Mark Fleischmann

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Audio Video News
Will Apple Make Headphone Jacks Obsolete?
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 25, 2014
Consider the humble headphone jack. Whether it welcomes a big quarter-inch plug or a mini-plug, it is the nearly universal analog interface for headphones great and small. Apple is trying to change that with an addition to its Made for iPhone spec. Apple-friendly headphones will use the company’s new Lightning connector to receive 48-kilohertz digital stereo input, or 48-kHz mono for headphones with integrated mikes. Lightning headphones dubbed Standard will include a DAC, while those dubbed Advanced will add DSP and features such as active noise cancellation.
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AV Receiver Reviews
Denon AVR-S900W AV Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 19, 2014

Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $650

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Wi-Fi, AirPlay, Bluetooth
HDMI 2.0
Cool cardboard mike stand included
Minus
Slow DLNA media access
No MHL for phone streaming

THE VERDICT
The Denon AVR-S900W offers high value at a crowded price point, with superb performance, a competitive feature set, and a supplied stand for the room-correction mike.

You can’t set up room correction without a microphone, and you can’t use the mike without bringing it to ear-level elevation. But few A/V receiver makers include a mike stand. Along with Anthem, Denon is now one of the happy exceptions. No, the stand packed with the AVR-S900W isn’t a metal photography tripod with all the mechanical trimmings. But it is an effective platform for the mike used to set up Audyssey room correction. Constructed entirely of black card stock, it consists of a four-finned base, two plain column pieces, and a third column piece with sawtooth holes for height adjustment. Piece it all together, top it off with the customary Hershey’s Kiss–shaped mike, and you have something that looks like a rocket. Run Audyssey’s auto setup and room correction program—in this case, the MultEQ version, which measures from six seating positions—and your home theater system is ready for liftoff.

