Triad is an in-room/wall/ceiling speaker company that specializes in making solutions for problems that real people often run into when putting together anything other than the standard, run-of-the-mill home theater system. For example, the company’s in-room speakers are voiced to identically match the in-wall versions (both the 4-inch and 6-inch deep versions), which also happen to perfectly match the in-ceiling versions. That way you could, if you had to, use in-room speakers for the left and right with an in-wall center channel and a pair of in-ceiling rears – and all the speakers would respond as if you’d used the same model all the way around. At CEDIA, Triad was showing off a prototype of another solution, a subwoofer that can be hidden away with the bass output routed into the room via a large diameter tube that terminates in a standard wall vent cover. No pricing available yet.
Uncompressed wireless high-definition audio transmission along with a super-easy setup routine – and the ability to instantly realign the soundfield to accommodate changes in seating position are the hallmarks of Summit Wireless’ technology. After lots of development work, the technology is finally coming to a home theater near you. The first products to incorporate it will be the Aperion Audio Intimus 4T 5.1-channel ($2,499) and 7.1-channel ($2,999) systems. Pre-orders will be available beginning October 15th, with shipping beginning in December. Of all the wireless technology I’ve seen at the last couple of CEDIA and CES shindigs, Summit Wireless is the most exciting – and we can’t wait to get our hands on the first system to come from Aperion Audio. We’ll keep you posted…
Price: $2,795 At A Glance: Built-in multifan airflow cooling system • Discrete IR input • Watertight cable entry compartment cover
A number of years ago, I wrote an article about putting together a backyard home theater using an inflatable front-projection screen from Sima. It was a blast—and more than just a blast of air from the pump that inflated the Michelin-Man-dream-date, 72-inch-screen-covered blimp in less than 6 minutes. I took the setup to a friend’s house one Saturday during my “research” where we had a three-family movie night on the patio in his backyard. Sodas and margaritas flowed freely that evening. Much popcorn was popped. I don’t think any of us remember the actual movie, but to this day none of us has forgotten how much fun we had—more fun, as a matter of fact, than we’d ever had watching a movie the proper way inside the house.
AVRak’s new Fatrak component rack is 36” wide – enough for two components to sit side-by-side on each shelf – so the rack can hold the same amount of gear as a 72” tall standard rack. The Fatrak pulls out far enough from the cabinet so that you can swivel the rack for easy access to the cables and wiring that will look like a rat’s nest no matter how hard you try to organize it. The 36” tall model (FT-36) is rated to hold up to 350 pounds of gear. There are also 24” and 30” versions available. Custom heights can be ordered as well. The FT-36 sells for $2,172.
Surge protection is great and – take it from someone whose equipment recently suffered from the effects of a wayward bolt of lightning – really, really, really important. Unfortunately, most of the serious surge suppression components on the market have the bad habit of taking up valuable rack space. SurgeX’s new XC series separates the protection from the plug, giving you the ability to mount a strip of 18 or 24 outlets vertically along the back of your AV rack (or elsewhere) whilst the serious surge-suppressing circuitry (with SurgeX patented Advanced Series Mode protection technology, a remote interface, an Over/Under Voltage Protection LED, a Power On/Off LED, and a highly interactive Self-Test LED) sits separately. SurgeX says the company’s XC series are built to withstand a 6,000V, 3,000AMP AC power surge at least 1,000 times without failing. (They’re probably telling the truth, although since I had to leave after the 965th surge, I can’t say I saw it with my own eyes…) They’re also backed by an 11-year warranty and are built in the USA.
Surge protection and power conditioning often seem like an industry filled with smoke and mirrors – and full of dubious, hard-to-verify claims of protection. SurgeX brought some heavy duty surge-generating equipment to demonstrate how other types of surge protection devices react under real-world electrically stressful situations. The brand-obscured surge suppressor being used here would have left some home theater owner heading to the repair shop had a real component been hooked up to the outlet when a bad surge came down the line. SurgeX claims their devices are designed to resist surges at much higher levels than the competition can handle without self-destructing – and they can do it repeatedly (like well over 30,000 times).
The 2005 Surround Music Awards nominees, chosen from more than 100 submissions and judged by a panel of surround-sound producers and journalists, were announced yesterday. (No, I wasn't asked so I can say anything I want about the list of nominees, and you can't stop me...)
Ace Bayou Corp. is adding two new chairs to the company's X sound furniture line. The new RelaX-I and Xsoothe are brown and leather, full recliners with built-in sound systems that connect to just about anything with an audio output (MP3 players, portable DVD players, handheld and console game machines, and home theater systems). The two new recliners will also include the option of built-in massage.
No, it’s not made by Victorinox, it’s made by Cirago – but it has so many features it could well be considered the Swiss Army knife of multimedia centers. For $249, the Cirago CMC3000 starts off as a 1 TB NAS drive with a 1080p HDMI 1.3 output with built-in LAN networking, analog video recording, internet radio station access, and a slew of supported video formats (including H.264, divx, wmv, mkv, and mov). You can also watch Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube video using PlayOn (the box includes a $20 off coupon) or TVersity. It even comes with a real, adult-size remote control instead of one of those cheap tiny things you usually get with these types of devices. Pretty cool.
At the CEDIA EXPO held earlier this month in Denver, Colorado, Infinity Systems introduced three new systems in the company's Total Solutions System line: the TSS-1200, TSS-800, and TSS-500. Each speaker system is a complete 5.1-channel package that includes two pairs of wall-mountable satellite speakers, a low-profile center channel, and a powered subwoofer.
Darryl Wilkinson
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