Day 3 - Thursday, January 10, 2002

 

Cary Audio had two rooms, a home theater room with their P-7 Processor pictured above, a two, three and five channel amplifier, and an upcoming DVD-V/DVD-Audio player. All should be shipping within the next 90 days. Cary's Stereo room featured the V-12 and their new attractively priced Rocket 88 (shown in a photo farther down on this page) for US$2500 as well as two new preamps, both under US$3000.

EAD was recently acquired by Tara Labs. Alpha Digital Technologies introduced a variety of reworked components in the 8000 (8 channel) series.  Pictured above are the DVD Master 8000 and Power Master 8200.  Not pictured are updated processors and a balanced power solution. Eminent Technology showed (and is about ready to ship) their long awaited LFT-14 speakers -- very small for a planar, with a roughly 2' x 3' panel.  Price is just under US$4000 and the stands are an additional US$400. 

 

EOSS Soundpoles are an interesting blend of technology.  Elegant industrial design and styling mean a very high WAF.  Price is about US$5000/pair. Pioneer displayed their highly awaited DV-47A player which handles DVD-Video (progressive scan), DVD-Audio, and SACD.  Pictured below are prototype IEEE1394 (Firewire) components, DVD on the left, receiver on the right.

Jeff Rowland Design Group introduced their Model 111 monoblock amplifiers.  JRDG has superb fit and finish, and these particular items are priced at US$9500 the pair. Sharp displayed more 1-bit technology -- integrated solutions in the top photo, and a trio of their SM-SX200 (prototypes) in a fully digital 1-bit theater.  Perhaps the most interesting piece was the digital transport, which handles DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, and SACD.

Tact Audio's Millenium is shown in the top photo, with their Room Correction System and new integrated amplifier in the bottom photo.  We look forward to reviewing their groundbreaking digital technology later this year, with their Theater Correction System and S2150 amplifiers. Ayre's updated V1 stereo amp now features an x designation signifying improvements in the power supply and circuit topology.
Balanced Audio Technology's (BAT) soon to be released pre/pro the AV-10. A tubed output stage for the front 3 channels is one of the host of options the BAT features. A look inside reveals the traditional BAT attention to circuit layout and quality of parts.
Secrets PC-Home Theater Editor John Kotches presents BAT's Geoffrey Poor with a Best of 2001 award for the outstanding VK-6200 multi-channel amp. BAT is introducing a new integrated amplifier, the VK-300x. It will be available in three different configurations. Price will be dependent upon options chosen.
Cary tube amps were in abundance. Being demoed here (in the center) is the Rocket 88. John Kotches presenting another Secrets Best of 2001 Award. This one goes to Brian Wines, one of the folks at Home Theater Direct (HTD). 
Impact Technologies demonstrated their Airfoil speaker system. This year, partnering electronics were supplied by Balanced Audio Technology.  Utilizing patented technology with 150 degree dispersion, they provided stellar sound, with a price tag to match (US$38,000). Jeff Joseph, the Joseph of Joseph Audio, had his flagship Pearl making music in the Ayre room.
Partnered with Theta's Citadel Monoblock is the Joseph Audio RM33si finished in a beautiful wood veneer. Marsh Sound Design is taking the plunge into home theater with their MSD-HT4000 surround processor.   It contains all the required formats (DD/DTS-ES/DPL-2 et al.), plus stereo and multi-channel bypass with a price point of just under US$4000.
Muse was demonstrating their new DVD transport and surround pre/pro. The transport features a proprietary digital link that is capable of transmitting a DVD-Audio digital signal to their multi-purpose digital box. A release within the first or second quarter of 2002 is expected. The aesthetically pleasing Jeff Rowland
MC-6 was on static display (static means that it is not connected to anything so it is not powered on). Featuring six bridgeable channels at 150 watts each, the Rowland is one of the most flexible and gorgeous amps available. 
A look at the Rowland interior reveals a massive power transformer and an incredible attention to detail in circuit layout. Sim Audio's current home theater lineup consists of the Titan multi-channel amp, Stellar DVD player, and Attraction surround pre/pro.
The Rock is Sim Audio's newest addition to its amplifier lineup. Each massive monoblock features superb construction and is biased into Class A operation for the first few watts. Soliloquy's 6.5 freestanding loudspeaker now has a matching center speaker as part of a complete home theater approach.
Show attendees got a treat this year from Texas Instruments:  an 11 minute digital cinema presentation using one of these 3-chip projector heads that is going to be used in commercial movie theaters. Snell is the first to market with a THX Ultra2 speaker set, including a very ingenious in-wall dipole surround model.
This audio CD recorder from Yamaha has a built-in 20GB hard drive to store up to 30 CDs' worth of music. Plasma, plasma everywhere!  There was no end of plasma screens like this... umm... attractive model from Zenith (we are referring to the plasma screen).

Long anticipated was this new subwoofer from Mirage: the BP200.  Building on the same dual 8" driver configuration of its predecessor, the new model is vented and features a more powerful amplifier. ATC's T-10 active monitors made up part of their $12,000 5.1 setup on display, and sounded great with DVD Audio material.

Area 6.1 showed their SLS line of speakers, having a horn-loaded ribbon in all models. Sales prop backfires.  While the rep quoted a linear excursion of 2.75 inches for this Aura Elan, a look inside suggested a more limited reality, with the dimensions of the coil and gap indicating a motor that would be linear over no more than one inch peak to peak.

Click on links below to go to the photo pages for each day.

DAY-0    DAY-1    DAY-2   DAY-3    DAY-4    Wrap-Up

Divider

© Copyright 2002 Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity
Return to Table of Contents for this Issue.

PAGEFEEDBACK
Our Vault pages may have some display quirks. Let us know if we need to take a look at this page or fix a bug.
SUBMIT FEEDBACK
Connect with us
  • Instagram
  • Google+
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
Secrets "Cave"
Facebook
Close