Here’s the first part of a series of five Photo Reports with analysis and details of what was hot at CEDIA USA 2006. This will whet your appetite as we prepare over 70 video clips with product presentations by the pros who were present on the stands as well as interviews with industry leaders, who gave us some reals scoops that we will pass on to you in the coming days. So off we go for Part 1 of the Photo Tour.
Yamaha, or how to get the most out of your iPod and MP3
The focus on the stand was clearly around the flagship YSP-1100 system, with the YSP-900 also on dislay. A true pleasure to experience such a degree of realism with this technology! And what really grabbed our attention was the new Home Theater RX-2700BL amplifier. We had a complete private demonstration which we will bringing your in video.
The new Yamaha RX-2700BL
See for yourself: 7 × 140 Watts and Multi Room, 3 HDMI 1.2a 1080p inputs and 1 output, upscaler, Dolby Digital EX/DTS-ES, PC interface, iPod compatible and first and foremost a unique MP3 optimization system. Let me explain: when you pack hundreds of CDs into your iPod, your files suffer the effects of lossy MP3 compression, meaning you lose the higher and lower frequencies of the tracks. This is no longer a problem with the Yamaha RX-2700BL. Connect your iPod and this amazing device will “reconstruct” the high and low frequencies. Sounds easy, no ?!?
Monster, all at your fingertips!
Monster Cable has become famous for the quality of their cables over the past 25 years and has now entered the world of domotics. We had a full demonstration (that you will see in a clip too!) of an exceptional remote with a fantastic design, intuitive shape which is incredibly easy to operate, named Monster Central Control 100 and 300. No need to spend hours on your PC to set up the system as it can be programmed in a click on the net. Now you can bunk all your remotes in the closet and forget about them.
The Universal Remote MCC 100
If you choose the MCC 300, you’ll easily control the lighting of your whole house without having to make any major changes to your installation. With “IlluminEssence” all it takes is for you to change switches and plugs as you go along. And then, press a key on the remote and the whole house will light up or each room independently if you prefer.
The PowerCenter in its rack !
Still in the field of electricity, Monster was also introducing the PowerCenter filters for domestic circuits at CEDIA EXPO this year.
Oh James, for the musical garden!
Outdoor listening is rarely a favorite to music fiends. Well, that’s because few companies currently offer a solution. That was until James Loudspeaker came up with a specialized system.
The base speaker hidden underground !
The amp stays inside the house while the subwoofer(s) are buried underground and the 16 satellites are strewed in the treetops. What you get is an invisible installation delivering incredible sound!
One of the satellites hidden in the trees
James Loudspeaker also presented their array of in-wall speakers including the rather amazing “PowerPipe” or EMB-1000 high performance compact subwoofer with a flexible output port so you can hide the subwoofer in the wall and still get all the power for your installation, which is the same concept used for their underground model.
Sim2, the BIG picture
Everyone crowded around the Sim2 stand trying to catch a glimpse of the new HT5000. But the industry-leading video projector was tucked away in the royal suite of one of the most luxurious hotels in Denver. It’s only natural for the eminent Italian star to stay recluse in her suite!
The superb 3 chip 1080p Sim2 HT5000
The monumental HT5000 throned facing an obscenely large screen, giving out a picture fit for the “real” movie theaters. Boasting a DMD .95” 3chip with a 1920×1080 pixel (1080p) resolution and a contrast ratio superior to 5000 : 1, no wonder it can play it so big! Of course, it features everything you can think of in terms of inputs which includes 6 HDMI connections and a choice of 6 lenses. As for the MSRP price, it’s a “reasonable” US$50.000 when you see the quality of the image you will get !
Classé brings out the Delta
Following the Omega line, Classé Audio takes it further with the Delta series. It’s the perfect blend of performance with the aesthetic touch, offering a pure, modern design.
A picture worth a thousand words
The Delta series demonstrates all the company’s know-how and craftsmanship with the complete line-up on display, including the CA-M400 with 1×400 Watts, the CA-2100 offering 2×140 Watts, the CA-2200 with 2×240 Watts, the CA-3200 with 3×224 Watts, the CA-5100 with 5×115 Watts, the CA-5200 with 5×211 Watts as well as the CAP-2100 integrated amp, the CP-500 preamp and the 7+1 SSP-300 surround processors.
