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Grant Fidelity's $3,200 Impression II weds CD player, tube amp and overkill

by Darren Murph posted Sep 9th 2009 at 6:58AM


See that? That's a $3,200 CD player, which will be impossible to justify for pretty much anyone not featured on Joan Rivers' newest TV show. Designed and produced by Grant Fidelity, the CD-1000 Impression II packs a high-end Sanyo CD drive, tube analog output, tube headphone amplifier and a rather basic display screen, while the "anti-vibration aluminum chassis" tries as hard as it can to look both unorthodox and absurdly expensive. It's hard to say if your burnt MP3 discs will actually sound better on this thing (okay, so they won't), but at least you can rest easy knowing that shipping on this 50 pound beast is completely gratis.

[Via OhGizmo]

McIntosh sneaks MVP881BR universal BD player into its lineup

by Steven Kim posted Aug 20th 2009 at 12:05PM

McIntosh MVP881BR universal player
You didn't really think that McIntosh would let its sister company, Denon, court all the well-heeled Blu-ray shoppers, did you? The company that has long stuck by blue lighting has added the MVP881BR universal Blu-ray player (Blu-ray, SACD, DVD-A, DVD and CD) to its lineup; a perfect match for the company's Blu-ray ready MX150AV controller. As you'd expect from McIntosh, the specs are top-notch without being tech-laden, with Profile 2.0, onboard lossless decoding, analog outputs and 32-bit DACs making the cut. No word on bitstreaming support, but we'd be shocked if the McIntosh unit went missing a checkmark that the Denon flagship deck hits -- in fact, given the engineering that was poured into the Denon, we'd be surprised if the McIntosh wasn't a variation (including chiclet buttons) on the DVD-A1UDCI. No pricing info, but if you make it past the McIntosh velvet rope, money's not a problem.

Emotiva's ERC-1 reference CD player ships next month for $399

by Darren Murph posted Mar 15th 2009 at 9:52AM


If you're lovin' that post-modern / art deco look that Emotiva has going on, and you're a sucker for all things audiophile, we've got just the thing to make you $399 poorer. Said outfit has just revealed that its ERC-1 reference CD player will be arriving next month, and aside from the unmistakable design, it'll also bring along Burr Brown OPA2131 Op-amps, an Analog Devices 1955 DAC and a 24 bit-processor. You'll also find (well, you will if you crack things open) separate and sealed power supplies for each working mechanism, which supposedly ensures noise-free listening. Oh, and then there's the glowing blue CD slot, which is totally worth four bills in and of itself.

Walmart downsizing shelf space for music CDs, giving more to Blu-ray

by Darren Murph posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 11:54PM


Remember the days of watching big box retailers like a hawk to see if more shelf space was being given to Blu-ray or HD DVD? Yeah, epic times. Now, however, a new report is suggesting that Walmart may be giving more of its packaged media space to Blu-ray Discs rather than music CDs. The reason? A 23% decline in CD sales during the first four weeks of Q4. According to Richard Greenfield, analyst with Pali Capital, he believes that Wally World is "increasing its exposure to consumer electronics, video games and Blu-ray, and reducing floor space devoted to CDs and standard DVDs." Furthermore, it's bruited that John Fleming, chief marketing officer with Walmart, insinuated that "electronics would be getting space expansion in stores due to the decline in physical packaged media." We'll be keeping an eye out to see if we spot any shifts in our local Walmart stores -- won't you do the same?

[Image courtesy of TeamSugar]

Industry professionals chime in with preferred demo material

by Darren Murph posted Jul 22nd 2008 at 8:55AM


Okay, so there are a few titles out there on Blu-ray, DVD and / or CD that simply shine. Those are undoubtedly the ones you bring out when looking to wow onlookers who are checking out your setup for the first time. But wouldn't you like to know which titles industry professionals use to seal deals and land clients? Thanks to a feature over at CE Pro, now you can. Bigwigs from SpeakerCraft, Richard Gray's Power Company and the Imaging Science Foundation were questioned about their favorite source material, and just to name a few, Cars, Casino Royale, The Fifth Element (the remastered version, obviously), Vertical Limit and Contact (DVD) made the cut. Hit up the read link for the full list.

