Det her er godt nok en dyr HTPC:
Instead of using conventional CD playback technology, the Rockport room
featured the DC-powered Black Box Audiophile PC from Blue Smoke
Entertainment Systems of Chicago. (Preliminary pricing, expected to
lower before the unit reaches the market, is $7999.) With no moving
parts in the box into which one inserts a CD, the DSP-based system
reclocks the data after reading the CD, basically eliminating jitter.
It copies the audio data from a CD onto a hard drive, reading the CD
multiple times if necessary to eliminate data-reading errors. It is
said to be far more accurate my own conventional stick it in the iMac
and burn it in iTunes setup. The unit can process data up to 24/192.
Lordie did it sound good.
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De her højttalere spiller bedre med grønt laserlys!
In what has become a tradition, Anton Dotson (aka Buddha on the Stereophile forum) and Michael Alazard set up a room at T.H.E. Show as NFS Audio (Not For Sale), which they describe as "a chill out zone for people tired of the show's relentless grinding down of the human spirit."
What do the good doctors prescribe? "Alcohol and music." NFS runs an open bar all day (and night) and play music: LPs, CDs, you name it. This year Dotson lugged his Ferguson Hill loudspeakers in for the fun of it. "These used to belong to Ray Kimber," Dotson said. "It's a long story."
They always are—and with NFS, they're usually petty good 'uns.
This year, the boys brought a new "tweak": a Laser projector. How is that a tweak?
"The laser stabilizes the air molecules, so they can better interact with the drivers" said Dotson. "Want a drink?"
Well, yes, but we have miles to go before we sleep.
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Audiophile Rob Smith stopped by to absorb some green dots by the record
Underligt.
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Wi Fi højttalere.
Erin Binal of Bicome finished his lecture on Thielnet by stripping off the front grillw on the small, two-way, IP-addressable, powered SCS4D loudspeaker. There are twin ports above and below the coaxial driver. With the grille on or off, the SCS4D is rated with a frequency response of 48Hz–20kHz, ±3dB. Pricing was not specified. And yes, those are WiFi antennae.
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Thiel's press conference at the Sands Convention Center
on Day One of the 2008 CES opened with a detailed critique of the
complexities and challenge of installing a home theater system. Ekin
Binal, Vice President, Product Development, of BICOM, an IT company
partnering with THIEL to address these issues, spoke in detail about
the complex, labor intensive, time-intensive, cost-intensive
installation of multiple speakers and channels. Furthermore, updating
such a home theater system is never simple nor convenient, nor is
moving a system from an old house to a new house either simple or
inexpensive. Because installation is custom work, there is no universal
package a single manufacturer can create that can fit most domestic
locations.
Thiel wondered if such problems could be reduced by connecting
speakers through a network, preferably wireless, without sacrificing
the audiophile sound quality that has been a design goal of the
company. Arrangements were made to partner with BICOM, a software /
information technology company. The resulting partnership developed the
plan for Thielnet.
The resulting Thielnet system includes a dB1, IP addressable,
digital audio distribution processor capable of running up to 64
loudspeakers with DSP to decode Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II/IIx,
and DTS audio inputs. The dB1 can be controlled by a remote, Web
browser, or through its front panel.
The Thielnet SCS4D loudspeaker shown in the photo is a key
member of this system. This is a full-range, IP-addressable, two-way,
powered bookshelf speaker with a digital crossover network, a 6.5"
woofer mounted co-axially with a 1" metal-dome tweeter. This is the
only loudspeaker I've seen that includes an Ethernet jack and WiFi
antennae on its rear panel.
Also presented was the Thielnet SS1D SmartSub subwoofer which
has a 10" long-throw woofer; and a dS1-Thielnet IP based digital
speaker module that contains the 250W class-D monoblock amplifier, a
24-bit/192kHz DAC, and traditional binding-post speaker outputs.
Connectivity between the digital audio distributor processor and
powered loudspeakers can be accomplished with Ethernet cabling or
wirelessly.
Ekin Binal spent time detailing the flexibility and rear panel
connectivity of the dB1, particularly its eight Ethernet jacks. Later,
members of the audience asked Jim Thiel, the company's main speaker
designer, how the networked connections sounded compared to the
traditional speaker cabling. Jim stated that speaker cabling was
superior at this time, but the difference was slight, and could not be
detected most times. Others asked abou the absence of an HDMI
connector, and what were the sources Thiel uses for its DACs and DSP
modules.
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Nyt fra Mark Levision.
"Our Asian and Pacific clients were strongly requesting it," said Mark
Levinson's Walter Schofield, VP of Sales and Marketing, "so we designed
an amplifier in the older Mark Levinson tradition with external heats."
Sure enough, the large, heavy—try 140 lbs—dual-mono, $15,000,
No.532 amplifier had the characteristic, classic, curved black-silver
monolithic shape enjoyed by Mark Levinson amplifiers designed in the
early 1990s.
"It may have the classic Mark Levinson appearance," continued
Walter, "but it enjoys the latest in our technology. Its output levels
are matched to within 0.02dB and the signal paths are 35% shorter than
any previous Mark Levinson amplifier. It also has our
very-low–dielectric Arlon printed-circuit boards. We've designed it to
act like a voltage source down to 1 ohm, so the current keeps doubling
as you go down in impedance. I think that it will be have terrific
sonics."
"Yes indeed," I said, "it will be important to test your claim. Can I have one for review?" Stay tuned!
"I've never seen the rear of an amplifier look like this," I
said, pointing how each channel of the Mark Levinson No.532 stereo
amplifier formed what seemed to be a peninsula, so that each channel
had its own left and right heatsinks."
"Yes," said Walter, "this chassis configuration allows to have smaller heatsinks, but still get the needed heat dissipation."
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Til sidst en stor højttaler.
"Big," I said.
"There's no substitute for size when it comes to designing a
subwoofer," JA explained. "A lot of small subs do a lot of things well,
but when you want to reproduce truly deep, controlled bass, you need
big drivers and a big box."
Wilson Audio Specialties' newest subwoofer, Thor's Hammer,
certainly seems to have what it takes. Coming from a long line of
serious subs, including the coffee-table-sized WHOW and seven-foot-tall
XS, Wilson's newest design stands 59 inches tall, weighs over 400 lbs,
features dual 15" long-throw woofers, and, of course, invokes the Norse
god of thunder. Whoa.
"For those people who want to move a lot of air around a very
large space, Thor's Hammer will do a great job," said Wilson's Peter
McGrath.
I believe it. Unfortunately, Thor's Hammer was only on static
display, so we couldn't enjoy a listen. "Maybe at the next show," said
Daryl Wilson. "We'll have to reinforce the windows."
Alt sammen taget fra Stereophile CES blog.