Continuing on with the CEDIA 2008 coverage…

Sooloos had an impressive display on the show floor this year.  They have been working on several new products and had working prototypes of all of them.  I can’t definitively say any one was better or more exciting than the other as they are all great product offerings.

Stores: The two box storage solutions (Store:One and Store:Two) have been discontinued for three new models.  All models now feature removable hard drives giving you the option to buy a disk drive from Sooloos with your order, or you can purchase it on your own.

Ensemble: Single disk drive with all space being dedicated to storage, backup via ControlPC.
Twinstore: Two drive solution with automatic backup; one disk for storage, one for backup.
Quadstore: Four drive solution with automatic backup; two disks for storage, two for backup.

Source: The Source:One and Source:Five remain with no changes. However, it was announced that new versions of these units, with significantly upgraded DAC’s, will be available soon. As you may or may not know, the DAC’s have been abused in recent reviews and it’s great to see Sooloos taking action. There will be an upgrade program for all existing sources.

Control: The Control:One, with its outstanding user interface, still remains the highlight of the product line. The 17″ touchpanel will soon be joined by a wireless handheld, which has been talked about for many months. ControlPC, the desktop software application, remains in the line up with a UI update due shortly. There have been several updates in recent months and the software now includes the ability to import music from your computers hard disk or internal CD or DVD drive, backup and restore, edit metadata and, of course, manage music and playlists.

Additionally, you can now control your Sooloos music server with an iPhone or an iPod Touch. Finally, the new Control:Bridge is used for seamless integration with Crestron.

Software: There will be new skins available for the UI in the next couple of weeks, which is really cool, but the major announcements from CEDIA are the addition of the DVD and Blu-ray support as well as a photo collection interface. These will use a new product called the Cinema which will process the audio and video from the store and send it to one display and audio source. The Cinema is only compatible with the Twinstore and Quadstore. Ensemble owners will still have photo access, management will be done via ControlPC and images will be displayed on the Control:One touch-panel.

The last big announcement for the software is the integration with the online digital music service Rhapsody. While the exact details have not been fully released, this will make the Sooloos system even more attractive to own.

So, that’s the latest on the new releases, here’s my take on everything. First, all of the new products and features are very exciting and will secure Sooloos in the music serving market. The DVD and Blu-ray support remains to be proven simply because they are getting to the dance a little late. The industry has seen a number of companies getting into the market segment in addition to the ones who were already there. The good news for Sooloos is they have the luxury of seeing what others have successfully (and unsuccessfully) accomplished and will hopefully use this a guide for releasing they solution. The preview looked great but until we get a chance to actually use it in a live environment the jury is still out.

The photo management software and display looked great. The ability to easily manage your entire photo collection and share it to TV’s through out the house could easily be one of the leading selling points of the system.

So, Sooloos (btw: it’s pronounced sue-loose) had a very good showing at CEDIA. I stopped by the booth at different times throughout the show and they were always busy with attendees. We’re definitely excited about the new products and I’ll report back as they start hitting the streets.

B&K Components has introduced their new Reference 70 preamp/preprocessor.  Expanding on the success of the previous Reference 50 Series 2, the Ref. 70 has been upgraded with the latest and greatest audio and video technologies and at a price point which makes it a very attractive solution for any size home theater.

The majority of new features are focused on video so the Ref. 70 can be integrated and take advantage of 1080p video.  Centered around a Silicon Optix Reon HQV high performance video processor, all incoming video sources are scaled to 1080p and output via HDMI.  Along with the outstanding video upgrades, the audio procesing has also been revamped to handle all current audio formats; including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MD Master Audio.

Two other very noticeable improvements are an on-screen display, which works via HDMI up to 1080p, and the new front panel interface which provides easy access of all of the preamps features.

