Home Entertainment

Sweden's Marten is well-regarded for its high-end speakers and takes a fair amount of pride in their audiophile-pleasing performance. So it comes as no surprise to learn that the company has decided that the only way to ensure optimum sound for its products is to create its own amplifier. Introduced at this year's CES, the M-Amp Mono Power Amplifier uses a new technology called Adaptive Modulation Servo (AMS) that's said to provide a wide bandwidth, really low audio distortion and high power output. Read More

Rather than sound being pumped out from a loudspeaker in all directions, the Klang speaker concept proposes using a low level ultrasound to direct the audio only where it's required, leaving silence everywhere else. Such a system might allow audio output from a television to be sent to a different place in a room to sound from a hi-fi, allowing each listener to enjoy the experience without inconveniencing the other. Read More

Japanese company Sanwa has recently announced that its new 400-3DGS001 3D glasses are compatible with multiple brands of 3D televisions, such as Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, and Toshiba. While the glasses aren't truly "universal" they are a step in the right direction, reminding us that a day may come when we have multiple 3DTVs in our homes. That day is probably a long way off, but we're glad that at least someone is planning ahead! Read More

To go along with a 3D headset prototype, a 3D Bloggie, and a 3D Handycam, Sony continued its push of 3D consumer products with new additions to the BRAVIA TV lineup at CES 2011. Most notable among them was the XBR-HX929 series, which implements a number of new features intended to give buyers more incentive for taking the plunge towards purchasing a 3DTV. Read More

Altec Lansing has come to the rescue of music lovers who like the idea of streaming music wirelessly around the home, but can't afford to invest in systems from Olive or Sonos, or who don't want to be shackled to Apple Air or iOS devices. The inMotion Air universal wireless speaker can pump out any audio stored on a computer up to 333 feet away via an included adapter, while mobile devices can also supply the music via Bluetooth. Audio enhancement technology offers CD-quality performance, regardless of source compression encoding. Read More

It's been just over three years ago since Bowers & Wilkins exploded onto the iPod dock scene with the gorgeous Zeppelin, and now the company is set to stir things up again with the Zeppelin Air. Designed by the same team responsible for the earlier model, the new hopeful retains the eye-pleasing lines of its popular predecessor but its internals have undergone a major overhaul. The new device now benefits from updated and improved speaker drivers, audiophile pleasing digital-to-analog signal conversion and wireless streaming capability courtesy of Apple Air. Read More

PrimeSense, the company behind Kinect's 3D sensor, is teaming up with Taiwanese manufacturer ASUS to bring us what might be the next big motion-control entertainment system for consumers. The WAVI Xtion (pronounced "WAVI action") utilizes a pair WAVI boxes to stream media from PC to TV and an Xtion sensor near your TV set to to bring gesture control into the mix. Read More

UK-based GEAR4, a company better known for its iPod and iPhone audio docks, today announced the U.S. availability of its UnityRemote that turns an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad into a universal remote control. To get around the fact these Apple devices don’t pack an infrared transmitter, the GEAR4 setup consists of an app available for free from the iTunes Store and a small cylindrical device that receives a Bluetooth signal from an iOS device and then sends an infrared command to control the various components of your home entertainment setup. Read More

The Q2 Internet Radio asks users to boil down the thousands of available online radio stations and choose just four. This may appear to limit choice, but actually reflects the fact that most of us only regularly listen to a few stations anyway. The device also does away with display screens and has only one button – an on/off switch. To change a station, you tip it onto another of its sides. To increase volume, you raise the front of the unit, and raise the back to lower it. I've been given the chance to take one for a test run, so read on for my thoughts. Read More