used for the surrounds and a horizontal center-channel that is otherwise essentially identical. Both incorporate the company's IAL2 beryllium tweeter and third-generation W-cone midranges and woofers for a frequency response from 39Hz to 50kHz (±3dB) and a sensitivity of 92dB/W/m.

CEDIA 2010

DreamVision Starlight3 LCoS Projector

Scott Wilkinson | Sep 25, 2010 |

Last week, I wrote about the DreamVision Starlight3 LCoS projector ($9500), which is available in several finishes, such as the faux carbon-fiber pictured here. Today, I popped in to see a demo of the Starlight2, and it was mighty impressive on a Perfect Vu unity-gain screen (2.35:1, 140 inches diagonal) using a Schneider anamorphic lens ($8000)—great blacks and colors on clips from Avatar and Up.

CEDIA 2010

Velodyne Digital Drive Plus Subwoofers

Scott Wilkinson | Sep 25, 2010 |

Looking like a scene from CSI, Velodyne's booth is emphasizing the goal to "kill the competition" with its new Digital Drive Plus subwoofers, which come with drivers measuring 10 ($3000), 12 ($3500), 15 ($5000), and 18 inches ($6000). These models feature 4.5 to 7dB more output depending on model, new rohacell driver material, redesigned cabinet, and much easier setup with 8-band EQ. Retained from the previous Digital Drive models is the same high-gain servo technology that reduces distortion to a mere 0.5% at 20Hz.

CEDIA 2010

JVC Goes 3D

Tom Norton | Sep 24, 2010 |

JVC has announced six new projectors, three in the consumer Procision series (DLA-X9 at $11,995, DLA-X7 at $7,995, and DLA-X3 at $4495), and three models in the Reference Series (DLA-RS60, DLA-RS50, and DLA-RS40). The models at the same level in both series are equivalent in features and price (the DLA-RS-60 and the DLA-X9, for example) apart from slight cosmetic differences and different sales channels.

CEDIA 2010

Sony in Depth

Tom Norton | Sep 24, 2010 |

With all the activity in 3D, did anyone think that Sony wouldn't offer its first 3D projector at this year's CEDIA? Well, it has—the VP-VW90ES, and it's the first Sony projector to carry the ES brand.

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CEDIA 2010

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