For Immediate Release Press Contact: Sara Trujillo
DBA Public Relations strujillo@dba-pr.com
(212) 388-1400

MARANTZ TO DEMONSTRATE HIGH-PERFORMANCE REFERENCE SERIES HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEMS AT AUDIO KARMA FEST
– Fifth Annual Audio Karma Fest Takes Place May 3-4–

MAHWAH, NJ – April 30, 2008 – Marantz America, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of advanced home entertainment solutions, today announced it will be demonstrating high-performance stereo systems featuring components from its high-end Reference Series as well as other Hi-Fi products during the fifth annual Audio Karma Fest, to be held May 3-4 at the Embassy Suites in Livonia, Michigan. Systems on display will feature the company’s SC-11S1 Reference Preamplifier (SRP: $3,199), SM-11S1 Stereo Power Amplifier (SRP: $4,199), and SA-11S2 Reference SACD Player (SRP: $3,699), as well as the brand new AV8003 Networking AV Preamp/Processor (SRP: $2,599.99) and MM8003 Eight Channel Power Amplifier (SRP: $2,399.99). The company will also demonstrate its leading edge SA8001 Super Audio CD Player (SRP: $899.99) and PM7001 Integrated Amplifier (SRP: $599.99).

Additionally, Marantz will showcase a no-compromise audio system featuring the PM-15S1 Reference Integrated Stereo Amplifier (SRP: $1,999.99), SA-15S1 Reference Series SACD-CD Player (SRP: $1,999.99), and the TT-15S1 Reference Series Turntable (SRP: $1,599.99). The PM 11S1 Reference Integrated Amplifier (SRP: $3,999.99) will also be on display. The Marantz components will be featured in audio systems that include the following high-performance Snell loudspeakers: the B7, K7 and LRC7 XL.
All Marantz products to be showcased at Audio Karma Fest reflect the company’s commitment to giving discriminating consumers exciting new solutions for expanding and enhancing their home entertainment enjoyment, including today’s advanced high-resolution audio and video formats.
About Marantz
Marantz America is committed to upholding the tradition of technological superiority initiated by founder Saul Marantz. In keeping with this emphasis on quality, Marantz audio and video components are carried only by the nation’s premier independent audio/video specialty retailers. Additional information is available at www.marantz.com. Marantz America is a wholly owned subsidiary of D&M Holdings Inc. (more…)

CBC Television here in Canada has a long running no-commercial consumer watchdog type show called Marketplace.  This week the show caught my eye because they took a look at higher priced HDMI cables versus generic.

The segment is available for download from their website.

I was watching I Am Legend the other day, and I was very disapointed. I felt like Hollywood made a mega star sci-fi movie, but the storytelling took second place to Will Smith’s popularity as an actor.  I think this happens far too often these days.

There was one scene where Smith’s character breaks down in a video store when he faces the hardship of his own loneliness. The audience was treated to some million dollar Will Smith tears, but the scene wasn’t very believable, and I couldn’t help but wonder how it and the rest of the movie would have been if it had the same budget for effects, but starred an actor who was talented but far less popular than Will Smith.

Perhaps this would mean more effort would be put into telling a captivating story. Putting Will Smith in a movie is a pretty safe bet for Hollywood though, and apparently the film grossed $256 million in North America and $583 million worldwide. However, I’m tired of shelling out money for theater tickets or movie rentals if it’s just to pay for a mega star’s salary and not a good story.

I prefer movies where the focus is on the story and character (s) rather than the popularity of the actor(s).

Star Wars is a great example of this, because when it first came out, all of the actors except for Harrison Ford were relatively unknown. Seeing them on the screen for the first time was refreshing and the story is what made the characters interesting.  Another good example is the Coen brother’s No Country for Old Men.  Tommy Lee Jones is a terrific actor and one who is widely known, but his popularity never outshines the other actors or the story.  The movie gives equal balance to all of the characters and the end result is a very captivating film.

I just want Hollywood to stop taking the risk management approach to filmmaking. Indie films have taken big risks all along, and perhaps that is where movie entertainment’s future lies.

