All Products

Friday, February 03, 2012

Runco has established its top level, 73d projector as arguably one best performing 3D projectors in the entire residential market. The company's latest projector, the newly announced LS-12d maintains many of the 73d's performance characteristics, but at price levels that are considerably lower than its flagship product.

The LS-12d is an active-shutter, three-chip DLP projector that Runco says can be used situations in which homeowners want a high-performance projector that aesthetically doesn't detract from their home's interior design. To ensure the projector's visual compatibility with today's modern home designs, Runco dresses the projector with its LightStyle industrial design and backs it with its FinishPalette color program that allows consumers a full choice of exterior color choices.

Runco ships the LS-12d projector with is 2U outboard DC-300 controller unit, which provides authorized installers with a convenient means to setup and calibrate the projector, and three pairs of active-shutter 3D glasses.

Thursday, February 02, 2012

Over the past several months the momentum behind the HDBaseT transmission technology has grown with several manufacturers adopting the format and releasing new products into the marketplace.

The latest company to launch a new HDBaseT product into the professional electronics market is Audio Authority. The Lexington, Kentucky-based manufacturer's new HBT200KIT is a HDBaseT solution that electronics professionals can use to address long-range signal transmission issues in commercial and residential system environments.

Audio Authority says the HBT200KIT is capable of sending uncompressed HD video, lossless audio, IR and RS-232 control signals distances as far as 330 feet with a single Cat-5e/Cat-6 cable. The company says the kit includes a transmitter and receiver and the components are compliant with HDCP/EDID protocols to ensure the system's compatibility with a variety of displays and source components.

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

In the world of networking it's not too often that a custom installer can say that there's a networking component specifically for the custom electronics industry.

In the case of the newly released Pakedge S8W 8-port gigabit switch however, electronics professionals will find a networking device with home theater, security and traditional networking in its DNA. Pakedge says the switch is equipped with eight auto-sensing 10/100/1000Mbps ports and it can be implemented without any preconfiguration. The Foster City, California-based company also says the high-speed, compact switch is compliant with all of the latest networking protocols to ensure its compatibility with all of the latest networking technologies.

Pakedge ships the 8-port gigabit switch with a wall-mounting bracket and it incorporates custom installation features such as the ability to automatically negotiate network speed and duplex mode with connected devices. The company adds the switch is made with a metal enclosure that can be placed on a table, in a rack or hung on a wall.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Ludacris is one of the sharpest and most successful entertainers in both the world of music and in movies. The entertainment mogul's latest venture is SOUL by Ludacris, which is a line of headphones and other audio accessories, and recently the line was upgraded with a new pair of headphones that are as sharp as the man they are named after.

The newly released SL150CS chrome silver Limited Edition headphones build upon the basic feature set of the company's SL150 products with the addition of a sharp chrome finish. The headphones are trimmed with black padding on the headpiece and gloss black accents along the ear pieces to provide music lovers, DJs and sound engineers with a stylish sound solution that also rocks.

SOUL by Ludacris has engineered the speakers to produce a balanced, full sound and the headphones can be used for a variety of applications. The headphones work with Apple's iPod, iPhone and iPad products, as well as other portable devices, including Android products, and the SL150CS headphones ship with two cables and 1/4-jack accessories to allow music fans to use the headphones with traditional stereo components.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Beyond the obvious attraction of the four major sports leagues (NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA) it's surprising that Americans can get their competition fix through seemingly innocuous activities such as eating or video games.

Oddly enough however, there are competitive eating leagues and video gaming leagues. Unlike the competitive eating events which could be potentially messy and hazardous to the participants' health, competitive gaming doesn't burden those athletes digestive tracks. All gaming participants need are nimble thumbs and state-of-the-art computer displays. BenQ's new XL Series monitors can't help competitive gamers improve their gaming controller clicks-per-minute times, but these new monitors can help them resolve the action better. The company's XL2420T and XL2420TX are designed to provide users the highest levels of performance with features such as 120Hz refresh rates, 2ms GTG response times and dynamic contrast ratios as high as 12M:1.

BenQ worked with famous gamers such as Emil "HeatoN" Christensen, Abdisamad "SpawN" Mohamed and Michael "ahl" Korduner to engineer the products to meet the requirements of the competitive gaming community. The monitors incorporate BenQ's proprietary color engines, unique display modes and customized memory settings to store specific calibrations for specific games. The XL240T is NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 ready for those that want an upgrade path to 3D and the XL2420TX offers an embedded 3D IR emitter and two pairs of active 3D glasses.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Mark Levinson is one of the most famous names in high performance residential audio and recently at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) the respected American manufacturer announced several new products.

