Scott Wilkinson

Eye-Popping Video Walls
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 08, 2011

Many of the major manufacturers have humongous video walls dominating their booths.

Samsung Goes Big and Thin
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 08, 2011

Samsung's gigantic 75-inch LED-backlit 3D LCD TV is a concept product, but the D8000 and D7000 with ultra-thin bezels can be yours this year as revealed by Product Training Manager Jermain Anderson.

Sony Innovations
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 08, 2011

Arturo Jordan, Sony Product Manager for LCD TVs, give the lowdown on this year's flagship HX929 as well as two concept products: an OLED auto-stereoscopic (no glasses) 3D TV and a super-cool head-mount 3D display.

Getting Dizzy at Sharp
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 08, 2011

Many booths have giant video walls, but only Sharp has a video room with three walls, floor, and ceiling of tiled LCD flat panels. It's easy to feel some vertigo when the image moves.

Vizio Roundup
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 07, 2011

Marcus Apitz, VP of Engineering at Vizio, takes us on a grand tour of the company's massive exhibit and talks about the newest version of Vizio Internet Apps, ultra-widescreen flat-panels, and passive-polarized 3D TVs.

DEG Awards
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 07, 2011
One of the highlights of CES for me is the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) awards event, at which content providers, hardware manufacturers, and retailers are recognized for their excellence and innovation. There are three awards for hardware—Sight (video displays), Source (Blu-ray players and the like), and Sound (electronics and speakers). As a side note, I've suggested more than once to the DEG that the Sound category should be split into two—Sound (electronics) and Speakers. Otherwise, one or the other type of product goes unrecognized each year, yet both are essential for a complete home-entertainment experience.

This year, the award for Sight went to the Panasonic TC-P50VT25 3D plasma, while the selected source device was the Panasonic DMP-BDT100 3D Blu-ray player, and the Sound award went to the Sony STR-DA5600ES AVR. I'm honored to be included in the panel of judges for these awards, and all three of this year's winners received my vote.

Among software titles, Lost: The Complete Collection won for best TV on disc, while Avatar Extended Collector's Edition took the theatrical category. The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story won for best music title, and the best catalog title was The Sound of Music 45th Anniversary Edition. Life (narrated by David Attenborough) was picked as the non-theatrical title of the year, and Disney's A Christmas Carol snagged the 3D Title of the Year award.

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Engstrom & Engstrom The Lars Type 2 Monoblock
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 07, 2011
I profiled The Lars Type 1 monoblock integrated tube amp and XLS power amp from Swedish Engstrom & Engstrom last March, so I was looking forward to visiting the company at CES this year. The XLS monoblock has been updated and renamed The Lars Type 2, which can be ordered with 300B tubes for 20 watts of power or 300B XLS tubes for 36W. And thanks to refined manufacturing techniques, the cost of the Type 2 is $68,000/pair, $22,000 less than the XLS was.

The demo system consisted of a dCS Paganini disc player, BAT Rex preamp, two Lars Type 2 amps, and Marten's new Coltrane 2 speakers, all of which combined to create a sublime sound.

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Constellation Sirius Universal Disc Player/DAC
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 07, 2011
New to Constellation Audio's flagship Reference line is the Sirius universal disc player/DAC, which houses the transport, audio circuitry, and power supply in three separate chassis. (The transport and DAC are shown here.) The transport can play CDs, SACDs, and DVD-As and output the native bitstreams from each to the DAC through a proprietary optical connection. Other inputs on the DAC include two AES/EBU, S/PDIF (RCA and BNC), and two USB ports, which lets you play digital files from virtually any source.

I heard the Sirius playing various cuts using the Constellation Altair preamp, two Hercules monoblocks, and Tidal Sunray speakers, and it sounded spectacular—super clean and well articulated with excellent imaging and definition. Bernadette Peters singing "Blackbird" was a revelation.

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Constellation Lyra Phonostage & Crux Power Amp
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 07, 2011
Two more members Constellation Audio's new Performance line are the Lyra phonostage (left) and Crux 2-channel power amp (right), which delivers 250Wpc into 8Ω. Like the Vega preamp and Sygnus CD player/music server/DAC, these products deliver virtually the same sonic character as their counterparts in the Reference line for about a third the price, and they look wicked cool to boot.
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Constellation Vega Preamp & Cygnus CD Player/DAC
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 07, 2011
Constellation Audio produces some extraordinary audio components, and the brand new Vega preamp (left) and Cygnus CD player/DAC (right) are no exception. Both are members of the company's Performance line, which uses virtually identical circuitry as the much more expensive Reference line with less costly components and construction techniques. Still, these products provide over 90 percent of the Reference line's performance at about a third the price—$15,000 to $20,000 each—and they share the same gorgeous industrial design.
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