Introduction "California, a profit on the burning shore"....... Estimated Profit, Grateful Dead. Like that song of wisdom and spiritual fulfillment coming to fruition, the California Audio Labs CL-20 DVD/CD player is a flier into the promise of what the digital audio and video medium is capable of today and a good measure of what we can expect as the technology matures into the future. Capable of processing 24/96 DVD audio, the CL-20 gave me my first extended exposure to what this new medium is all about......about to turn 44.1kHZ into the likes of a faded childhood nightmare. The CL-20 has HDCD processing, DAC outputs at 96, 48 and 44.1kHz. Other outputs include two Dolby Digital AC-3 5.1, two 24bit/96kHz PCM digital audio, coax and AES/EBU and RS-232 digital interface for future software upgrades. Video outputs are composite and S-video. Well constructed and fairly massive at 20 lbs. the CL-20 cuts a pretty clean profile. The ...

Introduction Camelot Technology's Crystal Vision VPS-1 is an adaptive 2-D digital comb filter with four levels of edge enhancement which also functions as a video switcher. In most cases, the VPS-1 will serve as a superior comb filter compared to those now incorporated in Laserdisc players, VCR's and TV's. A comb filter is designed to separate a composite video signal's Chrominance (color information) and Luminance (brightness or black and white information). These two signals, often referred to as Y/C, are transmitted via an S-Video connector. Errors in Y/C separation cause visual side-effects such as cross-color or cross-luminance commonly referred to as dot crawl (or hanging dots). This color separation process impacts the total potential of the video portion of your home theater. When you insert the VPS-1 between your Laserdisc player and your TV, their internal comb filters are bypassed in favor of the VPS-1. As the composite video signal enters the VPS-1, it is ...

Introduction Cello Stradivari Legends are a $7000, 3-way dynamic loudspeaker system inspired by the cabinet style made famous by the legendary AR3 loudspeakers of the mid 1960's. Cello, the brainchild of Mr. Mark Levinson since 1984, builds rounded corner, exotic wood finished loudspeakers that utilize a highly efficient crossover with a compliment of three Dyn Audio drivers (a 1 inch tweeter, a 3 inch dome mid range and a 12 inch woofer). The cabinet is dampened by the internal use of a thin, green composite also used by NASA space shuttles, thus knocking on the cabinet is a futile exercise in that it lacks any significant resonance. Legends are 26.5 inches tall, 14 inches wide and 12 inches deep, thus they need the help of a Cello/Lovan six prong, lead shot filled ($700) speaker stand to fit into a standard audio or theater system. Cello showrooms will make custom angled Legends that can either sit ...

Introduction It is easy to become jaded when discrete 5.1 digital surround, crystal clear DVDs and 500 channels of Direct TV are all common place in a current home theater. How will today's home theater enthusiast elevate his or her system to the next plateau of performance eliciting the next level of emotion? What is missing? What is next? How about a speaker devoted specifically to that portion of the frequency spectrum that is felt rather than heard - starting at about 5 Hz and continuing up into the lower frequencies around 2000 Hz. That's exactly what the Clark Absolute Tactile Sound System does via its little, clear, `spaceship' shaped device. The Clark Transducer is a tiny device which brings the sense of touch into the home theater experience, adding a dimension to your music and movies that you may never have known you were missing. Some years ago Pioneer and others had Hi-Fi reclining ...