01 September 2007 – Another set of expensive speakers…..though not as expensive as some that we have mentioned earlier. The latest Klipsch Palladium Floorstander speakers cost a whopping $15,000 a pair. It makes use of 3.5-way Tapered Array design that employs new horn-loaded tweeter assembly made from acoustically-dampening materials. These not-so-expensive (when you compare them to Swans 2.3HT, YG Acoustics Voyager, Karissima, MUON, La Sphère) speakers use an inverted dome design and three high-output woofers give precise audio with high sensitivity and low distortion. this minimizes inductance modulation thereby offering a low-distortion, high-quality sound.

Continue Reading…

31 August 2007 – Klipsch has introduced its new IMAGE in-ear earphones, which the company claims feature “the world’s smallest and lightest full-range in-ear earphone design.” The IMAGE earphones feature anatomically designed Coutour Ear Gels, provided in small, medium, and large single flange designs, as well as small and large double flange designs. Other features include extended-frequency KG926 balanced micro-armatures, anodized aluminum bodies in a “copper” color, patent-pending earphone nozzles with mechanical locking rings to prevent the ear gels from getting lodged in a user’s ear, and 50-inch-long vinyl cables.

Continue Reading…

31 August 2007 – Shure has introduced its new SE110 Sound Isolating Earphones, the latest addition to the company’s sound isolating line. The Shure SE110 features include a Balanced MicroSpeaker for more vivid and detailed sound, assorted sleeves, a modular cable, and come with a carrying case and nozzle cleaning tool. Mark Karnes, Executive Director of Marketing, Shure Incorporated, said “We’ve always refused to compromise sound quality or aesthetic appeal for a low price, and today we’re redefining the sub-$100 category. The SE110 is premium audio at an everyday price point.” The Shure SE110 Sound Isolating Earphones will be available beginning September 17 and will sell for $100.

Continue Reading…

31 August 2007 – Photos of an alleged flash-based Microsoft Zune player surfaced today, rekindling rumors that the Redmond-based software giant will move to further its position in the digital media player market and gain ground on the market leader — Apple. The photos depict colored players in pink, red, and black that look much like Apple’s iPod nano player, featuring taller screens and a rounded rectangular area in place of the Cupertino-based company’s click-wheel. Gizmodo reports that while the photo appears legitimate and was confirmed by two separate unrelated sources, Microsoft is not above seeding the market with mockup pictures to confuse the public about pending product releases.

Continue Reading…

31 August 2007 – The European divison of Harmon Kardon has announced a new AV bundle, known as the Cinespecial 29. At the heart is the AVR 350 receiver, which has twin HDMI 1.2a inputs, and uses a Faroudja DVDi deinterlacer to to upscale composite and S-Video signals to 720p. The 350 also boasts features such as automatic calibration and AV sync delay, and includes an iPod dock that can be controlled via the main remote. Features such as A-BUS support allow audio from one receiver to be distributed to other rooms.


Continue Reading…

31 August 2007 – If you want a Blu-ray player at the moment, your choices are rather limited by price. The only player we really consider worth its salt (in our estimation) is the PS3, and if you aren’t interested in the gaming or multimedia aspects of Sony’s beloved console then you might be a bit annoyed about that.

So it is good thing that Sony has chosen to launch two new Blu-ray players just in time for the Christmas rush at ‘reasonable’ price points. Called the BDP-S300 (top) and BDP-S500 (bottom) the new devices will have RRPs of £399 and £599 respectively. While that doesn’t sound astonishingly cheap in itself, street pricing is likely to knock a reasonable bit off that, especially with the holiday season looming. Of course you can get an HD DVD player for under £200, but it’s not like the two formats are competing is it?

Continue Reading…

31 August 2007 – The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has once again proclaimed the Blu-ray disc format to be the future industry HD standard.

At a fairly non-eventful press conference at this year’s IFA Expo in Berlin , Frank Simonis, President of the BDA, rolled out a host of Hollywood studio bosses to sing Blu-ray’s praises.

Continue Reading…

31 August 2007 – Samsung’s third generation of Blu-ray Disc players made an appearance at the IFA show in Berlin today. The company took the wraps of four machines, including the first BD-equipped home cinema set-up and a dual HD DVD/Blu-ray rig.

The star of the line-up is the long-awaited BD-UP5000, Samsung’s dual-format player, capable of full HD DVD playback as well as Blu-ray. Like all the players unveiled today, the BD-UP5000 supports the full array of HD resolutions and is capable of 24fps at 1080p, all through HDMI 1.3.

Continue Reading…

31 August 2007 – Samsung today took the wraps off its widescreen YP-P2 digital media player, as expected, but it also unveiled a second model that sports a kid-friendly animated user interface. The company added Bluetooth across the line-up.

The YP-T10 is geared straight toward a young audience. The full-screen moving GUI is played out on a 2in, 240 x 320 display. It’s MPEG 4 and WMV video capable as well as a music player – MP3 and WMA formats – and there’s a radio and photo viewer on board too.

Samsung’s YP-T10: wireless music

Continue Reading…