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CEDIA 2014
Yamaha Shows Atmos Receivers
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 12, 2014
Yamaha's excellent Aventage surround receiver line now features two Dolby Atmos compatible models, both with nine amp channels: the RX-A3040 ($2199, 150 watts with two channels driven) and RX-A2040 ($1699, 140 watts with two channels driven). The semi-enclosed demo, with Yamaha speakers, was crisp enough to rise above the noise of the show floor, and the height effects (from ceiling speakers) were clearly discernible. Yamaha also showed its first sound base, the SRT-1000 ($500), which features eight front "beam drivers" along with two oval mid-woofers and two bottom-firing bass drivers. Made of sturdy MDF, it is designed to hold sets up to 88 pounds and 55 inches. In addition Yamaha showed two soundbars, one with HDMI input and lossless surround decoding for $1000 and one with legacy inputs for $399. The former is the YSP-2500, which simulates "true 7.1" surround from 16 beam drivers. It is the first soundbar we've encountered with a headphone jack.
CEDIA 2014
Triad Atmos Drivers Are a Quartet
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 12, 2014
Two years in the making in close association with Dolby Labs, Triad's approach to a Dolby Atmos enabled speaker is to build four two-inch ScanSpeak drivers into the top for the height channels. The Inroom Bronze LR-H is based on the InRoom Bronze LCR, with the front driver array consisting of a one-inch fabric dome tweeter and dual 5.5-inch woofers. We've heard the prototype in Dolby's New York offices and it produces impressive height effects. Atmos capability raises the basic model price from $600 to $1000/pair.
CEDIA 2014
KEF Bows Atmos Add-On Speaker
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 12, 2014
KEF's famous coaxial Uni-Q driver array is what distinguishes its R60 Dolby Atmos enabled speaker ($1200/pair) from the competition. With a one-inch aluminum tweeter nestling amid a 5.25-inch aluminum woofer, it's the same version of Uni-Q used on the R100. KEF also showed three new tower speakers and a monitor: Blade Two ($24,000/pair), Reference 5 ($18,000/pair), Reference 3 ($13,000/pair), and Reference One ($7500/pair).
CEDIA 2014
This Sonus Faber Is Not Atmos-Enabled
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 12, 2014
You might suspect the top-firing driver in Sonus Faber's Lilium tower ($70,000/pair) makes it a Dolby Atmos enabled speaker. But you'd be wrong. That's a bass driver, not a height driver, and it's complemented by a bottom-firing passive radiator. The 3.5-way system is triwired and, as you'd expect from the luxury-minded Italian manufacturer, dressed to kill. Price: $70,000/pair.
CEDIA 2014
Bowers & Wilkins Overhauls CM Series
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 12, 2014
The rethought CM Series from Bowers & Wilkins includes three towers, three monitors, two centers, and one sub. They use a double dome aluminum tweeter array which combines a dome with a ring radiator, stiffening the driver and shifting its breakup mode from 30 to 38 kHz. Nautilus-style tweeter tube loading is employed in all of these new speakers though it's most visible in the tweeter-on-top models (the CM10 S2 tower and, pictured here, the CM6 S2 monitor). Woofers continue to be Kevlar. The models, all priced per speaker, are the CM10 S2 tower ($2000), CM9 S2 tower ($1600), CM8 S2 tower ($1200), CM6 S2 monitor ($1000), CM5 S2 monitor ($800), CM1 S2 monitor ($550), CM Centre2 S2 ($1250), CM Centre S2 ($700), and ASW 10CM S2 subwoofer ($1500).
CEDIA 2014
D+M Has an Angle on Atmos
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 12, 2014
One question about Dolby Atmos that we haven't seen raised before: What effect would it have on auto setup and room correction systems in receivers and pre-pros? D+M's Atmos demo provided the answer: Audyssey has updated its technology to handle Atmos related concerns. The D+M demo used vaguely specified products including a Marantz pre-pro, Marantz multichannel amp, and Snell speakers. It used the same Dolby Labs clip disc as every other Atmos demo at CEDIA, but because it wasn't abusively loud, we enjoyed it more than most of the others.
CEDIA 2014
Integra Offers Many Atmos Options
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 12, 2014
One of the largest selections of Dolby Atmos compatible surround receivers and pre-pros was at the Integra booth. They included these receivers: DTR-70.6, 11.2 channels, 135 watts per channel with two channels driven; DTR-60.6, 9.2 channels, 135 watts; DTR-50.6, 7.2 channels, 130 watts; DTR-40.6, 9.2 channels, 110 watts; DTR-30.6, 7.2 channels, 95 watts; and the Atmos-incompatible DTR-20.4, 5.2 channels, 80 watts. Then there were the pre-pros, of which only the first had Atmos: DHC-80.6, 11.2 channels; and DHC-60.5, 7.2 channels. Finally Integra showed the DTA-70.1 nine-channel power amp, rated at 150 watts per channel. Most of the receivers (except the last) are THX Select2 Plus certified while the pre-pros and multichannel amp are THX Ultra2 Plus certified. Select models also have ISF video certification and the HDBaseT HDMI extension interface. We'll update with prices when we get them.
CEDIA 2014
Focal Bar and Flat Sub Fit Together Nicely
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 12, 2014
Focal ingeniously integrates a soundbar with a subwoofing TV stand. They're two separate products, but notice how they fit together. The Dimension 5.1 soundbar ($1399) is a "true 5.1" bar with a brushed aluminum chassis holding five inverted dome full-range drivers and lateral bass drivers, driven by six times 75 watts, along with HDMI, lossless surround decoding, and touch controls at the right side. Four dip-switch DSP controls compensate for room size, seating distance, and whether you're using a wall mount or placing the bar on a cadenza. Both standing and wall brackets are provided. If you want more bass, place the Dimension SUB ($399) behind the bar. Wouldn't that block the sub's drivers? No, the elliptical drivers are on the sides. The demo sounded excellent, with a warm, un-screechy midrange and full bass.

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