High End Music and Custom Audio Part II

Martin Logan, Transparent, Krell, Runco, PHAST, Rel and others
Two of the most serious rooms at the show were by this high end conglomerate. The Martin Logan speakers in this prefab room weren't the most dynamic you could find at the show, however I heard nothing as detailed anywhere in Atlanta. Martin Logan showed a killer new center channel that has just started shipping called the Cinema Center priced at $1295. The Runco projectors were impressive especially on the HDTV demos where the picture was as always awe inspiring. The Clark Synthesis transducers (ass shakers) installed under the seats proved to be a little too over the top - or should I say bottom - for me, however the idea of bringing the sense of feeling to the home theater experience is worth developing.

B&W
B&W unveiled a whole new line of subwoofers at CEDIA. Using high current Rotel (B&W's sister company) amps these woofers range in driver size from 12 to 15 inches, with adjustable crossovers and bottom vents. They are a serious supplement to the low end of your music or film system. B&W also brought along a pair of stunning Nautilus loudspeakers for the aesthetically minded audiophile.


Linn Linn is marketing their $50,000 complete home theater and multi-room system entitled the AV51. Beautifully built with a characteristically warm sound, the Linn AV51 combines multi-room control (called the KNECT), home theater and high end audio all in one very desirable system. Also a peek in to the future shows the Linn Sondex CD 12 prototype CD player.

Meridian
Meridian is one of the hottest high end marks right now and with three hot new products they don't look like they are going to be cooling off anytime soon. The Meridian 861 is the soon-to-be-shipping $14000 Dolby Digital, DTS, Ambisonics, THX (and other formats) decoder, video switching, system controlling preamp that could conquer the high end audio video world. '

Meridian was a leader in the advancement of high end CD players in the early 1980s, now with the 586 Meridian has crossed over to the world of high end CD and DVD playback. Finally, the 800 CD Machine is a compelling but expensive ($10,000) addition to the line up designed to be your last reference CD player, complete with open slots for upgrade cards in a large chassis.

California Audio Technology
CAT is an upstart custom system designer who builds completely custom home theater rooms as well as beautifully finished loudspeakers ranging in price from $6000 in walls to $40,000 stand alone audio speakers. California Audio Technology also builds custom subwoofers built directly into cabinets as well as sofas that can rock your world for movie playback.

Genesis
Displaying their new speaker, the APM-1, Genesis using a Mark Levinson front end and amplification with their digital lens, had a strong competitor for best sound of the show.

High End and Custom Audio Part I
High End and Custom Audio Part II
High End Video
Home Automation and Touch Screen Remotes.
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