Bob Ankosko

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CES 2013

Philips Soundbar Has Detachable Surround Speakers

Bob Ankosko | Jan 11, 2013

The Fidelio HTL9100 soundbar Philips introduced at CES is the first we’ve seen with detachable wireless speakers. Remove the compact enclosures from either end of the wing-like soundbar and the system automatically shifts from virtual surround to discrete 5.1 surround. The speakers’ on-board amplifiers are battery powered and said to run up to 10 hours when fully charged. Other highlights include Bluetooth connectivity for streaming music from smartphones and tablets, two HDMI inputs, and a sensor/equalizer that detects whether the soundbar is mounted on the wall or sitting on a shelf and adjusts the sound accordingly. The HTL9100 comes with a wireless subwoofer and will be available in May with a suggested retail price of $800.

CES 2013

JBL Upgrades its Flagship Project Everest Speaker

Bob Ankosko | Jan 11, 2013

JBL has continued to refine the design and performance of the flagship Project Everest DD66000 speaker it introduced six years, culminating in the $75,000-a-pair DD67000 unveiled at CES. Upgrades include a refined crossover network and extended frequency response thanks to new cast-aluminum-frame woofers, featuring three-layer laminated cone construction and 4-inch voice coils, a mid/high-frequency compression driver with a 4-inch beryllium diaphragm, and an ultrahigh-frequency compression driver with a 1-inch beryllium diaphragm and 2-inch neodymium magnet. Both compression drivers are mounted in JBL’s computer-optimized Bi-Radial horns, made from acoustically inert SonoGlass to eliminate unwanted colorations and shaped to optimize dispersion.

Available in rosewood or maple, the furniture-grade cabinet retains the curved and angled surfaces of its predecessor, including the signature flared horn, and introduces a carbon-fiber baffle trim panel. The speakers will be available in February.

CES 2013

TDK Goes Retro with Boombox…Sort of

Bob Ankosko | Jan 11, 2013

The boombox is alive and well in the form of the TDK Life on Record Wireless Boombox from Imation, which uses the TDK name under license. You won’t find a double cassette deck on this box, also known as the A73, but it does have an FM radio with presets and a feature few of us would have imagined back in the early ’80s: high-quality AAC wireless streaming via Bluetooth v2.1.

Features include good old-fashioned bass and treble knobs, a USB charging port so you can keep your phone powered up while you’re slinking down the street with the box on your shoulder, and an auxiliary input for when you want to go old-school and hook up your Teac tape deck. The A73’s rechargeable battery is said to last up to 6 hours when fully charged. List price is $400 but Amazon is currently selling it for $264.

CES 2013

CES 2013: On the Show Floor

Bob Ankosko | Jan 10, 2013

You just never know who or what you’re going to run into while walking the show floor…

Dancing Robots: Tosy’s mRobo Ultra Bass is actually an MP3 player with a built-in speaker. When the music starts to play, the little guy turns into a dancin’ fool with some serious moves. Best part: Watching his head pop out from his chest when the music starts (mRobo is a mere torso before he springs into action).

And then there's...

CES 2013

Harman Kardon Unveils Affordable A/V Receivers

Bob Ankosko | Jan 10, 2013

Harman Kardon, the company that brought us the world’s first audio receiver nearly 60 years ago, unveiled two affordable, forward-looking A/V receivers at CES. Both models have wireless connectivity via AirPlay, Wi-Fi and DLNA and include a vTuner for access to thousands of Internet Radio stations. Other common highlights include 4K upscaling for all inputs, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, multizone capability for simultaneously playing two audio sources in two rooms, an eco-friendly digital-power supply, Harman’s EzSet/EQ system and multiple HDMI inputs, including those for 3D playback, CEC and Deep Color.

The 7.1-channel AVR 2700 ($799) is rated to deliver 100 watts per channel, while the 7.2-channel AVR 3700 ($999) is rated at 125 watts per channel and provides two subwoofer outputs and a remote control for the second zone.

Both models are slated to hit stores over the next couple months and are compatible with Harman's free remote control app for Apple and Android mobile devices.

CES 2013

HiFiMan Targets Audiophiles with New Portable Music Player and Earphones

Bob Ankosko | Jan 10, 2013

HiFiMan is introducing two in-ear headphones aimed at “audiophiles on the go” and a high-performance portable music player at CES. The RE-600 “Songbird” ($399) and RE-400 “Waterline” ($99) earphones use custom-designed Titanium-coated drivers, neodymium magnets and premium cabling. Both are due out in the coming weeks.

The flagship HM-901 music player ($999) is slimmer than previous models, has a simplified user interface, and accepts most lossless audio formats, including Apple lossless. It uses 32-bit DAC chips and accommodates 24-bit/192 kHz upsampling. The player will be available in March with an optional $399 docking station to follow in April.

CES 2013

Klipsch Rocks CES with High-Performance Wireless Music System

Bob Ankosko | Jan 09, 2013

Just what the world needs: another wireless music system. Klipsch agrees, which is why it put audio quality first in the high-performance Stadium Music Center debuting at CES. The all-in-one system gets high marks for supporting connectivity via AirPlay, Wi-Fi, DLNA and the CD-quality aptX version of Bluetooth in a package that looks bold and sounds even bolder.