Here are all the highlights:

• 14 Discrete Audio & Video Inputs
• 6 HDMI Inputs and 1 HDMI Monitor Output. (version 1.3b)
• 8 Component Inputs and 2 Component Monitor Outputs
• Upconverting and Scaling of Component, S-Video and Composite to HDMI
• True Scaling up to 1080p
• CinemaScope Scaling for 2.35 Aspect Ratio Screen (Lens Needed)
• B&K’s GUI On-Screen Interface with Overlays up to 1080p via HDMI
• 16 Digital Inputs (8 optical / 8 coaxial) Including Digital Audio on the 6 HDMI Inputs
• Ethernet port (RJ-45) for IP Command and Control
• Flash upgrade Capability
• Full 2-Way RS-232
• Built-In 14 Source Discrete IR Routing
• Built-In FM/AM Tuner with up to 40 Simple Tuner Preset Stations
• Rear IR Input Jack (1/8” Minijack)
• 5.1 / 7.1 Analog Inputs for SACD / DVD Audio / Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio
• New Smart Sync Programmable Audio & Video Preferences by B & K
• USB 2.0 for Computer Programming
• 1 Pair Balanced (XLR) Input / 1 Balanced Digital Input
• 8 Unbalanced (RCA) Outputs / 8 Balanced (XLR) Outputs
• 5 Year Parts & Labor Warranty
• Made in the U.S.A.

The Reference 70 is currently shipping with a MSRP of $3,798.

Well, I’m finally getting an opportunity to catch up after the CEDIA. Things always tend to get a little busier in the fall and the show put quite a few more items on the to-do list.

The first report is from Aerial Acoustics who announced a couple of new and exciting products this year. These have been rumored, or in prototype, for a while so it’s nice to be able to finally share what they have been up to. First off, and the most exciting for me, is the announcement of the new Model 7c, the replacement for the 7b. The update includes new drivers, crossovers and a striking cabinet design boosting a curved-back cabinet. I know there are a number of other speaker manufacturers out there with a similar shape but the radius on the new 7 is a little more aggressive than some of the others I’ve seen. The result is a very visually appealing cabinet and represent a new look for an Aerial Acoustics speaker. Additionally the base is finished in black gloss which provides stability and compliments the over all look without being too industrial or out of place. The prototype speaker was finished in gloss cherry, something else new for Aerial. The available cabinet finishes are still being decided but there was positive reaction to the gloss; I would expect to see between four and seven high quality finishes in a mix of both gloss and satin. Finally, the 7c sports a new slightly curved grill which is the perfect touch to the new cabinet shape.

The second new product was the System 2. Based on the came concept as the already existing System 1, the System 2 is meant for flat screen displays or small projection systems. The speakers in include the vertical left and right channels and the horizontal center channel. Also in the mix is a new subwoofer based on dual offset 10″ drivers. The entire system (pun intended) is definitely more oriented towards a lifestyle system but without the sound quality compromise usually associated with systems of this size.

As normal with CEDIA, Aerial Acoustics had a static booth so there was not chance to demo any of the new products. Both the 7c and System 2 are in the very final stages of development so we’ll be keeping an eye on their release and will report back as soon we can get a live demo.

Earlier this year McIntosh introduced its new MC2301 monoblock tube amplifier. Jim Ludoviconi, the senior dealer support manager for McIntosh, sent the following press release to dealers:

“The new McIntosh MC2301 monoblock tube amplifier hails the fusion of our Unity Coupled and Quad-
Differential circuit topologies. From the inception of McIntosh Labs, Unity Coupling stands as one of the
premiere tube topologies ever conceived, making possible revolutionary power bandwidth and low distortion. Quad-Differential circuitry, a recent McIntosh innovation, cancels nearly all induced noise and circuit-borne nonlinearities resulting in the lowest noise levels ever achieved in a tube amplifier. With 300 Watts available at 8, 4 or 2 ohms, the MC2301 provides power enough to drive even the most demanding loudspeakers. From the demands of massed chorale to full-on rock and roll the, MC2301 delivers the most extraordinarily lifelike and dynamic performance ever heard from a McIntosh tube amplifier.

