Sunday, September 30, 2012

SVS SB13-Ultra Sub

The new sub from SVS is the SB13-Ultra,. The 13.5 inch front firing driver is a monster and the sub itself comes in at 92 pounds, in part due to the 1000 watt – 3600 watts peak – Class D amplifier that's equipped inside. But the SB-13 isn't just about making things really loud, it's about making sure the bass it pumps out is appropriate for your room.

The SB-13 Ultra sports advanced DSP features and a myriad of adjustable settings through a single knob and LED display interface. The sub hits 20Hz +/- 3dB, but you can extend that to 15Hz or deeper if you're in optimal conditions. The SB-13 begins shipping on September 30th at a price of $1,599.by dick ward

Saturday, September 29, 2012

EMOTIVA UPA-500 Five Channel Power Amplifier

 The UPA-500 and it's a new five channel amplifier from Emotiva with a price tag under $400. While it may NOT be a perfect amplifier, it comes as close to perfection for a product beyond its price class. The UPA-500 delivers clean, low noise, meaty amplification that will surely bring new life to a whimpering department store A/V receiver. It’s honestly rated and has no issues driving low impedance loads while remaining cool in operation even under the most strenuous test conditions on the bench. If you’re looking for a step up in sound quality and power on the cheap, I can’t think of a better option on the market. Highly recommended

  • Topology: Fully discrete, dual differential, high current, short signal path Class A/B
  • Number of Channels: 5
  • Power Output
    (rated power; THD < 0.01%):

    120 watts / channel (4 ohms; all channels driven)
    80 watts / channel (8 ohms; all channels driven)
  • Rated Power Bandwidth (at rated power; 8 Ohm load): 10 Hz to 20 kHz + /- 0.06 dB
  • Minimum Recommended Load Impedance (each channel): 4 ohms (which equals one 4 ohm load or two paralleled 8 ohm loads per channel)
  • Frequency Response: 10 Hz to 70 kHz (+ 0 / - 3 dB)
  • THD + noise: < 0.01%
  • Signal to Noise Ratio (8 Ohm load):
    > 96 dB at 1 watt (A-weighted)
    > 117 dB at rated power (A-weighted)
  • Damping Factor (8 Ohm load): > 500
  • Speaker Output Connections:
    Full-sized 5-way binding posts; one pair per channel x 5
  • Power Supply:
    40,000 uF of storage capacitance
  • Input sensitivity (for rated power; 8 Ohm load): 850 mV
  • Gain: 29 dB
  • Input Connections: Unbalanced (RCA); one per channel
  • Input Impedance: 47 kOhms
  • Trigger:
    Trigger Input: 5 - 20 V (AC or DC); <10 mA input current required
    Trigger Output: 12 VDC; can drive any load up to 50 mA
  • Power Requirements: 115 VAC or 230 VAC +/- 10% @ 50 / 60 Hz (automatically detected and switched)
  • Front Panel Controls and Indicators:
    Standby; push button (changes color to indicate Standby or On)
    Status LEDs (one per channel); illuminate blue for normal operation or red to indicate a fault (may be disabled by rear panel Status LED switch)
  • Rear Panel Controls:
    AC Power switch; rocker switch (switches AC mains power)
    Status LEDs switch; small slide switch on left rear (disables front panel Status LEDs and dims Standby button halo lighting)
  • Protection: The UPA-500 is protected against excessive operating temperature, shorted speaker connections, ground faults, and other common fault conditions. If a fault occurs, the UPA-500 will return to Standby mode, the Standby push button will light amber, and the Status LEDs will flash red.
  • Size:
    unboxed: 17" wide x 4 1/16" high x 16 5/16" deep
    boxed: 22 1/2" wide x 8 1/2" high x 22 1/4" deep
  • Weight: 22.9 lbs (29.4 lbs boxed
  • Monday, September 24, 2012

    KEF R-Series R500

    KEF R500 Floorstanding

    The smallest of the three floor standers in the R Series, the KEF R500 uses the same latest generation Uni-Q driver array and two 5.25-inch aluminium bass drivers. Its slim proportions and sleek contemporary looks make it perfectly suited for any interior, making it ideal for serious stereo or multi-channel home theatre systems.
    ModelR500
    DesignThree-way bass reflex
    Drive unitsUni-Q driver array:
    HF: 25mm (1in.) vented aluminium dome
    MF: 125mm (5in.) aluminium
    Bass units: LF: 2 x 130mm (5.25in.) aluminium
    Frequency range (-6dB)39Hz - 45kHz
    Frequency response (±3dB)46Hz - 28kHz
    Crossover frequency 500Hz, 2.8kHz
    Amplifier requirements25 - 150 W
    Sensitivity (2.83V/1m)88dB
    Harmonic distortion
    2nd & 3rd harmonics (90dB, 1m)
    <0.4% 120Hz-20kHz
    Maximum output111dB
    Nominal impedance 8Ω (min. 3.2Ω)
    Weight21.8kg (48lbs.)
    Dimension (H x W x D)
    (with grille and terminal)
    1015 x 180 x 305 mm
    (40 x 7.1 x 12 in.)
    Dimension (H x W x D)
    (with grille, terminal & plinth)
    1066 x 299 x 328 mm
    (42 x 11.8 x 12.9 in.)

