2004 Consumer Electronics
Show Wrap-Up -- Bad Moon Rising or New Day Dawning?
As I wrote in my January
9 update from the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the major manufacturers seem
to be so desperate for a "killer app" that they're clutching at straws looking
for the next "must have" technology.
You'd think they'd be riding high on the success of DVD --
widely bruited as the "fastest-growing format in history." They aren't -- that
huge boom in DVD player sales kept the electronics industry from having a few really
bad years, but other than a few early adopters, the vast majority of consumers waited
until they found the prices irresistible. There were a lot more sub-$100 DVD
players sold than there were those nice $1000 jobbies we HT nuts like to play with (and
read about). That may be good news for DVD software retailers, but it barely kept the
hardware manufacturers in the black.
So the big guys are anxious to find the next big thing --
and they are desperate that it be something they can make a profit on. HDTV, for instance,
especially really big HDTVs. Or maybe really flat HDTVs.
But I think they're getting the idea that, for all of the gee
whiz factor of HDTV and flat-screen TVs, the public doesn't want 'em enough to pay big
bucks for 'em. Well, some of us do, obviously, but the big manufacturers need a whole
bunch more customers than they've seen so far. That's why they keep telling each other
that HDTV and sexy screens are finally taking off.
That's one reason why there's been so much excitement over
the "cheap" displays introduced by Dell and Gateway. They approach the prices
that people are willing to pay (and isn't it interesting that the Dell doesn't even
pretend to be HDTV -- it's EDTV -- and it's still a popular darling).
The average consumer has gotten used to being in the
driver's seat when it comes to getting what he or she wants -- and that consumer isn't
going to go for it until the price is right. A sobering thought for the big boys.
But it's good news for the specialty A/V manufacturers.
Their customers know what they want, too -- and they know what they're willing to pay
for it. This is an interesting development, since it runs contrary to the line touted by
specialty-audio snobs, namely that home-theater enthusiasts were going to commodify the
high end.
Of course, there are still a lot more people who will want
the lowest-common-denominator HTIBs than will go for price-no-object components; however,
there is surprising interest in the high-performance gear -- and that's where the
magic was at CES.
I've already written about how impressed I was by T + A's
High End R-series, so I won't repeat myself, but these babies had all the gizmoid appeal I
could ask for. On top of the sexy styling, T + A was trying some new ideas -- such as
putting the surround processor in the chassis of a three-channel power amp, so that
two channel listeners could buy a single component that put 'em solidly into HT territory.
It's possible you don't want that -- just as it's possible that you wouldn't want to spend
$4595, even if you did -- but you have to admit that it isn't just another me-too product.
It's smart and it's different. And that's exciting.
So was Ayre's DX-7 DVD player, although I actually walked
by the player without paying much attention to it. Not my fault, really, since it was
stuck back in a rear corner of the room -- but then I took another gander at the picture
on the accompanying Loewe Aconda 38" CRT display and said "Holy cow!"
That picture was so sharp and so saturated with deep,
natural color that it highlighted the fallacy of counting out the "old school"
technologies like CRT. (Of course, this conclusion was helped tremendously by the vast
numbers of poorly set-up plasma screens with washed out colors and anorexically
un-squeezed anamorphic images that were scattered around the CES.)
What makes the DX-7 special? It's modular (this is an idea
whose time seems to have finally arrived), which means you buy only the video output board
you need. One option is SDI Digital only ($4950, with player), so you can plug straight
into a scaler without any intermediate conversion. Another option is called Progressive
Analog + Digital ($5950, with player), which offers interlaced and progressive analog
outputs, as well as 480p DVI.
On the audio side, the unit features SynchroLink, a
proprietary Ayre output port, which allows direct digital connection to other Ayre
products, including a separate master clock signal, which should eliminate jitter.
Sure, this comes at a price, but it offers obvious audio
and video superiority over the run-of-the-mill DVD players that blanket the shelves of the
big-box stores. Is it worth the difference? That would be up to you -- but anyone could
see and hear that it is different.
That's the whole point of Classé's new Delta Series
components, too. These weren't on active demo, but they were impressive nonetheless,
starting with their hefty bent-metal chassis, which are gorgeous.
But it's what Classé has done inside the components
that's so cool. The displays are all florescent, which means they can be changed if
software upgrades require new controls, meters, and tell-tales. And the units are modular,
so boards or EPROMs can be switched as the technology changes.