Niles RS6Si series GeoRealistic weatherproof rock loudspeaker, PB6Si planter box loudspeaker and PS6Si round planter loudspeaker offer the best in outdoor entertainment

MIAMI, FLORIDA – April 28, 2008 – Niles Audio Corporation, The First Name in Custom Installation®, has announced that the company is now shipping the RS6Si series GeoRealistic™ weatherproof rock loudspeaker and the PB6Si and PS6Si series outdoor planter speakers. Featuring rugged, weather-resistant construction and Niles’ legendary, high-performance sound, the RS6Si, PB6Si and PS6Si represent the latest in the company’s impressive line of outdoor loudspeakers. The RS6Si, one of three models in Niles’ GeoRealistic rock loudspeaker line-up, is available in granite, speckled granite, sandstone, coral and an all-new shale brown finish. The PB6Si planter box loudspeaker and PS6Si round planter loudspeaker, available in a classic terracotta and recently-introduced weathered concrete finish, are powerful, all-weather speakers that are capable of holding live plants and flowers. Like all Niles products, the RS6Si, PB6Si and PS6Si come with Niles’ new Lifetime Limited Warranty. (more…)

Whole-home audio innovator brings its products and installation experience directly to installers with educational events in more than a dozen locations. (more…)

Well, I am paying $4.00 a gallon for gas now, and it will go to $6 probably within a year, maybe sooner.

I have a big SUV because I really need one, to carry large speaker shipping boxes (with the speakers still in them). Sometimes I have to meet the 18 wheel truck at the bottom of our hill because they can’t drive on a small road. So, I bring the SUV there, they put the speakers in the trunk area, I sign the paperwork, and off we both go.

I think they are going to have to figure out a way to get the speakers to my office on their own. The next car is going to be a small one. At least a hybrid. I would prefer a 100% electric.

My SUV gets about 10 miles per gallon. Even at $4/gallon, that is almost 50 cents per mile, not including oil, maintenance, and insurance.

But like I said before, I will still have a great stereo in that small car. No compromise with my audio.

Innovative Hollywood, Florida-based engineering and design consulting firm expands offerings to London, Panama, Columbia, St. Lucia, Bermuda and Manhattan

HOLLYWOOD, FL – April 25, 2008 – Firefly Design Group, the leading provider of design, process and engineering services to the electronics custom installation, integration and specifier industry, announced today that it will be expanding into new key markets: Manhattan, NYC and London, England, the company announced today. (more…)

The news talked about how some commercial theaters are offering unusual settings to get customers to come to the movies. One offers meals and drinks while you watch. One lets you sit in classic cars. They say they need to offer something you can’t get in your home theater.

It’s going to take more than that.

If you haven’t noticed, TV programming is incredibly good.

Besides terrific weekly series like CSI, Criminal Minds, Numbers, and Cold Case, there are spectacular mini-series like The Tudors and John Adams. Even the special effects in outer space-oriented TV series are as good as first run movies. John Adams, a mini-series on HBO, in particular, was as good as anything I have ever seen at the theater. The screen writer for The Tudors is the same one for the Elizabeth movies.

Because TV is so good, and because the economy is so bad, theaters, with their $10 tickets, $5 popcorn, $4 drinks, and sticky floors, may suffer for ticket sales like they did when TV first came out, and it will take more than Cinemascope, color, and stereo sound to bring us back.

Maybe 3D, but that’s been around since the early 20th century. Maybe we will all just be so depressed about the state of our economy, we will go to the theater anyway, to escape.

Florida-based Engineering Consultant Firm to Conduct Regional Trainings Aimed at Improving Integrator Performance Through Workshops on Strategy, Sales Techniques, Time Management and Efficiency

HOLLYWOOD, Florida – April 24, 2008 – Firefly Design Group, the premier engineering and systems consulting company in the custom electronics industry, is conducting a series of workshops designed to help custom electronics and related professionals improve profitability and efficiency, the company announced today. The initial sessions will be held in the Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton. Although the initial workshops will take place in Florida, the company plans a national rollout as well, with a schedule to be announced. (more…)

Our fearless publisher, JJ, is embarking on a quest to determine whether indeed vinyl sounds better than CD (or SACD, for that matter). Being that this is SECRETS, and JJ being JJ, expect large helpings of objective, verifiable observations backed by solid technical data.

Of course, none of it will make a whit of difference to those who have already reached their own conclusions. This particular debate doesn’t quite rank up there with evolution vs. intelligent design, but I suspect that most folks who have an opinion on the matter would not be classified as having an open mind.

I grew up with vinyl (because there were no other options in those days), and still vividly remember my first A/B comparison between an LP and CD. It was a decidedly unscientific experiment conducted in 1987, shortly after the introduction of CD. I used my Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band LP, purchased when it first came out in 1967 and with 20 years of wear on the grooves, against the brand new (in 1987) CD of the same album on a first generation Aiwa CD player.

I focused on the fade-out at the end of “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”, followed by several seconds of blank leader, then the jolting guitar intro to “Getting Better All The Time”. Two things struck me. The first was that, after a lifetime of hearing pops, crackles, and rumble in the spaces between LP tracks, on the CD there was an eerie silence. The second thing was how tinny and compressed the CD sounded compared to vinyl. I immediately thought, “that’s an interesting trade-off.” So I am really looking forward to JJ’s saga.

Who knows, I may be in the market for another pressing of Sgt. Peppers.