ces - Home audio

Soon after DVD hit it big--let's say right around the turn of the century--the concept of the home-theater-in-a-box ("HTIB," in the parlance of our times) was born. Manufacturers bundled up a 5.1 audio system with a DVD player and an amplifier--sometimes in one integrated unit--and sold the whole thing for a song, leaving the buyer to "just add TV." Not surprisingly, HTIBs soon became ultra-commoditized, with name brand units selling for under $300, and no-name budget rigs sitting on supermarket endcaps for half as much. But there's always a new high-end:… Read more

In just a few sort years, HDMI connectivity has become arguably the most important spec for AV receivers. Pioneer rolled out four new HDMI-capable receivers today, ranging from the budget VSX-518 to the midrange VSX-1018TXH-K. All four models have three HDMI inputs, which is one more than the previous standard of two. On the other hand, onboard decoding for the new high resolution soundtrack formats--such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio--is limited to the VSX-1018TXH-K, which is a little disappointing considering it was available last year on the inexpensive Onkyo TX-SR605. The VSX-1018TXH-K looks to be the sweet spot … Read more

Most people love surround sound, but can't stand all the messy wires required to make it work. Vizio's new Jive SV5.1 Enhancement kit attempts to solve that problem with a wireless subwoofer that's placed in the back of the room and feeds two rear speakers--eliminating the need to run wires from the front of your home theater to the back. The Jive SV5.1 integrates with your current stereo TV speakers, adding a center channel in the front, and the aforementioned wireless subwoofer and rear speakers in the back. While that's great in terms of … Read more

If you're not supposed to cast stones at glass houses, it's probably not a good idea to throw them at glass speakers--especially when they cost $5,400 a pair. No word on whether these superslick towers are shatterproof, but we're glad to hear that the French company Waterfall Audio is introducing its line of glass loudspeakers to the American market at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show this week.

According to the press release, Waterfall will showcase its two flagship models, the Victoria EVO and Iguascu EVO, which are named for the "famous waterfalls in Africa and … Read more

When it comes to iPod speakers, we thought we'd seen it all--models with vacuum tubes, 2.1 systems, ones that are totally tubular, and others that are as big as a microwave oven. But JVC's NX-PN7 is the first one we've seen with docks for two iPods. Despite doubling down on the music players, the unit is just 13 inches wide. In addition to being able to toggle between "iPod A" and "iPod B," the NX-PN7 features a clock, an auxiliary line-in, and a horizontal light beneath each iPod dock that can be … Read more

One of the biggest trends in home audio is surround-sound audio from a single speaker, and that's only further emphasized when audiophile speaker companies like Definitive Technology jump on the bandwagon. Definitive Technology has announced the Mythos SSA50, a single-speaker surround-sound system that uses nine drivers to create a faux-surround sound effect--making it sound like there are rear speakers where there are none. The technology is far from new, and the Mythos SSA50 will have to compete with similar products like the Yamaha YSP-4000 and the Philips HTS-8100.

Single-speaker surround systems always seem on the verge of going mainstream, … Read more

If you read CNET at all, you know we're big fans of Logitech's Harmony line of universal remotes--and judging from the sales numbers, so is the rest of America. But if you're in the market for a universal remote, you'll want to hold off until the end of the month: that's when the Logitech Harmony One is scheduled to hit store shelves. (Yes, yes, add Logitech's name under Dell and Gateway to the list of manufacturers using the "One" moniker.) In addition to packing the same basic features that have distinguished … Read more

Digital audio is great--especially if you've got a multigigabyte music collection sitting on your computer or you subscribe to an "all you can eat" music service like Rhapsody. The problem, for a lot of people, is that they're stuck listening to all that great music on the tinny speakers of their computer--or perhaps patching the laptop into their living room stereo system. Dedicated audio streamers have helped somewhat, but they have tiny little screens, which--like docked iPods--aren't very useful if you're sitting on a sofa across the room. And the best solution to date--the excellent Sonos Digital Music System--costs a prohibitive $1,000. Enter Logitech's new Squeezebox Duet: the $400 network digital audio streamer employs a winning handheld remote with a brilliant color screen (not unlike an iPod) that lets you navigate your entire music collection--including some online services and the majority of free Internet radio stations--from the palm of your hand, even while you hear the music from the big speakers of your home stereo. … Read more

Debuting at CES is the iLuv i399, the successor to the i199, which we enjoyed for its array of features and affordable price. iLuv has completely redesigned the audio system into a much more compact unit.

Most of the features from the i199 look to be intact, although we're not sure the CD player survived the upgrade. What we do know is that the i399 has a built in subwoofer, support for iPod audio playback, an FM tuner, digital clock display, an auxiliary port, and features the next iteration of the company's "BluePin" Bluetooth dongle, called … Read more