Darryl Wilkinson

Proficient is laying claim to "the world's most powerful LCR ceiling speaker", and the C1030 just might be it. The new behemoth ceiling speaker uses a ten-inch Kevlar woofer, a three-inch pivoting midrange, and a one-inch pivoting tweeter. The woofer and midrange/tweeter bridge are set at a 15-degree angle to the speaker's mounting flange. Speaking of mounting, Proficient says you have to use its special mounting bracket to keep the C1030 from falling out of the ceiling. (That would be a bad thing as it would ruin an evening of home video entertainment.) A system of seven C1030 speakers has a MSRP of $4,000. (It would be especially bad if all seven fell at once, but it would make a cool YouTube video.)

In addition to bribing those members of the press who were smart enough to preregister for the press conference with 30GB iPods loaded with a special message from founder Jeremy Burkhart, SpeakerCraft showed off enough products to fill a mansion or two during one of the first press conferences here at CEDIA. First there was the new wireless MODE Free controller that can be in-wall mounted using a special bracket that allows for the controller to be removed whenever you want to take it for a walk. In addition to multi-room audio distribution, the MODE controllers allow a homeowner to link up to six iPods in the house and share music and metadata. Then came the new Accufit Ultra Slim in-ceiling speaker which is only 1 7/8" deep. It uses what SpeakerCraft calls a "sealed and ported" enclosure which is sealed on the back (the part that hides in the wall) but has a front-mounted prort that fires into the room. Also discussed were the new smaller TIME Mini speakers that descend from the ceiling and can be aimed toward the listening area.

Several years ago I was just setting up my current home theater room. While it was not scheduled to be equipped with multi-tiered stadium seating, faux art deco design, and a popcorn machine, I did have the luxury of setting it up strictly for movie and music listening. It didn't need to be compromised to serve any other purpose.

So you've walked into an electronics store or decided to find a system online, and now you're confronted with scores of HTiB choices. Now what? Well, remember that HTiBs exist for two basic reasons. The first is cost; the other is convenience. If cost is your only concern, find the least expensive system that looks the coolest for the money (just stay away from the guys selling them out of the backs of white vans). The entire experience will be painless, mindless, although it might leave you feeling cheap and dirty – not to mention the fact that you run a high chance that it will sound like pig doo-doo on a swelteringly hot day.