What’s exceptional is also “under the hood”
And to round out the expo, we can’t forget the LCD-equipped CDP-300 and CDP-102 DVD players.
D-Box, hang on tight!
A quick reminder: D-Box is a unique system that moves your seat in correlation to the action in the movie. We’re not just talking about some kind of bass-induced vibration! What D-Box had on show at CEDIA was the type of thing you’d expect to see in your favorite amusement park. They worked hand in hand with the largest movie studios so as to program the seats according to the precise movement sequences for each film.
The famous D-Box pistons under the seat
The D-Box decoder is connected to your DVD player and updated via Internet. It immediately recognizes the movie you’re playing and matches the seat’s movements to the action. This new sensory input renders the action awesomely vivid! You just have to try it!
It’s too real to believe, you just have to try it !
This year, D-Box presented a prototype version of its system for video games. We tested it using their racetrack images and it was a real F1 experience, really unbelieveable !
Hannspree looking so pretty…
If you’ve seen them once you’ll never forget those fun LCDs by Hannspree! Havn’t you ever seen the LCD elephant, fire engine or even the soccer ball? To get a look at more in the series, see our complete Photo Report at the recent IFA 2006 in Berlin, here.
Here’s just one of the series
Well, Hannspree has now introduced its complete new line of full-size LCD screens, and, of course, one should expect something very design too …
With chrome and wood finishings
The idea is for the 32, 37 and 42” flat screens to match your interior decoration perfectly. We’ll be watching this Chinese player closely…
Cabasse : “La Sphère”
A stunning design for the French team’s flagship speaker: “La Sphère”. What might seem to be a big round ball or the spaceship from another planet, is in reality the new system fitted with the QC, a 4-way coaxial unit, which means, if you have not heard of their Spatially Coherent System, SCS, technology before, that the tweeter, midrange, low-midrange and base drivers are all in the same axis. This unit offers a flat response from 30 to 22,000 Hz!
Thanks to the coaxial layout and the Cabasse active digital filter, the response curve off-axis remains the same in every direction for the same angle, the directivity remains perfectly controlled. If all this sounds complicated in just a few words, it took several years of engineering know-how to produce, and we’ll be bringing you a clip shortly with a close-up of the insides of this beautiful beast! “La Sphère” not only catches the eye but also the ear! It definitely caught ours and, as the model is now available, let it catch yours as it will be on a demonstration Road Trip through-out Europe.
Marantz, reference and 1080p
With many manufacturers focused entirely on Home Theater, Marantz also presented its high-end audiophile range at CEDIA this year.
Marantz SA-7S1 SACD player and SC-7S2 Reference Control Amplifier
What we had before our eyes on the stand were the Reference products in the world of sound. We were introduced to the new SC-7S2 pre-amplifier upgrading the SC-7S1, as well as the MA-9S2 2 channel power amp which will probably replace its “little” brother in addition to the MA-9S1 and the SACD SA-7S1 player, just above the SA-11S1 in their line-up.
The Marantz VP-11S1 1080p video projector
Marantz also had their share of Home Theater products too, including their VP-11S1 video projector. Equipped with a DLP 1080p chip and a Gennum GF9351 video processor, it’s available in a black or off-white finishs. We’ll give you a full demonstration in our video clips.
McIntosh, no compromise!
Can’t possibly set foot in America without the mythical name McIntosh springing to mind! With their timeless design and performance beyond limits, the brand that has actually become a religion for the aficionados.
McIntosh MDLP1 DLP 1080p projecteur
Some had predicted their downfall with the emergence of Home Theater, but McIntosh has proven them entirely wrong, bringing out a no-compromise range of products perfectly suited to Home Theater. At CEDIA they introduced the 2-zone VP1000 video processor that allows 2 different sources to pass through each receiver to be projected in two separate zones. It also has 4 HDMI inputs and works hand in hand with the MDLP1 projector (mono DLP 1080p) to deliver first-class images.
The McIntosh Power Duo
The MDLP1 and the VP1000 are also related to the AP1000 audio processor that boasts 12 audio inputs and can decode any audio format making it an ideal Audio Video system by McIntosh!
More to come in Part 2 tomorrow.