The appearance of the MC2301 bespeaks pure McIntosh power. A fast-responding wattmeter with L.E.D. illumination glows blue behind a premium ½” glass frontpanel. A pair of hand-machined, anodized handles and polished stainless steel chassis completes the package.”

8250 Theaterworks recently brought a pair of these in-house for demo and the results are excellent; music has a tremendous sense of open space while still providing intimate details and texture. If you’re considering a new 2-channel system, or looking to upgrade your current system, the new MC2301 is definitely worth considering and a “must demo” product.

Well, it actually never went away, it was more or less on hiatus with some collectors, aficionados and hobbyist.  However, vinyl records are again popular and gaining momentum as more people are, again, looking to 2-channel music as a form of entertainment.  We’ve been in a crazy video cycle for a number of years and although it remains the hottest market segment in the industry, audio is picking up some serious speed.

The iPod started two big trends; easy access to music collections and the general acceptance of compromised audio quality.  The former has been growing by leaps and bounds as the convergence of the computer technology and the a/v industry has led to some amazing technologies allowing us to categorized, organized, shuffle, mix, share and enjoy our music collections.  The latter trend of compressing music to accommodate larger collections within minimal storage capacities has quite frankly been disgusting.  If your favorite music genres are mainstream pop and big label rock you probably don’t care about the audio quality of your music - let’s face it, those are recorded with an mind-staggering amount of compression anyway so a little more won’t hurt.  However, if you’re into jazz, blues, classical, vocal, indie, folk, etc. then the quality does matter.  Not to say that all music produced in these genres is recorded well, but the instruments used in these formats are at their best when they are not digitized and enjoyed within their own natural space.

And that leads us back to vinyl - music that is not digitized.  The cassette revolutionized the portability of the music but it was the CD which took that into the stratosphere due to durability and storage capacity, however, music had to be digitized to be recorded on this medium.  DVD-Audio and SACD gave us a brief glimpse into very well recorded digital audio but it required a special player and never recognized mainstream popularity.  So, the best solution we had were some expensive players and esoteric DACs to help our digitized music sound as real as possible.  Still, unless you were willing to spend some dollars and do some research, even the best players out there can leave the music sounding a bit sterile.

All of this does not imply that you should go out immediately and purchased a turntable and stacks of records, I’m just saying there is a reason we got the where we are today with music.  Let’s face it, there’s not a luxury brand car on the market today with a turntable built into the dash to play your pressed-wax favorites, and I won’t even mention the complications that arise if you want to exercise while listening to your favorite album.  The fact is the CD represents a convenient and durable medium for music, the iPod is the current pinnacle of portability and vinyl represents something different.  Listening to music on vinyl takes commitment, both in time, patience and even in dollars, but the reward is a personal relationship and romantic affair with your music.

Think of the process, you start by opening a nice bottle of wine.  While that is breathing you flip through your collection looking at wonderful coverart and reading interesting details on the album (hey let’s face it - the size of the album gives the artist and studio quite a bit of print space to talk to you about the music).  You select a favorite, or maybe it’s a new purchase, or perhaps something you haven’t heard in a while.  Power up the system, pour your wine and sit down with your significant other, some friends or maybe just take a moment to yourself.  You’re then rewarded with a full dynamic audio treat.  Instruments have character, sounds have space, the music has depth and without realizing it you might relax a little, take your mind of the days worries and find yourself engaged with the artist and enjoying a personal journey.  Compare that to an iPod where, in the same time frame, your fourteen year old has listened to all of Avril’s greatest hits, compiled 10 new playlists for an upcoming party and sent 80-100 text messages to dozens of her almost closest friends…OMG!  Clearly two different experiences.