Arguably the most interesting of these products is the No.585 integrated amplifier. The No.585 marks a return to the integrated amplifier category, and according to Levinson, the new integrated amp is part of the company's 40th Anniversary Collection of products, which also includes the No.52 Reference Dual-Monaural Preamplifier, the No.519 SACD and the No.560 Digital Audio Processor.

The No.585 integrated amplifier's amplification section is rated to deliver 225 watts into an 8-ohm load, and it offers a choice of three line-level analog inputs, as well as a moving-magnet (MM)/moving-coil (MC) phono input. Levinson also includes a choice of HDMI 1.3, USB, AES/EBU, and coax S/PDIF inputs, along with USB and S/PDIF digital outputs. Internally the integrated amp incorporates 24-bit/192kHz digital-to-analog converters (DACs); on-board bass management with high-pass filtering, low-pass crossover controls for use with a subwoofer and the company's SSP mode that supports the unit's integration into a home theater system.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

It doesn't matter if you are a die-hard two-channel enthusiast or a home theater lover when it comes to owning McIntosh gear. The company makes products that satisfies the demands of both markets without compromise.

Adding to its home theater legacy, the Binghampton, N.Y.-based company introduced its latest product to the home theater category: the MC8207 home theater amplifier. McIntosh says the new amplifier is engineered to provide the luxury, high-performance with a product that performs to the highest levels. McIntosh says the seven-channel amplifier incorporates its proprietary Dynamic Power Management circuit that allows for full power delivery into 4- and 8-ohm speaker loads. Aesthetically, the amp features the company's new "theater style" LED watt meters, which allows users to monitor the amount of power sent to their system's front three speakers.

McIntosh says the amp is rated to deliver 200 watts per channel, and it can be used with the company's line of A/V controllers to form a complete home theater electronics solution.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

With the vinyl format bigger than ever, long-time category supporters such as Audio Technica (AT) are benefiting through the increased interest in their respective products now that consumers are spinning records again.

One product that is receiving a lot of interest from Audio Technica is the AT 150ANV moving-coil phono cartridge. The product was released to celebrate its 50th anniversary as a company, and AT says the cartridge combines traditional phono cartridge design elements with new technologies to provide music lovers with a product that taps into the best qualities of yesterday and today. According to Audio Technica, the AT150ANV employs a Micro Linear stylus tip that's mounted to a solid boron cantilever. The cartridge also uses a machined-aluminum housing and dampening materials to eliminate resonances to ensure musical clarity and resolution.

Audio Technica states the AT150ANV's frequency response is 10Hz to 23kHz, and its output is rated at 4mV. In addition, the company says its vertical tracking force is 1.2 to 1.8 grams, and its recommended load impedance is 47k ohms.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

A couple of years ago the suburban Boston-based company Atlantic Technology played a trick on the assembled press corp during its CEDIA news conference by playing its then new set of speakers next to a subwoofer. Later during the press conference company president Peter Tribeman revealed that the sub was never on and the bass output from the system was reproduced by the small footprint floorstanding speakers that were on display.

Using the same technology from its small footprint floorstanding AT-1 speakers Atlantic Technology recently launched its AT-2 bookshelf loudspeakers. Standing about 16 inches tall the AT-2 employs the company's H-PAS enclosure technologies, which it says are completely unique when compared to the industry standard acoustic suspension, ported and transmission line designs, and because it implements the H-PAS technologies it can play down to 41Hz. Handling the speaker's top end is a single Atlantic Technology Low-Resonance Tweeter (LRT), and in tandem with the cabinet technologies, 51/4-inch woofer and crossover network the speaker can create a frequency response of 41Hz to 20kHz.

The speaker can be used for a variety of residential sound applications, and Atlantic Technology says the 6-ohm speaker is 88dB sensitive, which means it can be used with a majority of A/V receivers and amplifiers.

Monday, January 23, 2012

When top dealers such as Nick Tamburri of AHA Design consistently laud HAI for its line of home control, home automation and security products, it says the company must be doing something right.

Validating those opinions are actions such as the New Orleans-based company's recent announcement that it is releasing a software update to enhance its control and security systems' usability. Just after the start of the new year HAI revealed that it is updating its controller software to allow for the two-way integration of ZigBee and Z-Wave wireless door locks. HAI dealers that install Omni and Lumina home control systems will be able to utilize wireless door locks from top manufacturers such as Kwikset, Yale and Schlage, and the company says that with the update homeowners can lock and unlock as many as 16 doors using HAI tuchscreens and keyfobs, and they can control these solutions remotely via HAI's Apple iOS and Android apps.

