Cary Audio's soon-to-be-available DVD 8 is a
true universal player -- it even includes HDCD support. Given that it plays back every
current digital format and is made completely in the US, its $1200 price seems very
reasonable.
The Repose E1000 is called an "entertainment chair" because it has
a stereo speaker system installed in its headrest and a subwoofer in the seat. Full
controls are mounted on the side.
Given all of the features and what looked like very good construction, we were surprised
by the E1000's price: $600.
Monitor Audio's new Bronze range of speakers
has features from the pricier Silver and Gold lines, including metal phase plugs on the
woofers and cabinets with separate internal chambers for the drivers. In addition to the
BR-FX surround speaker (top, $399/each) and BR-LCR ($249/each), there are minimonitors,
floorstanding speakers and a subwoofer in the extensive line. [www.monitoraudio.com]
Sunfire's CRM-2 ribbon main/surround speaker
and CRM-2C center-channel speaker were developed over a seven-year period. They use a very compact version of Bob Carver's
ribbon driver along with 4 1/2" woofers whose claimed excursion is 1". The
CRM-2C has a special acoustical lens in the grille to change the speaker's dispersion
pattern for horizontal mounting.
Krell amplifiers are never inexpensive, but no
one can accuse them of being under-powered. The EVO-403 (top, $20,000) puts out 400 watts
to each of three channels, while the mono EVO-900 ($40,000/pair) delivers 900 watts. Construction
is impeccable.
