At CES 2003 in Las Vegas, Atlantic Technology demonstrated its new THX Ultra2-certified loudspeaker series, the System 8200. The company also announced that it will begin delivering the 8200 line to dealers in January 2003. System prices will range from $7,000 to $18,500 (US), depending on configuration and finishing options.

The System 8200 is a THX Ultra2-certified system that takes multi-channel audio to the highest levels of performance, and provides perhaps the most flexible acoustic and aesthetic loudspeaker customization options ever offered.

System 8200 components include the 8200 LR three-way front speaker, 8200 C three-way center channel, 8200 SR dipole/bipole surrounds, and either a traditional 8200 box-style powered subwoofer or the unique 8200 Pedestal Subwoofers

When fully configured, System 8200 carries the prestigious THX Ultra2 certification, designating the ultimate in home theater performance. A wide array of available sonic adjustments impart a level of acoustic control and performance previously unavailable in consumer speakers, allowing each speaker to be uniquely adjusted according to its placement in the listening environment.

The System 8200’s modular speaker components are delivered in duraBlac™, Atlantic’s matte black “speckled” lacquer finish, for installation inside cabinets, or behind screens or curtains. These same black enclosures can be fitted with optional stunning high-gloss black lacquer or wood veneer accent panels that change them into works of art to match any décor.

System 8200 components include the 8200 LR three-way front speaker, 8200 C three-way center channel, 8200 SR dipole/bipole surround speakers, and either a traditional 8200 box-style powered subwoofer or the unique 8200 Pedestal Subwoofers. These PedWoofers™ can be combined with 8200 LRs to form attractive tower speakers. A dedicated outboard 350-Watt-per-channel servo controlled amplifier with dual parametric equalizers for exceptional bass control and optimization completes the PedWoofer option.

“Our System 8200 demonstrates that it is possible to approach the outer limits of the state of the art in multi-channel sound without having to pay the price equivalent of a new luxury car,” says Atlantic Technology president, Peter Tribeman.

“We have seen some very high-end custom home theaters with $100,000 speaker systems that, practically speaking, would be hard pressed to substantially exceed the performance of our new system at one tenth the cost,” continues Mr. Tribeman. “We have devoted a great deal of effort and cost to build in sophisticated controls that let the installer or consumer fine tune the speakers to the room and the source material. It’s certainly not an overstatement to say that this system will outperform most competing speaker systems simply because it works with the room and source material as opposed to against them!”

System 8200 is the first implementation of the company’s C.O.R.E. (Custom Optimized Room Enhanced) design philosophy.

Custom Optimized

System 8200 is optimized for sophisticated high-end home theater systems by giving the consumer or custom installer the option of concealing the duraBlac speakers in cabinets or behind screens, or dressing them up to display them in plain sight, and only paying for the level of finish required by the installation.

The optional accent panel kits (available only for the L/C/Rs, PedWoofers, and empty pedestals) are available in high gloss black lacquer, Natural Maple, Oiled Cherry, Natural Mahogany, duraBlac™, and unfinished MDF that can be customized by the installer/consumer to match any décor. The kits include tempered smoked glass tops for the LRs, while the PedWoofer kits offer the glass tops as an option. Should the consumer choose not to use PedWoofers, empty pedestals are available to take the place of the PedWoofers in building up the floor standing LRs.

Room Enhanced

One of the least addressed aspects of home sound systems is the room itself. System 8200 makes use of a wide array of sonic adjustments to optimize the system to the room, the source material and the listener’s acoustic taste.

The SA 8200 Servo controlled PedWoofer amplifier includes parametric EQ, a four-position phase adjustment along with remote controlled preset source EQs and level trim that impart a degree of bass control fine tuning previously unavailable. Although there are several powered bass loudspeakers on the market today, few if any offer the kind of sonic customization and optimization provided by this system.

The three-way 8200 LR front left/right and 8200 C center channel speakers feature a trio of acoustic controls to compensate for different room environments. First, by adjusting the tweeter’s output slope according to acoustically ‘live’, average, or ‘dead’ rooms. Second, by adjusting mid and high frequency output for placement of speakers behind perforated screens or curtains. And third, by adjusting the lower midrange for Boundary Compensation to reduce the sonic impact of placing speakers in cabinets or directly adjacent to a TV screen.

