CEDIA is full of iPod docks, but the only one that interested me was the Wadia 170iTransport. It comes from the same company that has been producing uber-high quality, but pricey, digital audio converters since before the last Bush administration. I spent some time with the 170iTransport and walked away fully impressed with the audio and video capabilities. Granted, the unit isn’t for everybody, but for those audiophiles ready to ditch physical media and step across to high bit rate digital audio, it’s a great solution. Owners need to bring their own DAC or amplifier, but that shouldn’t be an issue for the target audience. The dock sells for only $379 and started shipping in June.
Sharp always has one of the sleekest booths at CEDIA. Minimulistic cues abound, I wish I could pull of so much cool in my midwest pad. Anyway, Sharp is showing off their limited edition LCD, a bunch of standard LCDs, and of course, their ‘new’ Blu-ray players that Sharp hopes someone will buy.
Photo set after the jump. Enjoy.
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I know, I know, but the eSommelier Wine Cellar system is actually really neat. The product scans a wine bottle, prints off a custom label, catalogs it, and can even provide live temperature and humidity conditions in your cellar. Software control comes from either a stationary touchscreen, or coming soon, a wireless touchpad. The whole system costs around $10k, so obviously, not everyone is going to have the system installed in their cellar. Personally, my wine management is a tab bit more simple… they are hanging by the stove. I wonder if that’s good for ‘em.
Who doesn’t enjoy a high-end universal remote? After spending sometime with Universal Remote’s latest units, I can tell you that users will certainly enjoy these too. The MX-440 might retail for $249, but the solid build and a striking high-res LCD shouts quality. The big brother, MX-880, easily justifies the higher price of $499 with a bigger screen and better feel along with RF signals. While the two conventional remotes are nice, they aint the RSS-sport’n, remote audio server control’n, $1,499 MX-6000 touchscreen remote though.
Remote p0rn after the link.
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Monster Cable setup a mobile test lab at CEDIA this year, challenging any cable manufacturer to a head-to-head battle. Only one attempted to enter, but didn’t see disclaimer that Monster wanted 4m cables or longer in the match up, and that particular maker didn’t have HDMI cables that long.
I know what’s yelled whenever a Monster Cable HDMI story comes up: Monoprice-4-evah playa! I hear ya, but take a look at what the test equipment that Monster Cable employs to prove their cables are the best. It impressed me.
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The Speakercarft booth took a different approach than most others at CEDIA ‘08. The focus seemed to be the company and building relationships, rather than products. The booth did feature a few of the speaker company’s wares out front, but inside was a bass-pounding good time thanks to Lucent Dossier performers. I don’t think there was another booth at this show that drew the same amount of curious onlookers.
Check out what I mean after the jump.
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Oppo has always been a driving force in the upscalling DVD scene. The company was one of the first, and the AV crowd still looks upon with respect, so when the BDP-83 dropped at the DVDO booth, they took notice. Rightfully so too as the BDP-83 is sporting the same killer video processor as the DVDO EDGE. No word on price or availability, but you can assume that the player supports BD Live, thanks to the rear-panel Ethernet jack along with 7.1 analog out for legacy audio. Plus, the front logo markings revel that it also supports SACDs with HDCD support. Hopefully, more info will drop soon — like the price — as the BDP-83 might just be the first must-have Blu-ray player.
Pics of remote and back panel after the jump.
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Some speakers sound divine, other speakers sound pleasent, then there are these five speakers, that given the chance, will instantly violate local noise ordinances and your grandmother, all at the same time.
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DVDO has been around a while, pimping AV scalers to the affulent around us. Previously, those scalers, or upconverters, used third-party processing to accieve the amazingly, upgraded picture. Those models cost up to $3,499 though. So when the $799 Edge dropped last week, the first thing that came to mind is what the hell did they exclude. It turns out that besides component and RS-232 outputs, not much was left out thanks to an in-house made processor. What used to cost a great deal of money per chip tp buy, can now be made by the company at low cost. The booth guys said that the processing is the same and we shouldn’t notice any difference at. The Edge is aiming at the Best Buy / Circuit City crowd and the company is even hoping to drop the price if the accountants allow later on.
Wait; they’re industrial vacuums…at the same trade show as 150k projectors….alright.
You should already know ’bout Panasonic’s AE3000 projector. You should know that it sports 30,000:1 contrast, 1080p24, and the $3500 price tag. In fact, a lot of people already know what the guy looks like as it’s housed within the same bezel as the previous two generations. Even still, the obligatory new product hands-on picture set is after the jump. Enjoy.