Even the equipment is an engaging process; the turntable requires a tonearm and needle cartridge - two highly customized and specialized pieces of equipment.  The turntables themselves have enjoyed a pleasant update with the latest technologies and manufacturing processes.  You could spend $100 or $100K and in both cases still be looking for that magic combination.  There is a phono stage somewhere in the mix, this unit prepares the signal from the cartridge for your integrated amp or preamps inputs, so it’s important and requires some thought.  The records themselves are cumbersome; they are not easy to sort through, they require special handling - you can’t throw them around like CD’s and slam them into players.  Then need to be cleaned of lint and dust and forget about leaving them in the car on a hot summer afternoon while you stop into local coffee shop for a ice latte.  But ask anyone who is passionate about their own personal hobby and part of the reward is the journey.  The fisherman who spends an afternoon tying that special fly for this weekends trip to that secret spot on the river or the car collector who spends a Sunday detailing their hot rod so it looks its best for the upcoming meet and greet; it’s the preparation that adds to the experience.  And for the vinyl; it’s all those finicky details to select equipment and the careful handling of the album that is the passion most people don’t realize can exist in audio today.  Schedules have become so hectic we’re left with downloading our music, we can’t even take the time to visit the local store to browse and shop.  Do you even know where your nearest vinyl shop is?

I know there are a lot of you reading this coming up with all sorts of reasons agaist vinyl.  I know what they are and I’ll be going into this further in an upcoming post regarding music servers and why everyone needs to have one (yes, needs to).  In regards to vinyl and my reference to it being back, it really is.  Recently the CEA reported that turntable shipments topped 32,000 sales in April which was one-third higher than the previous April which had 19,000 sales.  You can find turntables in some surprising places like Wal-mart, BestBuy, and even Urban Outfitters.  The turntables of today are not like your parents, they are more sophisticated and accessible.  Some cost only $70 and there are a large number of them out there which are fitted with USB cables so you can copy your albums directly to digital files on your computer - which sound better than CD’s and much better than MP3.  According to Neilsen SoundScan, a research company that tracks music sales, CD sales declined 15 percent in 2007 but vinyl sales are rising.  In March, vinyl sales increased 70 percent over the same month the previous year.

Another interesting factor in favor of vinyl over the digital download is people want something physical to account for their purchase, not just a file stored on a hard disk.  And vinyl collections are not limited to rare non-mainstream music, artists like U2, Madona, Metallica, Sonic Youth, Wilco, NIN and others are releasing their music on vinyl in addition to the normal CD’s and digital download formats - it’s buyers choice.  There is an entire generation of music listeners who have never heard vinyl and are now able to access analog music for the first time in an every changing digital world. For the rest of us, it’s like an old comfortable pair of jeans…it just feels right.

Cambridge Audio has introduced a new pre-amp and amplifier to it’s Azur product line.  The Azur 840E pre-amplifier uses new proprietary TerraPin™ output modules for increased audio fidelity. Instead of using normal op-amps for the low-level gains stages, they developed their own low-noise, low-distortion devices. The volume and balance use a sophisticated resistor ladder and relay based attenuator for accurate control while maintaining balance. Each of the eight inputs is configurable on the front panel display so the user can properly name each source (CD, MP3, Tuner, etc.)

The Azur 840W amplifier uses the same Class XD technology used in their Azur 840A integrated amplifier. The XD stands for crossover displacement and is designed to use the benefits of a Class A amplifier at low levels and then moves into a modified version of Class B for the high levels. The 840W can be used as a normal 2-channel amplifier (200W@8ohms), bi-amped or bridged-mono (500W@8ohms).

This new two piece combination from Cambridge Audio is targeted at the budget minded audiophile, someone who appreciates quality and looking for something a little more esoteric than the mainstream. While the 840E/W performs it’s best with jazz, classical, blues and vocals, it can still hold it’s own with all musical tastes. It’s able to drive most speakers regardless of load but one should carefully choose a neutral loudspeaker to achieve the best results. Of course the 840C, Cambridge Audio’s acclaimed CD player, makes a perfect front end to complete the system.