Nola, the company formerly known as Alon/Acarion, introduced this LCR Reference center channel speaker at $2195. In the fashion of other Nola speakers, the midrange is open-backed. The mid and tweeter are arranged in a vertical array that should provide superior horizontal dispersion. The LCR Reference is also touted for left and right channel use.

The product of a joint effort between Onkyo and an unnamed but (said to be) renouned guitar maker, the Onkyo A-OMF combines a 10cm deiameter woofer and ring-drive tweeter in a cabinet just over 10" high and weighing about 7 lbs. The cabinet's side panels, not much thicker than the shell of a guitar, were vibrating quite lustily during the demo. But a knuckle rap test suggested that they are also well damped. Leo Kottke fans rejoice.

The Pioneer S-1EX, first seen and heard at CES, were in a much larger room at HE2006 and were singing a very happy tune. They were, for me, among the best-sounding speakers at the show, and while the expansive environment probably helped, the speakers may have had a bit to do with it as well. The only disappointment here was that Pioneer chose to do a 2-channel setup, leaving the matching center and surrounds looking a little left out in the back of the room. Look for a review of the full system later this summer in UAV

INDIANAPOLIS June 2, 2006 – For $499, the new RCA HDV5000 HD DVD player is shipping to retailers. The player outputs HD-DVD in either 720p or 1080i output via HDMI and upconverts standard DVDs to either 720p or 1080i via its HDMI interface as well. Audio features include built-in multichannel decoders for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD (2 channel), DTS and DTS-HD (5.1 channel) through either the HDMI interact or a S/PDIF output.

But you guys, yeah, you know who you are, you want your big screen rear projectors. The Sony SXRD Grand Wega TVs are available in up to a 70" size. That's a big picture that might just satisfy a front projector snob like me. For comparison purposes, I've placed Stereophile reviewer Kal Rubinson next to the KDS-R70XBR2 70" set in place of the ruler I did not have handy. Thanks Kal. The set is just what you'd expect from SXRD; three chips, no color wheels (and hence no rainbow effects), 1920 x 1080p resolution and glorious pictures (albeit set to slightly cartoonish extremes on a few of the sets, par for show conditions). Other features include the same upgraded release of the DRC (Digital Reality Creation engine), 2.5, used with the Sony Bravia LCD panels, and unique to digital projectors, Sony's Cinema Pro Black, a variable iris technology that adjust the iris stops up or down based on available light content in the movie to yield up to 10,000:1 contrast ratios. The 70" KDS-R70XBR2 (est. $7,800) and 60" KDS-R60XBR2 (est. $5,300) units won't ship until the fall.

Barely a few years old, Lipinski Sound makes great speakers. Now with a 600 watt bridged amp built into the stand, you'll only need to run interconnects out to them if you choose. If the stands seem highish, it's because that puts the tweeters at ear level. The five L707 speakers setup and playing SACDs to incredible effect are priced at $4,590/pr. The powered stand (yeah, it sounds funny saying that) are $2595 each. Not inexpensive, but the sound – a Mozart concerto – was ethereal, deep as the ocean, yet still solid as a rock. Lovely.

With a rack of their familiar gear driving top-of-the-line Atlantic Technologies speakers plus four Outlaw subwoofers, those scoundrels were stealing another show with the best home theater demo at HE 2006. And even if there had been more than three serious home theater demos at the show, they probably still be laughing all the way away from the bank.