There are two preamp/processors, the $4500 SSP-300 and the
$6500 SSP-600; a universal disc transport, the CDT-300 (price TBA); a universal disc
player, the CDP-300 (price TBA); a three-channel amp, the $6000 CA-3200 (200Wpc); and a
five-channel amp, the $8000 CA-5200 (also 200Wpc). We're talking big, impressive
pieces of kit here -- and they scream quality. I can't wait to hear them.
Theta was also showing "open architecture"
components, an idea the company has been championing for some time. The Casablanca III
music and cinema controller can be configured to output up to 8.4 audio channels. The CIII
employs a new, high-speed, upgradeable operating system. But the coolest feature is
Theta's new Dolby Digital/DTS/Circle Surround II Combination Card, which accommodates all
the current Dolby and DTS systems (including Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, DTS
96/24,and DTS-ES, in both Matrix and Discrete 6.1 versions), not to mention Circle
Surround II Multichannel Audio Decoding. Circle Surround II is sort of a Swiss Army Knife
for older videos -- it'll decode up to 6.1 channels of audio from any two-channel source.
The Casablanca III costs $8000 to $20,000, based on configuration.
The Six Shooter is a $2000 six-channel power amplifier
designed to work with the Casablanca III's analog outputs.
Theta was also showing a $4500 universal disc player called
the Compli (it must be feta!). You get a slew of options with the Compli, including SDI
and Theta's proprietary Ultra Sync II 480p output board, which uses Faroudja's DCDi
technology.
Before I make it seem as though only the smaller specialty
manufacturers are thinking along these lines, I should point out that Integra had an
open-architecture receiver on display, too. Of course, Integra is sort of a
"boutique" brand, existing within the Onkyo umbrella, but with its new DTR-10.5
THX Ultra2, 7.1-channel, 150Wpc receiver, it blurs the line between major and independent
even further.
That's because the DTR-10.5 will be built to order for each
customer. The base unit ($3500 base price, additional modules TBA) will include four
"modules," basic building blocks added to a standard chassis: cards that handle
digital audio, analog audio, composite and S-video, and an AM/FM tuner. Since they exist
on replaceable cards, even these basic functions can be upgraded easily, but they're
pretty state-of-the-art at the moment.
The digital audio module has six optical and six coaxial
digital inputs and a pair of each as outputs. It employs 192kHz/24-bit Wolfson DACs and
processes THX Surround EX; Dolby Digital EX and Dolby Pro Logic Ilx; and DTS, DTS-ES, DTS
Neo:6, and DTS 96/24. It also incorporates Dolby Headphone and Dolby Virtual Speaker for
us headphone junkies.
The analog module handles nine assignable stereo inputs, a
phono input, and five outputs (also assignable for recording or multiroom purposes).
The video module handles three component-video inputs, six
composite/S-video inputs, and four assignable outputs. They're all upconverted to
component video, so you won't have to run multiple cables to your monitor if you want to
watch those old Lindsey Anderson videotapes that haven't made it to DVD yet -- and all of
the video inputs, even 480i component, are upconverted to 480p so you can connect with
HDMI. If you need that, you'll also need the HDMI/DVI module, which offers two inputs and
a single output.
If that's not enough video options for you, get one of the
"extra" modules -- one of them offers a choice of RCA or BNC connectors. Or, if
you need extra audio inputs for HT, you have two options: one with a double set of 7.1
analog inputs; the other with both 7.1 analog and AES/EBU digital input.
The modules I found most fascinating, however, point toward
the future. One is an iLink (IEEE-1394) module that provides direct digital audio inputs
from compatible SACD and DVD-Audio players (like, say, Integra's DPS-10.5), allowing the
consumer to forego the player's analog multichannel inputs. Why would you want to do that?
Well, converters do get better as technology matures, but it also gives you better bass
management for all of your sources.
Then there's the one that really excites me: a Net-Tune
Ethernet client-receiver module that lets you connect to your digital music files over
your local PC network (TCP/IP). That way, your MP3, WMA, and PCM files stored on your PC
(or on an Integra music server) can be reproduced over your main system. The Net-Tune
module also functions as an Internet Radio tuner, if you have broadband access.
That's the kind of forward-thinking solution that gets my
juices flowing -- and will convince consumers that there's more to home theater than
simply ever bigger and thinner video displays. As long as a few pioneers "get
it," there's always hope for the rest of the industry -- and for all of us.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhometheater.com
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