Meet the Dream Team!

CEDIA was located in beautiful Denver Colorado this year. Clean, but rather thin air, high elevation and good eating weren't the only highlights of our trip. We felt this years' show was the most successful for us with respect to the industry contacts we forged, cool new products we discovered, and overall well organized show layout making it easy to navigate for maximum coverage.

In this age of technology it is easy to lose that personal connection when you are dealing with a faceless screen name. We thought the Audioholics community would enjoy a more personal look at the crew that brought you over 140 pages of CEDIA coverage before the end of the show.

Gene DellaSala

Gene, of course, is the President and founder of Audioholics. As such, he has very big responsibilities - like smoozing, signing autographs, and taking pictures with adoring fans. Gene literally can't walk past a CEDIA booth without someone stopping him to talk. While his position and fame doesn't necessarily allow him to gather the greatest amount of coverage, he does tend to get both the inside scoop that no one else knows and the most in-depth coverage.

Quote of the Conference - "Tom, that's a good one! Put that in the editorial."

Favorite New Products:

RBH Sound T-30LSE

RBH Sound is back, this time with a new 30 year anniversary special edition speaker system which is based on the venerable T-2P system. The T-30LSE employs the same 6½" phase plug drivers and Scan Speak 9500 tweeters found in all of their Status Acoustics products. RBH also significantly updated the bass portion of this speaker by increasing the box volume 25% by producing one individual cabinet and opening up the back of the satellite portion of the tower to the subs. They also integrated their new high excursion 10" aluminum subwoofers which were integrated into the prototype Status Acoustics Titus speakers we demoed last CES. The result - a speaker system that can play flat down to 18Hz at high SPL levels.

For more info, read our T-30LSE Demo report

Yamaha YSV-1 Multichannel Headphone Preamp/Processor

Yamaha had a prototype headphone solution that we found extremely interesting. The Yamaha YSV-1 is a headphone system that attempts to recreate the sound of your home theater through a set of headphones.

For more info, read our report of the YSV-1

APC UTS Power Transfer Switch

American Power Conversion (APC) unveiled the APC Universal Transfer Switch (UTS), which automatically transfers loads from a utility to as many as two backup power sources during a power disturbance. The APC UTS can work with two backup power sources, using any combination of the following: generator, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), portable inverter, solar power, wind power, or fuel cell.

For more info, read our report of the APC UTS

Impact Acoustics Digital RapidRun

Based on the success of Rapid Run A/V cables, Impact Acoustics has broken new ground with their new Digital RapidRun intended for easy installation of digital cabling for HDMI or DVI applications. Active and passive solutions support true 1080p video up to 50ft passive and 85ft active.

For more info, read our report of the Impact Acoustics RapidRun

Clint DeBoer

Clint is the Editor-in-Chief of Audioholics and tends to specialize in displays and transports. Clint has a knack for getting to the right person while avoiding the marketing sleaze. Clint can get a bit more coverage than Gene but is still pretty famous. He may hit 10 booths before lunch or he may get stuck at one. Clint's got a great work ethic and boundless energy which means that whoever rooms with him is way more tired than most everyone else.

Quote of the Conference (to someone that asked him if he liked a specific product) - "Honestly?..."

Favorite New Product:

Sony VPL-VW50 Projector

The new VPL-VW50 model, based on Sony's SXRD (LCoS) technology, was absolutely phenomenal. We got a chance to see it up close and personal and let me just say that it's going to be tough to top this projector. The projector features a 200-watt Ultra High Pressure Lamp which produces high brightness at 900 lumens, reproducing natural and accurate colors. The VW50 also features dual HDMI inputs which support both 1080p/60 and 24p frame rates. It processes at a direct multiple of 24p to avoid artifacts like judder or flicker when viewing next-gen high-definition formats like HD DVD.

For more info, read our report of the Sony VPL-VW50

Tony Leotta

Tony is Gene's cousin and does a lot of work behind the scenes at Audioholics. Tony posts many of the reviews that you read when Clint and Gene are too busy to do so (which is very often). Tony is a school teacher by trade which means two things. First, he has near limitless patience and second he got stuck rooming with me. I think that last thing has something to do with my personality but I can't figure out what. Tony is now our expert on home automation and home theater furniture. Tony came up with the brilliant idea to show a print out of our coverage (from the night before) to venders. When they saw that we had already covered them, they were thrilled (and very eager to talk with us). We will be incorporating this technique into all future show coverage.

