Arcam and B&W's latest high-power home theaters

Are you still looking for an articulated home theater system with refined musicality and the dexterity to resolve high-resolution Blu-ray soundtracks? The Bowers and Wilkins (B&W) XT8-series loudspeakers and Arcam AVR600 A/V receiver may be the talented UK duet up for the job. Despite its slim silhouette, the B&W XT8 is a cut above most floorstanders, offering a three-way design with an extended 34Hz to 50kHz frequency response. This performance is delivered via a dedicated tweeter complemented by midrange and dual bass drivers. And it's all housed in a solid one-piece aluminum cabinet for extra rigidity and minimal sound coloration.

To ensure there's sufficient reserve power to faithfully reproduce CD, DVD and Blu-ray material, the Arcam AVR600 features a quality toroidal transformer and a rare class G amplifier. The latter is renowned for higher efficiency and low sound distortion. For optimal compatibility, this 840W A/V receiver will decode all the latest surround sound formats ranging from Dolby TrueHD to DTS-HD Master Audio. Connectivity-wise, the AVR600 offers over 100 assorted audio, video and control jacks to cater for the most elaborate home theater setup. These include five HDMI inputs and two outputs for twin displays, complete with Deep Color-compliancy.
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JBL On Stage 400P speaker dock plays nice with the iPhone

Though they are portable devices, the iPod and the iPhone can make wonderful sources for headphone-free music when connected to speakers. Of course, wading through the glut of iPod-ready tabletop speakers on the market today takes patience and know-how, especially if you have an iPhone, which requires a unit with magnetic shielding for optimal performance.

Luckily, well-established audio device companies like JBL are providing more and more models with that feature, such as the JBL On Stage 400P. This US$250 tabletop speaker dock is the largest of the On Stage line and bests its smaller siblings in sound quality. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative to Bose's SoundDock, this is a good place to start.

Via CNET Reviews

New HDMI standard brings Internet to TV

Awhile ago I said all HDMI cables are basically created equal, regardless of price. That's about to change.

HDMI Licensing, the body responsible for licensing the High-Definition Multimedia Interface specification (widely known as HDMI) announced recently the features that will be incorporated in the upcoming HDMI 1.4 specification.

Among other advancements, the latest HDMI specification will offer networking capabilities with Ethernet connectivity and will add an Audio Return Channel to enable upstream audio connections via the HDMI cable.

According to HDMI Licensing, the detailed HDMI specification 1.4 will be available for download on its Web site no later than June 30. For now, you can read more about the new version here.
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Samsung is going plasma gaga

We barely wrote about Samsung's new entry-level plasma TV only to hear it has announced yet another pair. The PS50B550T2M and PS63B680T5M have many similarities between them: Both have full-HD resolution, mega dynamic contrast and a 100Hz refresh rate. Besides these performance-oriented credentials, the panels will ship with four HDMI inputs and IDTV to receive HD broadcasts.
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US$10,000 worth of Blu-ray movies in a box!

No, we're not talking about a ridiculously priced movie box set, but a Sony Blu-ray changer with a whopping 400-disc capacity. This tallies up to a jaw-dropping 20 terabytes of storage space, which puts the BDP-CX7000ES in a different league from your typical network-attached storage (NAS) device and home theater PC. Bear in mind that most consumer hard drives max out at 2 terabytes.

If you could fill this towering behemoth to the brim, chances are that its rumored US$2,250 launch price will be the least of your concerns. However, we can't imagine the nightmarish prospect of a breakdown. Who is going to be accountable for your entire library of expensive Blu-ray discs if this ends up back at Sony's service center? Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, Sony hasn't given a firm rollout date for the BDP-CX7000ES just yet.

Via Sonyinsider

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