Tom Norton

These space-age model K1 speakers from Vivid Audio of South Africa will stop traffic in your listening room. At $20,000/pair in a variety of finishes like the Copper shown here, they may alswo put a stop on your bank account. But for a mere $13,500 you can have the smaller B1, which won't go as low but should leave room in the budget for your choice of subwoofers (Vivid does not yet make one). The setup, like most of those I saw on the first day, was strictly 2-channel. But Vivid also makes the matching, 4-way, C1 center channel for $6500. A smaller center is also available, and smaller stand-mounters are said to be in development for surrounds.

As noted in another blog, I've been having fun lately with unexpectedly good movies that fell through the critical and audience cracks during their theatrical releases. And <I> The Greatest Game Ever Played</I> certainly surprised me as much as any of them.

I've been experiencing an unusual run of good films on standard definition DVD lately, though most are not of any special demonstration quality, nothing gets blowed-up real good in most of them, few were big hits, and several are set in the past. But I'm a sucker for almost any historical film or TV miniseries (HBO's two part <I>Elizabeth I</I> resides on the HD PVR in my cable box even now waiting for me to find the 4 hours I need to invest in watching it!)

A bored, rich widow, Laura Henderson (Judi Dench) buys a failed London theater on the eve of World War II. But she soon discovers she has no idea what to do with it. After she hires an experienced producer (Bob Hoskins) the theater is briefly successful running music hall reviews. But soon reality sets in and the competition drives them into the red.