The 8200 SR surrounds are dipole/bipole switchable and meet the stringent THX Ultra2 specifications for all surround channels. The speakers are available in either duraBlac or matte white finish, and can be wall-mounted or used in conjunction with optional surround pedestals.

Atlantic Technology Web Site

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Denon calls it ‘one of most significant product introductions in the company’s history.’ Introduced at CES 2003, the Denon DVD-2900 DVD-Audio/Video/Super Audio CD player is the company’s first-ever all-format universal disc player, offering playback of both DVD-Audio and Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) multichannel discs, in addition to DVD-Video.

The new player also provides a host of leading-edge technologies and features including full digital bass management for DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD, and Burr-Brown DSD-1790 24-bit, 192kHz audio D/A converters for the highest possible resolution and fidelity.

“The Denon design philosophy is perfectly reflected in our new DVD-2900,” says Stephen Baker, Denon senior vice president. “It’s an extremely versatile component that provides maximum benefits to our customers, and while technologically advanced, it’s also easy to operate and enjoy.”

“The DVD-2900 plays back every popular video and audio disc format, delivering state-of-the-art audio and video quality at an extremely attractive price point. It’s truly one of the most significant home entertainment components we’ve ever introduced.”

The Denon DVD-2900 will be available in May 2003 at a suggested retail price of $999 (US).

DVD-2900: The Ultimate Source Component with Universal Format Compatibility

Denon’s DVD-2900 is designed to deliver ultimate audio and video performance in every respect, and incorporates the most advanced digital video and audio technologies available. The DVD-2900 plays back virtually every optical disc format available, including CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3-CD and DVD-R/RW Videodiscs in addition to DVD-Audio, DVD-Video and Super Audio CD, making it the ultimate all-in-one digital home entertainment source component.

Consistent with Denon’s philosophy that a DVD player is a high-end audio component as much as it is a video playback device, the DVD-2900 is designed for unsurpassed sound quality. It incorporates leading edge Burr-Brown DSD-1790 24-bit, 192kHz audio D/A converters for the highest possible resolution and fidelity along with maximum surround sound separation and dynamic range.

The DVD-2900 also offers full digital bass management for DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD, with selectable crossover slopes to optimize sonic performance with any loudspeakers and room environment.

In addition, the player includes built-in Dolby Digital and DTS decoding with 5.1-channel outputs, plus built-in MP3 decoding that provides up to 10 hours of music playback from a single MP3-encoded CD-R or CD-RW disc.

The video performance of the DVD-2900 is equally exceptional. The player incorporates precision Analog Devices 12-bit, 108MHz video D/A converters, and Denon’s PureProgressive Scan™ technology featuring the Silicon Image SiL 504 decoding engine—the identical state-of-the-art digital video processor used in the company’s flagship DVD-9000 DVD player.

In common with all Denon DVD players, the DVD-2900 provides a comprehensive selection of digital and analog audio and video connections, including component, S-video and composite video outputs, as well as optical and coaxial digital audio outputs, plus an RS-232C port and remote in/out ports for integrated system control.

The player also provides a wealth of convenience functions such as Kodak Picture CD compatibility, a JPEG photo file viewer, a large 16 MB buffer memory to minimize layer-changing time in dual-layer DVD discs, picture control adjustments to tailor the image quality to the video display device and personal preference, an intuitive on-screen menu system and many additional advanced features.

Denon Home Audio Web Site

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New Microboards Technology, Mediatechnics, and Rimage duplication systems offer top-speed DVD-R capability

MARCAN, the Bellevue, Washington-based provider of CD and DVD duplication services and hardware systems, is now offering new-generation duplication systems with the latest DVD technology – 4X speed write drives.

The new drives from Microboards Technology, Mediatechnics, and Rimage also feature 16X CD recording. Prices start at $1595.

