Most speakers we know come with stands, but Jamo takes the gravity-challenged route by offering its A 804 wall-mounted speaker.

This speaker was specially designed to be used at any corner of a surround sound setup, where two of these can function as a front stereo pair, a rear pair or even flipped to double up as a center channel speaker. You will find that each A 804 comes with a bassreflex ported cabinet that measures a mere 3.9″ deep. On the outside, you will find leather and high-gloss black aluminum, steel and high density polymer as the materials of choice while inside resides a 0.75″ silk-dome tweeter with Jamo’s proprietary WaveGuide technology, a 4.5″ midrange and two 4.5″ woofers. Expect to pick this up from next month onwards at $449 a pop.

Thiel Audio has released a new signature version of their popular CS2.4 speaker, which occupies the middle ground in their floorstanding line between the CS1.6 and CS3.7. The driver complement for the CS2.4SE is the same as the standard version. It’s a 3-way, time-and-phase accurate design that uses an 8″ aluminum diaphragm woofer augmented by a 7.5 x 11″ “race track” passive radiator, and a 1-inch dome tweeter and a 3.5-inch midrange driver in a coincident array.

The CS2.4SE features a new crossover that incorporates high quality polypropylene and custom-made polystyrene capacitors for claimed improvements in precision, balance, and detail, a new hand-selected Birdseye Maple finish stained in deep red that Thiel calls “Vermilion Maple”, stainless steel hardware securing the drivers to the baffle, milled aluminum Outriggers and highly polished stabilizer spikes, and Jim Thiel’s signature on the rear of the cabinet. Production of the CS2.4SE is limited to 150 pairs, priced at $8,000. Continue Reading…

The people back at Pinel & Pinel of France have come up with an innovative idea called the Movie Trunk. It includes highly acclaimed Bang & Olufsen Beolab 6000 subwoofer, two Beolab 3 speakers, BeoVision 6-26 television, and the DVD1 DVD/CD player. This fold out home theatre system is covered in an assortment of 51 vibrant leathers with nickel plated brass hardware and 3 drawers to store 48 DVD’s.

I think it’s worth every dollar only that for now there is no dope on how much it costs. Meanwhile you can ready your collection of 48 DVD’s and tons of popcorn as you are not going anywhere for a very long time. Continue Reading…

Logitech Z-5 Omnidirectional stereo speakers

Logitech Z-5 Omnidirectional stereo speakers – for PC and Mac computers delivers great sound throughout your room. Unlike standard PC speakers that focus sound in one direction, the Logitech Z-5 speakers use omnidirectional acoustics that create a substantially wider sweet spot – an especially helpful feature if you often move your laptop around your home or office. The omnidirectional acoustics on the Logitech Z-5 speakers use forward- and backward-firing drivers to transmit sound evenly in all directions. Whether you’re listening to your favorite song or watching a video on YouTube, you’ll enjoy rich, articulate sound and minimal distortion – from every corner of your room.

The Logitech Z-5 omnidirectional stereo speakers are expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning this month for a suggested retail price of $99.99. [source: Fareastgizmos]

NX-BD3 Blu-ray home theater system

JVC’s newest addition to its Sophisti line-up is the NX-BD3 Blu-ray home theater system, which is the company’s first Blu-ray system and the first dedicated Blu-ray player in the industry to feature Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) compatibility via a wireless adapter update. Thanks to DLNA support, the 2.1-channel system will be able to work with other types of DLNA-certified devices such as cellphones, PCs and others to share digital content, including MPEG videos, JPEG photos and MP3/WMA music.

The NX-BD3’s internal amplifier is rated at 4×55W, with the subwoofer delivering a further 200W of bass. The two speakers sport two drivers with different material thicknesses each, allowing them to create a virtual surround sound system with a phantom center channel and virtual rear speakers. Supported audio formats will include Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby Pro-Logic II. Continue Reading…

Acoustic Energy has announced a special run of exactly 100 individually numbered and matched pairs of their new AE1 Mk III SE monitor, built to celebrate the success of the company’s classic AE1. The special edition AE1 Mk III features a heavily braced 0.7″ thick MDF cabinet lined with a 0.15″ steel plate to provide superior damping and stiffness. The drivers consist of a 4.3″ spun aluminum mid-woofer with a die-cast magnesium alloy chassis and 1.25″ voice-coil, and a 1.5″ ring-radiator tweeter.

Acoustic Energy modified the crossover for the Mk III SE, selecting top quality ferrite-core and air-core inductors, Welwyn wire wound resistors, and ClarityCap capacitors. They also added Teflon insulated silver internal wiring, and WBT binding posts. Frequency response is rated at 70Hz – 22kHz (+/-3dB), with 87dB/W/m sensitivity, and 8 Ohm impedance. The AE1 Mk III SE is available in piano black, cheery wood veneer, pearl white and other standard finishes, or can be painted to the customer’s choice. The price is $5,000 per pair.

Specifications:

• Bass/Mid Driver: 110mm ‘pure piston’ aluminium cone
• Crossover: ultra short signal path 2nd order crossover at 2khz
• Frequency response: 45Hz – 40kHz @ +/-3dB
• Power handling: Amplifiers rated up to 200Watts into 8 Ohms
• Sensitivity: 87db for 2.83V at 1m
• Nominal impedance: 8 Ohms
• Total harmonic Distortion: Less than 0.3% 200Hz to 20kHz
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 295 x 180 x 255mm

Continue Reading…

If you’ve been a fan of Heco’s speakers from afar, you’ll be glad to hear the company’s Aleva range is to be released in the UK by distributor Pure Sound.Prices range from £500 for the bookshelf Aleva 200 speakers and go up to £1000 for the floorstanding Aleva 400s.

The Aleva range has newly developed drives complete with ‘Kraft‘ paper cones, which are made from a mixture of long fibre pulp and wool. These are said to resemble the paper used in ‘classic drivers’ – we’re talking Western Electric and Saba, not Ayrton Senna.

The driver chassis are diamond finished aluminium castings, while the tweeters have an aluminium faceplate, too. The MDF cabinets are available in cherry read wood veneers as well as silver and black lacquer finishes.

The floorstanding models feature integrated plinths and are biwirable.

Other than the prices listed above, details remain sketchy – not least on the subwoofer and any 5.1 system. Keep your eyes on the site for more details as and when we get them.

Klipsch has authorized six retailers to sell its Reference Series speakers online, marking the first time Klipsch has authorized a company for Internet sales.Crutchfield, Vanns Electronics, ABT Electronics, Amazon, OneCall and Sound Distributors started selling the Klipsch speakers on their Web sites last month. All six retailers will carry the complete Reference IV line-everything from floorstanders to subwoofers.

According to Paul Jacobs, president and COO of Klipsch Group, there were two major reasons behind this new online sales strategy.

First, over the past several years, Klipsch has filed multiple lawsuits against unauthorized companies selling its products over the Internet. Klipsch says this hurts their reputation and online shoppers sometimes, unknowingly, buy used products.

Continue Reading…

If you’ve living in an extremely cramped apartment and do not have the luxury of space to set up a decent surround sound system in your living room, there is always the Surround Sound Chair. Sitting on it will find yourself enveloped in all five speakers, including an integrated 12″ subwoofer.

The speakers were placed and directed in such a manner that prevents sound from reflecting off the walls and ceiling, ensuring you get the most accurate sound reproductoin possible. I just wonder whether you will be able to hear the phone ringing while sitting in the thick of action. Do you think $3,000 is an investment well worth the price for the Surround Sound Chair?