Part 1

 

  The folks from Richard Grey's Power Company who was touting their success with being chosen by CBS Studios to be used in their listening room. Their new shelf/rack mountable power line conditioner Model 1200S is basically two RGPC 400S wired in parallel internally. It offers 12 Hubbell outlets and can handle up to a 20 amp load. It is said to bring your system closer to the power company and uses an "electronic flywheel" which delivers "instantaneous high-current-on-demand to increase dynamics and performance of analog and digital equipment plugged into the same A/C circuit." It removes A/C Line noise  without limiting current. Designed to supply cleaner power to multiple components in a rack mount form which custom home installers regularly use in their profession.

 

Longstanding high-quality loudspeaker supplier B&W were showing their new top-of-the-line CDM9 floorstanding loudspeaker. It uses some key technologies derived from the B&W's Nautilus family such as the tapered-tube tweeter loading and a free-standing tweeter "pod" for uppermost frequency reproduction. A 6.5-inch bass drivers and dedicated 6.5-inch midrange all use woven Kevlar diaphragms as in found in other B&W loudspeakers. The crossover network uses air-core inductors at only what B&W feels are "critical positions" while polypropylene capacitors are used throughout. The CDM 9NT enclosure is very rigid and designed with a gradual slope at the top of the baffle. The CDM 9NT is available in three real-wood finishes: Black Ash, Red Ash, and Cherrywood. Manufacturers suggested retail price: $2,600/pr.

 

Website Hifi.com, a sister company of Cambridge SoundWorks who uses the legendary Henry Kloss designed loudspeakers, offers various audio and video products in a business to consumer (B to C) e-commerce scheme has now made available their new CustomHiFi.com website. This will offer the custom electronic design and installation professionals, such as those who attend the CEDIA Expo, access to leading audio/video products plus installation support. CustomHiFi.com is a business to business (B to B) scheme and of course uses it's sister business to sell their own Cambridge SoundWorks' products. "To date, the custom install professional, who has a need to purchase high quality audio/video products at discounted prices, has not had a one-stop alternative," said Michael Sullivan, president of Hifi.com. "CustomHifi.com was built on this premise and offers the first true e-commerce enabled business to business custom electronic product procurement alternative."

 

D-Tools, founded in 1998, offers their newest software Custom Install Version 2.0.and DataXchange. This software is used by custom/contract installers to simplify design, engineering, documentation and the usual estimating processes that go hand in hand with large-scale installation projects. Their web-enabled DataXchange offers a web-based data-sharing environment that centralizes product information for manufacturers, dealers and installers. Their program packages can be used for easy "drag and drop" designing, full part by part design and other procedures that are needed to preplan and spec out what is necessary for various tasks (screen shot below). Various views can be applied as desired by the users plus lists can be easily made (i.e. only amplifiers, signal processors, video equipment, etc) and printed out to be sent to the necessary suppliers for ordering purposes.

 

 

DCM was also showing a whole line of their new floorstanding and bookshelf loudspeakers. While all models include their new tweeter that they claim improves off axis frequency response while also blending high frequencies and mid-range frequencies well. Each model in their new line also features a high sensitivity 6.5" mid-bass driver with a pole mounted phase plug to insure a smooth response (as used in their in-wall systems). In the DCM10 and DCM12 floor-standing models, a 10" or 12" woofer is also incorporated into the design (respectively). Following high-end audio, the DCM 10 and DCM 12 also include feet that isolate the cabinets from the floor to reduce vibrations from negative effecting the loudspeaker's performance. The DCM6C center channel speaker consists of a single 6.5" woofer, 6.5" passive radiator and tweeter while the DCM6 surround sound speaker is made up of a single 6.5" woofer and a single tweeter. Manufacture's suggested retail pricing is:

DCM10 10 3-way Floor standing Loudspeaker $219.95/ea. 
DCM12 12 3-way Floor standing Loudspeaker $239.95/ea. 
DCM6 6 2-way Surround Loudspeaker $199.95/pr. 
DCM6C Dual 6 2-way Center Channel $149.95/ea.

 

Because CEDIA is a home-theater and custom installation oriented show, folks like First Impressions Theme Theatres come out in droves to showcase their capabilities. First Impressions Theme Theatres offers various fully custom made acoustically transparent wall covering materials for its high performance AcoupakT Acoustical Management System. Because truly high-end home theater applications will also include various room acoustic treatments, these same treatments need to be visually pleasing (unlike many "audiophile" solutions. Their 7 lbs. fiberglass core-based paneling is offered in 156 color choices to better match their surroundings. The panels themselves feature fiberglass and chemically hardened edges machined to the desired edge profile detail and face wrapped with the company's own 
fabric.

 

For those with large home theaters, or homes with special customized needs, Ligtholier Controls offers their Compose PLC lighting control featuring some very interesting features to those who do not desire to have all new wiring (and the associated costs). Using the preexisting wiring, Ligtholier Controls' Compose PLC uses devices that communicate without the need for additional wiring. Various Light Dimmer Control Compose PLC units are good for smaller rooms where a preset dimming system is more than necessary. For those looking for more, the 5 Preset Scene Room Control Compose PLC Room control provides 5 preset lighting scenes that also include a gentle fade on/off procedure. Centralized Multi-Room Control Master control stations allow users to control all the Compose PLC devices within their home. To help remove the electrical noise as caused by their system, the Firewall Amplifier/Repeater/Filter is claimed to assure "optimum performance from Compose PLC by creating a clean digital signal path throughout the system. First, Firewall isolates Compose PLC circuits from the rest of the house and from outside sources to virtually eliminate spurious noise and electrical interference. Second, it amplifies and repeats the Compose PLC signals to maximize communication to all Compose PLC devices."

 

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