Microboards DSR DVD-4168 (left) and DVD-4163 (right) models offer DVD/CDR (4X/16X) duplication, stand-alone operation, and Firewire connections, making up to 32 DVDs per hour

“With DVDs breaking price barriers and beginning to find broad acceptance as an information storage solution, we are seeing publishers demand faster duplication systems,” explains Marvin Groberman, president of MARCAN. “As part of MARCAN’s on-going mission to quickly recognize and respond to developing market needs, we are pleased to announce that we now offer a wide range of options which include top speed DVD-R capability.”

MARCAN offers high quality CD-R and DVD-R duplication, CD replication and DVD video authoring services, including a full range of printing and packaging options. The company also sells CD and DVD recording and duplication systems in multi-drive and autoloading configurations including color printing systems. MARCAN has been providing CD-ROM solutions for more than nine years to Boeing, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, AT&T, NEC, Cisco and many other leading companies.

MARCAN Web Site

Thiel Audio has announced their newest Coherent Source® loudspeaker, the CS2.4. The CS2.4 is a three-way, floor-standing dynamic speaker system designed for highly realistic sound reproduction in home music and video sound systems.

The new speaker should be in stores in February 2003, with a suggested retail price of $3,900 per pair (US). It will be available in a wide variety of wood veneer finishes, as well as an elegant Painted Black.

Improved Coincident Driver Array

One of the CS2.4’s most innovative design features is an improved coincident tweeter/midrange driver array where the two drivers’ diaphragms share the same voice coil. This innovation utilizes a mechanical crossover between the midrange and tweeter diaphragms that allows the elimination of the usual electrical crossover network.

The new array was first used in the Thiel model CS2.3. Its design features powerful neodymium magnets to improve efficiency and a redesigned magnet venting system to reduce unwanted resonances.

“By eliminating the need for a second driver magnet structure and an electrical mid/tweeter crossover,” says designer Jim Thiel, “we can achieve a level of performance normally reserved for higher priced speakers.”

The design of the mechanical crossover also contributes to the speaker’s improved phase coherence and uniform frequency response. The coincident driver mounting results in perfect time coherence between the tweeter and midrange driver, regardless of listener position, improving imaging and transient fidelity.

All-Thiel Built, Low Distortion Drivers

The CS2.4 drivers, all built at Thiel, feature aluminum diaphragms and very low distortion short coil/long gap, copper stabilized motor systems. The new 8-inch, long excursion woofer features an improved diaphragm and is coupled with a newly designed 7.5 x 11-inch passive radiator to deliver high output bass, improved low frequency tonality, and dynamics down to 33 Hz.

New Style Cabinet with Optional Outriggers

The CS2.4’s new cabinet takes on the sleek styling introduced with Thiel’s two-way CS1.6. The 42-inch tall CS2.4 features a magnetically attached grille on its sculpted front baffle, heavy-duty gold 5-way binding posts accessible on the lower rear of the cabinet, and four sizable gold stabilizer feet. Optional aluminum Outriggers are also available for the CS2.4 at a suggested retail price of $250 per pair U.S.

Time and Phase Coherent Design

As with all Thiel loudspeakers, the CS2.4 is completely time and phase coherent for much greater sonic realism than is found in conventional designs. Thiel’s Coherent Source technology achieves the elimination of both time and phase distortions that cause alterations in the reproduced musical waveforms of most loudspeakers. Eliminating these distortions results in enhanced realism, clarity, transparency and immediacy as well as improved imaging and soundstaging in both the lateral and depth perspectives.

Phase coherence is achieved by utilizing a sophisticated first-order electrical crossover system in conjunction with unusually wide bandwidth drivers. Time coherence in the CS2.4 is achieved by the coincident mounting of the tweeter and midrange drivers, and the placement of all three drivers on a baffle that is sloped at the correct angle to cause the sound energy from each to reach the listener at the same time.

Specifications include a frequency response of +/-2 dB from 36 Hz to 25 kHz (33 Hz to 37 kHz, -3 dB bandwidth), a sensitivity of 87 dB @ 2.8 V-1m, phase response within +/-10 degrees of minimum, and a 4 ohm nominal impedance. The cabinet’s dimensions are 11 inches wide, 14 inches deep, 41.5 inches tall, and the CS2.4 weighs 70 pounds per speaker.