Will Blu-ray audio discs take off, or flounder aimlessly la DVD-A / SACD?

by Darren Murph posted Jul 8th 2008 at 7:58AM


For those burned by either DVD-Audio, SACD or HD DVD (or, heaven forbid, any combination of the three), you're probably taking a rather defensive approach to Blu-ray audio. Now that said format is the sole king of high-definition media (in the physical realm, anyway), it's just a matter of time before firms start pushing out full-fledged audio discs while trumpeting the incredulous sound quality. After all, with 50GB of space, you can fit an awful lot of high-resolution audio on there. We've already seen the first BD record released and we already know that Neil Young's entire archive will soon be loosed on the format, but are the puzzle pieces aligned for Blu-ray audio to take off? From our standpoint, we're still hesitant to say yes. With CD players still dominating dashboards and BD drives still a long ways from being commonplace in computers, BD audio is apt to remain a niche good for years to come. Even still, do you think it has what it takes to overcome?

SACD and DVD-A don't deliver "perfect-er sound forever"

by Steven Kim posted Jan 21st 2008 at 10:07AM

SACD and DVD-A don't deliver
The Red Book audio format used by CDs isn't improved upon by either SACD or DVD-A formats, it turns out. Extensive double-blind listening tests conducted by E. Brad Meyer and David R. Moran have shown that the old 16-bit, 44.1-kHz standard does not degrade the sound quality of either of the newer formats. The study, which took over a year to conduct, showed that the stereo analog output from a high-end SACD/DVD-A player showed no audible change when subjected to additional processing down to Red Book format. Now before you have a van Gogh-style freakout and cut off your audiophile-approved golden ears, that isn't to say that the DVD-A and SACD discs didn't sound better than the same title on CD. Give credit to the higher production values given to the SACD and DVD-A releases, though, not the formats themselves.

[Via AudioJunkies]

[Image courtesy PerfectSoundForever]

Pioneer intros Elite X-Z9 audio system

by Steven Kim posted Sep 12th 2007 at 12:32AM

Pioneer X-Z9
Pioneer hasn't forgotten the audiophiles out there, and their new X-Z9 is for those who still listen to stereo music. The X-Z9 combines a SACD/CD deck and integrated digital amplifier (50W to each channel) in one chassis. All you have to do is connect the included speakers and you've got an audio listening station. In case you prefer music of the ripped variety, there are additional inputs available: Sirius/XM; interoperation with a PC via Home Media Gallery; iPod integration and USB drives. Supported digital formats include WMA, MPEG4-AAC, MP3 and FLAC. Available in October for $1799.

Amadana's CD/DVD shelf system take'n the 70's to the MAX!

by Matt Burns posted Aug 27th 2007 at 5:13PM

Just in case you're looking to throw your office back to the days of Smokey and the Bandit, Amadana has the shelf system for you. The DDA-134 sports a 'classic' walnut look with speaker grills featuring a dark brown grill combining for a system wouldn't look out of place in the Forman's living room set. This isn't just a mediocre retro shelf system though as it's equipped with a progressive scan DVD player along with the accompanying component out - no HDMI though. There are a couple of digital inputs thrown in the mix plus the system can power a center channel, surrounds, and a power'd sub. Unfortunately the skinney on the deal is that all this far out retro comes at a price: ¥168,000 ($1,448 USD).

Sony officially announces $600 BDP-S300 Blu-ray player

by Evan Blass posted Feb 27th 2007 at 4:19PM

That sound you just heard? It was silence -- the silence of thousands of BDP-S1 Blu-ray players sitting unsold on warehouse shelves, gathering dust and wondering why they did to deserve the wrath of the dreaded Osborne Effect. Because unless retailers do some serious price shaving off of the first-gen machines, Sony's official promise today of a cheaper, smaller, and more functional box landing this summer will likely convince all but the most impatient consumers to drop the S1 right off their radar. On the plus side, those of us who haven't yet picked sides in the "format war" will be treated to a much more attractive product in the BDP-S300, from its CD friendliness and Bravia Theater Sync to bonuses like AVC-HD support for playback of conent that employs x.v.Color (Sony's version of the wide color space xvYCC technology). Keep reading to check out the remote that comes paired with the S300, then forward this post to your buddies who blew $1000 on its lonely predecessor.

Continue reading Sony officially announces $600 BDP-S300 Blu-ray player

The next step in LCDs is LEDs

by Matt Burns posted Sep 21st 2005 at 11:18AM

led
Everything has a downfall. LCDs are notorious for being backlit too much causing bad black levels. Plasmas, on the other hand, do not suffer from this. Nether will LCDs though if manufactures starting using LED (light-emitting diodes) instead of conventional backlighting. This process will cost a tad more then the current method, but I believe that there is enough of people like us that will pay a bit more in order to achieve plasma like colors.

Right?

Continue reading The next step in LCDs is LEDs





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