HAI says that installers should make sure the Omni Pro II, Omni IIe, Lumina Pro and Lumina controllers are running software version 3.10 or later, and that Z-Wave integration requires Leviton RF+3 Serial Interface Module part number VRCOP. In addition ZigBee integrations will require HAI's ZigBee Interface Module part number 81A00-3ZB running firmware 14.08 or greater.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Bang & Olufsen (B&O) is one of the most recognizable and unique manufacturers in the entire world of consumer electronics, and the Danish company is well known for its sleek industrial designs and pursuit of high performance.

The company's new BeoSound 5 digital music system is the company's latest product and it enables homeowners in new construction or existing structures to enjoy the benefits of whole-house audio without the need to pull cables. The BeoSound 5 incorporates B&O's proprietary playlist technologies, as well as a built-in CD ripper that allows homeowners to rip their CD collections into a digital library for easy access and management.

In addition, the BeoSound 5 can be used with one of the company's Encore components to create a whole-house audio system that employs wireless technologies to transmit audio and control signals. The BeoSound 5 can be wall mounted, stand mounted or it can be used as a tabletop unit.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

With 2011 in the record books it's interesting that the zest for 3D isn't quite as high as it was about a year ago, but that doesn't mean that 3D is going away.

Over the past few months an increasing number of manufacturers have started to support the format by introducing new products that deliver 3D at more reasonable price points. Sharp has been a leader in the movement to bring mainstream consumers options in affordable 3D projection products and the company's latest product the XV-30000 front projector continues the company's emphasis on real big-screen 3D at reasonable price points. The XV-30000 is a DLP-based projector that is said to produce contrast ratios as high as 50,000:1 and brightness levels up to 1,600 ANSI lumens. Facilitating its custom installation capabilities are its center lens shift and vertical and horizontal shift functions. The unit also incorporates provisions for AMX, Control4, Crestron, RS-232C and LAN network control, as well as a resize option (V-stretch) that is designed to support CinemaScope (2.39:1) content in the correct aspect ratio.

In addition, the projector comes with two sets of active 3D glasses, companion IR emitter, IR connection cables and two HDMI inputs.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Arguably no speaker company has done more to advance the decades old electrostatic speaker technology than MartinLogan.

Adding to its legacy of unique electrostatic speaker designs, the company recently rolled out its new Montis loudspeaker, which will be part of its Reserve ESL series of products. The approximately 5-foot tall speaker features a small footprint and a hybrid design that includes the incorporation of its XStat curved electrostatic panel, along with its Vojtko crossover network, and DSP engine that's used in conjunction with the speaker's 200-watt Class D amplifier that drives and controls its 10-inch cone woofer.

MartinLogan says the 4-ohm speaker produces a frequency response of 29Hz to 23kHz and that it is 91dB sensitive. The speaker is available in a choice of black ash, dark cherry and high-gloss black cherrywood, and electronics professionals can set the speaker up with its 3/8-16 ETC spikes that are designed to improve the speaker's stability on carpets, while also offering an added level of speaker positioning capabilities.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Until the new housing market picks up and shows long-term sustainability, the existing home market will be a key part of any residential electronics professional's business portfolio.

IOGEAR's new Wireless 3D Media Kit (GW3DMKIT) is the California company's latest connectivity solution that's engineered to provide electronics professionals a tool that can solve many of the common hurdles that installers run into when retrofitting a home A/V system in an existing home. The kit incorporates four HDMI inputs and a component analog input to enable installers to connect as many as five sources, which could range from a cable or satellite box and Blu-ray disc play, to a movie server and Apple TV to provide homeowners a full range of entertainment options without the need to open up a wall to pull HDMI, Cat-5 and RG-6 cables.

To support the reliable transmission of 1080p video IOGEAR employs the Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI) protocol which runs on the 5GHz spectrum to navigate the increasingly busy wireless airwaves to ensure consistent performance. The kit includes a wireless transmitter, which has a range up to 100 feet, along with a receiver unit and built-in IR support.

Monday, January 16, 2012

The Canadian speaker manufacturer Paradigm is constantly tweaking existing products or simply introducing new products to ensure its speakers stay current with the latest residential audio trends.

At the recently completed Consumer Electronics Show (CES) the company announced that it has updated its Monitor Series of products. The new Monitor Series 7 speakers features the Atom Monitor, the Mini Monitor, the Monitor 7, Monitor 9, Monitor 11, Center 1, Center 3, Surround 1 and the Surround 3 speakers, and each one of the speakers incorporate a 20 percent smaller footprint along with 3/4-inch baffles, self-aligning magnetic grilles, and the company's state-of-the-art 1-inch S-PAL tweeter and S-PAL satin-anodized aluminum cone drivers.

The speakers also utilize co-polymer polypropylene woofers with new motor structures and they are available in a choice of black ash or heritage cherry finishes.