Thiel Audio Web Site

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Six major music retailers have teamed up to develop the “first retailer-driven digital music consortium committed to bridging the gap between brick and mortar and digital music distribution.”

More plainly, they mean they’re starting up another online distribution system to sell legal music downloads to consumers.

The new group calls itself Echo. The retail partners in Echo are Best Buy, Hastings Entertainment, Tower Records, Trans World Entertainment Corporation (FYE Stores, Planet Music, Strawberries, etc.), Virgin Entertainment Group, and Wherehouse Music. Collectively, the 6 Echo founders can boast of more than 3,000 retail locations, $20 billion in annual sales, and over 800 million customer transactions per year.

The retailers believe they can create a successful alternative to existing label-backed initiatives such as MusicNet (AOL Music, RealOne Music) and pressplay (Yahoo!, MSN Music), by building on their experience selling music to consumers, building customer relationships, marketing music and breaking new artists.

Echo’s first challenge will be to obtain competitive licenses to distribute music recordings online, especially from the big-5 major music companies. It will be interesting to see how the majors, all of them participating to some degree in each of the various existing label-backed digital music services, will respond to a new competitor in the online space.

Echo may be anticipating a tough negotiation over licenses. The launch announcement plays up the role of Alan Malasky (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur), Echo’s Washington, D.C.-based antitrust counsel: “Each retailer participant will independently market and price the digital entertainment products it offers, in the manner that will best serve its consumers. This will, for the first time, bring real competition to the digital music marketplace,” says Malasky.

This could be construed as a pre-emptive stance to defuse potential criticism of Echo on grounds of price-fixing. Or it could be construed as a veiled threat to the major music companies that they had better offer distribution licenses, or else.

Once the group gets over the licensing hurdle, the plan is for each partner to deliver a variety of digital music products and services through individually branded, or Echo co-branded offerings. The consortium says it will “build upon the in-store marketing capabilities of its retail partners to drive consumer awareness of digital music offerings, and will help drive adoption of new, advanced digital music services as they evolve.”

In Their Own Words

Scott Young, Vice President of Digital Entertainment at Best Buy: “Best Buy is focused on creating consumer-based solutions to digital entertainment services. As part of the retail consortium, we will be better able to articulate our message to consumers, to content owners and to those involved in setting standards and legislation regarding this evolving business.”

John Marmaduke, CEO of Hastings Entertainment: “The message of music retail is simple: we have always excelled at selling music to consumers, and we plan to extend our consumer relationships from the physical world into the digital world.”

Kevin Ertell, Senior VP, Online Operations at Tower Records: “For over forty years Tower Records has held a deep commitment to providing consumers with a breadth of entertainment choices. The formation of a digital retail platform reflects Tower’s continuing commitment to serving our customers.”

John Sullivan, CFO of Trans World Entertainment: “We have closely monitored the evolution of digital music in recent years and we feel that the timing is finally right for building a business around it. Moreover, we feel the Echo consortium is uniquely positioned to drive adoption and, ultimately, success.” (Trans World owns the FYE – For Your Entertainment, Coconuts, Strawberries, Specs and Planet Music brands)

Glen Ward, CEO of Virgin Entertainment Group: “Virgin has built its brand and its business on providing great value to consumers. In the digital world, we will do the same.”

Jerry Comstock, CEO of Wherehouse Music: “Retail has always been about more than simply selling CDs,” added “We are in the customer relationship business.”

Dan Hart, CEO of Echo: “The Echo consortium was established to create a viable business strategy that combines physical and digital music distribution,” says Mr. Hart. “With competitive licenses, music retailers can utilize their long history and expertise to provide a digital music experience that truly serves the consumer.”

Best Buy, Hastings, Tower, Trans World, Virgin, and Wherehouse each own equity in Echo and the retail founders collectively own a controlling majority of Echo. Echo board members will include Arnie Bernstein, former President of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, and Strauss Zelnick, former CEO of BMG Entertainment and an investor in Echo through ZelnickMedia.

Echo Web Site