    Saturday, September 22, 2012

    Dolby 3D Deliver on the Promise of Glasses-Free 3D?

    A number of manufacturers are working on glasses-free 3DTV at CES 2012, I saw glasses-free demos from Toshiba, Sony, and Stream TV (Toshiba has said that it will introduce its glasses-free TV to the U.S. market this year), none of these demos was especially impressive. In its current form, glasses-free 3DTV produces an image that lacks depth and detail and has a limited number of viewing positions. The latest company to tackle the glasses-free 3D challenge is Dolby, which has worked on the cinema side of 3D technology for years. Back at NAB in April, the company unveiled Dolby 3D, a suite of technologies (developed in partnership with Royal Philips Electronics) designed to offer full HD 3D content to all 3D-capable devices, including glasses-free 3D displays.


    According to the original press release, the goal of Dolby 3D is to "improve the 3D viewing experience on displays of all sizes, including smartphones, tablets, PCs, and televisions. Dolby 3D is a complete system designed to work throughout the chain to deliver clear glasses-free 3D content that operates over existing distribution systems." Dolby 3D will provide tools to content creators, content distributors and display manufacturers to improve the 3D viewing experience at home and on mobile devices. You can get the full rundown on Dolby 3D on the company's website.

    On the display end, Philips provides the glasses-free 3D panel. The most common method for delivering autostereoscopic 3D is by using a lenticular filter with many small lenses that direct the appropriate image to each eye to create the 3D effect. As with the current crop of passive 3DTVs, the lenticular approach embeds the left- and right-eye images together in the same frame, cutting the amount of resolution to each eye. To deliver a more detailed 3D image, you need to start with a more detailed (i.e., higher-resolution) display. At NAB, Dolby showed off the technology on a 56-inch 4K LCD panel, sending an approximately 2K image to each eye. From the reports I saw, attendees had a favorable response to the Dolby 3D demo, with Home Theater's Scott Wilkinson describing it as "the best autostereoscopic display I've ever seen." Toshiba's glasses-free 3DTV also uses a higher-resolution QuadHD panel. Clearly, one of the keys to bringing successful glasses-free 3DTV to market is to speed up the development and rollout of 4K displays.

    The lenticular approach also requires you to view the image from a particular viewing position to get the 3D effect; this isn't a concern when viewing glasses-free 3D on a small-screen gaming console or a phone, but it's a major problem on a big-screen TV. Manufacturers are continually working to increase the number of viewing zones for larger-screen TVs and to minimize the noticeable transition from zone to zone. Dolby's NAB prototype had 28 zones (in comparison, Toshiba's glasses-free 3DTV demo at CES had nine zones).

    Addition to improving the glasses-free approach, Dolby 3D is also designed to offer a better 3D experience on existing 3DTVs, particularly in 3D content delivered by cable/satellite providers. Because the broadcasters don't want to use additional bandwidth to deliver 3D content, they employ frame-packing technology to embed the left- and right-eye images in the same frame, in either a side-by-side or top-and-bottom format. This delivery method halves the image resolution. According to Thom Brekke on the Dolby Laboratories blog, "One of the many capabilities included in Dolby 3D is the ability to send a lightweight, full-resolution stream over existing networks. Think Blu-ray quality 3D from your cable or satellite provider. This aspect of the technology works with glasses-free Dolby 3D-equipped televisions, as well as existing sets that use glasses." Another stated benefit of Dolby 3D is the ability of the end user to easily tailor the 3D depth to according to preference and screen size, be it a 65-inch TV, 15-inch PC, or seven-inch tablet.

    Because Dolby 3D is an end-to-end solution, the company needs to convince all of the parties along the 3D chain to get on board before we'll see tangible results. Dolby has certainly had success with end-to-end solutions on the audio side of the equation.By:Adrienne Maxwell,

    Saturday, September 8, 2012

    Haven 82" Solid Wood TV Media Console


    Our ultra-wide 82" Haven welcomes your Paradigm CC-690 (shown), Klipsch RC-64, or other ultra-wide center speaker. Plus it fits plenty more gear and media too. Made in the USA in a variety of solid woods and finishes. Ships assembled with your choice of door glass. Exhaust fans and 4 vented glass shelves included. Fits center speakers by Klipsch, Aperion, Bowers & Wilkins, Definitive Technology, Axiom and Polk. 82" W x 26-1/4"H x 22" D.  $2,199.00 to $2,999.00            Made with pride in the USA! Made in the USA