Quote of the Conference (said to him by a very intoxicated woman he was trying to help) - "Get away from me you juice drinking son-of-a…"

Favorite New Product:

Themeaddicts Interactive Mirror

One of the most unique pieces of equipment we saw at CEDIA was the Themeaddicts M30P interactive mirror. Themeaddicts, Inc. is a California Corporation composed of a team of seasoned theme park attraction and feature film special effects professionals. The patented "Magic Message Mirror" looks and functions like a decorative wall mirror, but when your home automation/security system senses a change in your environment, "Basil of the Mirror" (a somewhat pompous English Butler personality) magically appears and verbally provides real-time information. The M30P will also theatrically reveal an integrated live camera feed to show the area of interest if you have cameras incorporated into your home security system, or decide to add them when you install the M30P. The M30P can provide real-time information about people walking up your driveway, entering the yard, standing at your front door, or anything else your current home security system is set to monitor.

For more info, read our report of the Themeaddicts Interactive Mirror

J. Walker Clark Jr.

J has recently starting doing reviews of software and some hardware for Audioholics. J owns his own business and is a true hobbyist - he works with us for the love of audio alone. J spent much of the conference trying to find a new amp (of any kind) to cover or get caught jaywalking so he could tell the officer when he asked his name, "J. Walker, sir."

"Son, that isn't funny."

"Sorry sir, you're right. My name is J. Walker Jr."

"Son, do you have any next of kin? Anyone that would miss you?"

Quote of the Conference - "I need to review that!"

Favorite New Product:

Marantz Audio Amps

While the overwhelming majority of new products at the CEDIA Expo this week have been centered around home theater, media servers or iPod accessories, I eventually found some news that will interest 2-channel audiophiles. Marantz introduced three component separates this week, including the SC-7S2 Reference Control Amplifier and the MA-9S2 Reference Power Amplifier. The SC-7S2 Reference Control Amplifier has a unique high channel separation design, upgraded low noise Toroidal transformer and more including a total of 18 Marantz HDAM SA modules. The unit's F.C.B.S (Floating Control Bus System) adds to its performance capabilities. The MA-9S2 Reference Power Amplifier features a two-stage amplifier circuit, instantaneous high-current delivery capability and a double shielded low-noise Toroidal transformer. The unit's full-balanced circuitry, high-speed amplification system, and 300-watt (8 ohm)/600-watt (4 ohm) power capability delivers pure, balanced power to a no-compromise music system.

For more info, read our report of the Marantz Audio Amps

Tom Andry (me)

I am the official court jester of the Audioholics court. I made sure that the crew was well fed as I have an insider in Denver with the lowdown on the good grub. I spent a lot of time talking with MCE based Media Server manufactures trying to discern if they really had anything new to offer. I tend to get the question, "So, where are Gene and Clint?" just enough to get annoyed by it. I can get a lot of coverage in a very short time as very few people actually want to talk to me.

Quote of the Conference (to J right before we boarded a plane and I notice that the pilot was the one I saw berating the McDonald's CSR mercilessly) - "If Karma had anything to say about it, this plane would fall out of the sky."

Favorite New Product:

Vantage Point EVO Mounting System

Vantage Point introduced the EVO system, a modular, furniture quality installation solution for home entertainment and home office electronics. The EVO system by Vantage Point is a mounting system for flat panel televisions and electronic components onto the wall while freeing up floor space. It consists of an aluminum frame and track system that is expandable to support many equipment configurations. The frame is hung on two independently mounted rails and extends 4" from the wall creating a hollow space for power and wiring distribution without going into the wall. 16"x16" removable real wood veneer panels, available in Maple, Cherry, Walnut, Black Ash and Espresso, allow access to wiring and power connection while creating a furniture quality appearance. Also available are various EVO accessories such as tempered glass shelves, flat panel mounts and speaker mounts to support components and TVs. The frames and shelf brackets are available in Black, Silver or Graphite.

For more info, read our report of the Vantage Point EVO Mounting System

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