An on-the-fly demo with Red Hot Chili Peppers, featuring Flea’s muscular bass lines front and center, was impressive and had me looking around for a separate subwoofer. Not needed. The ring between the Stadium’s speaker modules joins a pair of 5.25-inch woofers that produce surprisingly deep bass to complement the rich sound delivered by pairs of horn-loaded 1-inch tweeters and 3-inch midrange drivers. The point of the system: You don’t have to sacrifice sound quality for convenience, according to Mark Casavant, senior vice president of product development. He’s not kidding.

Available this summer for $2,000, the system is housed in a brushed-aluminum cabinet with grille covers that come in several lifestyle colors.

Purposely resembling a mini band shell in a nod to the full-size Klipsch Music Center in the company’s home state of Indiana, the smaller Music Center KMC 3 will be available this spring for $400 in several bright colors. The system produces robust sound through a pair of 2-inch drivers and a 5.25-inch woofer, supports aptX Bluetooth and has a USB charging port and auxiliary input on its back panel.

CES 2013

Bang & Olufsen Brings High-Style Sound and Image to CES

Bob Ankosko | Jan 09, 2013

Denmark’s Bang & Olufsen continues its long tradition of melding style and technology at CES with the BeoVision 11 LED-based LCD HDTV, featuring an unusually robust six-speaker sound system, and the ultra-slim BeoLab 12 line of powered speakers.

Available in 40-, 46- and 55-inch screen sizes with prices starting at $5,995, the 3D-capable TV is DLNA-compliant for streaming content from a smartphone or home network via Wi-Fi and has an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts brightness and contrast. It also includes a motorized wall mount for adjusting the position of the screen via remote control. B&O offers a choice of six colors for the fabric panel below the screen, which can be framed in silver or black.

The BeoLab 12 speaker line now has three models: The 12-3 (shown) and 12-2, featuring an acoustic lens that disperses high frequencies in an 180-degree arc, and the new 12-1, which excludes the acoustic lens. Sound is reproduced by a flat 6.5-inch woofer and a 2-inch midrange/tweeter in the BeoLab 12-1, which packs 160 watts of power, while the 320-watt 12-2 and 480-watt 12-3 add a 0.75-inch tweeter (with acoustic lens) plus a second woofer in the 12-3. All are offered in silver or white and pricing is $4,613/pair for the 12-3, $3,120/pair for the 12-2, and $2,950/pair for the 12-1. The speakers can be mounted on the wall or placed on optional floor stands.

B&O also showed the nonconformist BeoPlay A9 wireless music system, featuring AirPlay and DLNA connectivity plus five powered speakers—pairs of 0.75-inch tweeters and 3-inch midranges with an 8-inch woofer—that deliver remarkably full sound; total power is 480 watts. A touch sensor lets you adjust the volume by running your hand along the top of the speaker. Fabric covers are available in six colors and the solid wood legs come in oak, beech or teak.

CES 2013

CES 2013: Off the Beaten Audio Path

Bob Ankosko | Jan 09, 2013

Polk Live: Showgoers listened over UltraFocus 8000 noise-cancelling headphones ($349) while Baltimore’s “cosmic soul cowboy” Bosley Brown and band performed live in a soundproof booth, the first stop in Polk’s Listen Up Tour. Next stop: Macworld.

LP to iPhone: Ion’s iLP digital conversion turntable ($129) records directly to an iPad, iPhone, or iPod using the free EZ Vinyl/Tape Converter app. The table has a USB port for connection to a PC and RCA outputs if you want to go old-school and skip the digital conversion.

Discreet Sound: Want a little music in the bathroom or maybe out in the garage while you finish your Mr. Fix-It project? No problem, just plug SoundFly Air ($200) into any AC outlet and stream tunes from your iPhone or iPad; up to four Flys can be controlled simultaneously. A Bluetooth version that works with only one speaker is available for $180. Sound is decent—much better than the awful sounding Outlet Speaker ($100) BēmWireless introduced at CES.

CES 2013

High-Tech TV: Samsung Announces First OLED & Ultra HD TVs

Bob Ankosko | Jan 08, 2013

Samsung helped usher in a new era of television on the eve of CES 2013 with the announcement of two next-generation TVs: the super-sleek 85-inch S9 Ultra High Definition (UHD) TV, boasting four times the resolution of today’s 1080p sets, and the 55-inch F9500 OLED TV with a Multi-View feature that enables two people to watch different programs simultaneously from the same screen. Pricing and availability was not announced for either model.

The S9 (shown) boasts a striking design with a screen that appears to float within a frame. Highlights include “extremely high contrast ratio,” a proprietary upscaling engine that converts high-def images to UHD quality, and a 1.35 GHz quad-core processor that’s more than three times faster than last year’s processor for improved content/app multitasking. The set has enhanced voice and gesture control and uses a new version of Samsung’s Smart Hub interface with five content discovery panels that appear onscreen as thumbnail images.

At the heart of the F9500 OLED TV are self-emitting red, green and blue sub-pixels that eliminate the need for backlighting, which is said to ensure absolute blacks and pure whites with no motion blur. The Multi-View feature is enabled by special 3D glasses with built-in speakers that deliver a personalized audio experience. The set also uses a quad-core processor and the updated Smart Hub interface.

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