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Praise the AV gods! Finally, after Yamaha, Marantz, Integra and Sharp all introduced ‘new’ Blu-ray players that support the old Blu-ray standard Profile 1.1, there is a new, high-end Blu-ray player that sports Blu-ray Profile 2.0; that means the NAD T 587 supports BD Live. Surprisingly though, this player hasn’t been announced yet, and no one at the NAD booth wanted to talk about the unit. So all we know is what the fact card states: Profile 2.0, BD Live, 1080p24/60, with a MSRP of $1,499. No word on which distribution channels the T 587 is going to ride on, nor when the player will be available but if more info comes our way, we’ll hit ya up.
Let me tell you, these bags are relaxing. Holy crap are they comfy. Maybe that’s just me after racing around the CEDIA EXPO floor but I don’t think so. Random-sized foam shavings comprise the innards to make one hell of seat. I tried to get one back to my hotel room for a ‘review,’ but they said no. I’m talking about the CuddleBag, buddy.
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First and foremost, these new Marantz Blu-ray players are Profile 1.1; sorry, no BD Live on your pricey Marantz players. With that important tidbit out of the way though, these two players are obviously geared for different crowds. The low-end BD7003 has the standard fair of 1080p24 HDMI 1.3a out, scalers for different resolutions, and an admission cost of $799. The big boy Marantz though is something special thanks to the 10-bit Silicon Optix Realta HQV I/P video processor and 7.1 analog outputs. The BD8002 costs a bit more and it could be yours for only $1999.
I love McIntosh gear. The processors big, the amps are bad and when combined, Twisted Sister feels so right. But for some trust fund kids, the huge equipment just doesn’t fit in their West Village studio and so McIntosh is developing a rock’n bookshelf system. Dubbed the Mini-Mac by McIntosh staffers, the 60th Anniversary System is powered by two, separate tube amps, each powering their own channel. The good word is that the mini-system has all the AV magic of McIntosh’s $6,500 CD player and two killer speakers. Pricing is naturally up in the clouds with the whole system going for under $10k, and the speakers might be sold separately at $2k a piece. Crazy, I know, but McIntosh sound has never disappointed me before.
McIntosh booth images after the jump.
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Most large manufacturers at CEDIA this year are showing off their latest Blu-ray players. A good amount of the ‘new players’ are unfortunately profile 1.1 and therefore, not BD Live capable, but there was a buzz going around the show floor concerning Denon’s upcoming super player. Something about a $3800-$4000 Blu-ray king coming out early next year.
I managed to snag sometime with the Director of Product Development & Systems Integration who told me straight-faced, that they will have it at CES. Initially, he wouldn’t comment on anything else, but he eventually indicated that yes, it will be a Profile 2.0 player. I can’t wait for CES — and the obligatory early leeks.
Yeah, it’s a Wilson Audio Alezandria X2 speaker. Otherwise this would have been one hell of a CEDIA.
ROFL. More Monster Screen cleaner and is there really a need for an iPhone cleaner, along with a separate cell phone cleaner. Really? Come on. LOL. And dedicated GPS screen cleaner? ROFL. On a personal note, my shirt cleans my Blackberry just fine and I didn’t have to spend the $10 bucks for these monster oils. Moving on….
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Monster Cable. I know you hate ‘em and you’re not planning on reading this post because of that, but these new power centers are kind of neat so I implore you to read on. It’s the hip thing to go green and these latest power centers from Monster Cable will help with that.
The Monster GreenPower IR Control is featured on the remote-control enabled EPIR 2450, EPIR 3650, and HDP 2550 PowerCenters. Designed for use with home entertainment systems, these PowerCenters let users eliminate stand-by energy waste with their remote control. Each of these PowerCenters features remote controlled outlets that can be completely switched off using any universal learning remote. Users simply plug their HDTV or other energy wasting electronics into these outlets and add the PowerCenter to their remote. They can now use their remote to completely cut power to AV components that would ordinarily use electricity even when their home theater isn’t on. EP IR 2450 has 3 outlets, EP IR 3650 has 4 outlets and HDP IR 2550 has 2 outlets that can be turned on or off by remote control.
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JBL announced these quarter-toroid speakers a while ago, but seeing them in person really shows how versatile the speakers are. The Control NOW loudspeaker can sit alone, be hung on the wall, wrap around a corner, but when their powers combine, they form a round speaker thingie. I could totally see these speaker donuts hanging at an outdoor bistro or inside an upscale bar. They are kind of pricey at $279 so that hangout spot is not going to have cheap drinks though – oh, and they sound great in the large venue that is CEDIA.
Photos after the link.
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