Audio File

Brent Butterworth

05/01/2008

Electronics exhibitions used to be dreary affairs, filled with row upon row of drab black boxes. No longer. Now, each turn of a corner holds the potential for revelation, with attractive home entertainment products being the norm.

Part of this renaissance is due to computer-aided design, part to advanced manufacturing techniques, and part to smaller, more powerful electronic components. But much is the result of a long-overdue realization in the electronics industry that people prefer beauty to mere functionality.

The following are our top five new home entertainment products, each an exercise in both meticulous engineering and thoughtful design.

SALAGAR SONICS SPEAKERS
Technical skill usually exists in inverse proportion to one’s aptitude for visual aesthetics. This situation poses problems especially for small audio companies. Most exist as an expression of their founder’s technical vision, and few possess the industrial design resources of an Apple or a Sony. How fortunate for Salagar Sonics that the technical concepts of cofounders Salahuddin Khan and Gary DiChiara practically demanded the speakers have a singular, sensuous shape.

According to Khan, the shape emerged from the two engineers’ desire to build an extraordinarily stiff, vibration-resistant speaker cabinet. In a cylindrical shape, such as a submarine or Salagar’s speakers, the pressure inside is distributed evenly. Whereas with a box-shaped cabinet, the middle of each side flexes the most from the pressure, so it is prone to vibration that muddies sound.

Because the speaker cabinet had to contain two drivers—a woofer and a tweeter—Khan and DiChiara settled on what Khan calls a "double bubble" arrangement of cojoined cylinders, a design that echoes the look of a guitar. Instead of bending pieces of wood to form the cylinders, the designers constructed the speaker cabinets from many layers of medium-density fiberboard, each layer computer-machined in the dual-cylinder shape, then bonded and mechanically fastened to the next layer. Tap a knuckle against the side of the speaker and it feels more like a concrete casting than a wood product.

Salagar Sonics clads its speakers in the customer’s choice of six wood veneers, eight high-gloss, automotive-style paint finishes, and custom finishes. The line includes four speakers, the most aesthetically appealing of which is the Symphony S210. The S210 incorporates a 10-inch woofer and a one-inch tweeter, and lists for $8,800 per pair in wood veneer or $9,300 per pair in a painted finish. It also offers metal stands specifically designed to support its curvaceous creations.

Because each speaker cabinet contains two 200-watt digital amplifiers—one for the tweeter, one for the woofer—a Salagar Sonics system can be one of the simplest ways to achieve state-of-the-art sound. A tiny interface box allows direct connection of an iPod or other digital music player. Conventional preamplifiers, CD players and the like may also be used.

All Salagar Sonics speakers are individually tested, and bear a test report personally signed by both Khan and DiChiara. The company’s unique design and meticulous quality control have produced one of the most outstanding speaker lines of recent years. A demonstration reveals remarkably lifelike, spacious and dynamic sound—proof that striking design and technical excellence can in fact coexist in an audio product.

Salagar Sonics, 847.688.0227, www.salagar.comVUDU VIDEO-ON-DEMAND SYSTEM
For decades, media companies have sought to deliver video-on-demand: any movie you wish to watch, whenever you wish to watch it, instantly. Ever-increasing Internet speeds have made video-on-demand technically feasible, yet most Internet-based movie delivery is done through cumbersome computer-based products. Such arrangements may be adequate for college dorm residents, but not for anyone who simply wants to relax on the couch with a good movie.

Enter Vudu, a product that may be as revolutionary for home theater as the Apple Macintosh was for computers. Like the Macintosh, Vudu refuses to conform to the inadequate concepts that preceded it. It employs iconoclastic ergonomics, radical new form factors and advanced engineering in the pursuit of incomparably simple operation.

Vudu offers a choice of approximately 5,000 movies. Select one and it begins playing immediately, with no advertisements, no FBI warning and no confusing navigation menus. A charming interface on your TV screen shows you the DVD cover art for each movie; the experience is more like browsing the racks at the video store than scrolling through the pay-per-view offerings on cable TV. You can search for movies by name, genre, leading actors or director.

A unique remote control, curved to fit your hand, features only five buttons and a scroll wheel—but thanks to the intuitive design of the on-screen interface, this is all you need. The sculpted lines of the $295 Vudu box make even the sleekest computer look staid, and the unit is small enough to tuck into practically any shelf.

One can choose to "rent" the movies for 24 to 48 hours at prices approximating Blockbuster’s, or to purchase them at prices comparable to DVDs and permanently store the movies on Vudu’s internal hard drive.

Vudu Labs recently released the Vudu XL, an upscale $999 version. The XL works the same way as the original Vudu, but adds features that make the product suitable for use in custom home theater systems. Foremost among these is a much larger internal hard drive, which lets the XL store more than 500 movies—roughly 10 times the capacity of the standard model. Also, unlike the original, the XL can be interfaced with touch-screen home automation systems such as Crestron.

While Vudu delivers most of those 5,000 movies with picture quality comparable to DVDs, the company now offers at least 70 movies in high definition, and promises more to come. New movies simply appear in the on-screen offerings; all updating is automatic. Simply put, there is no easier, more convenient way to watch movies at home.

Vudu, 888.554.8838, www.vudulabs.comBANG & OLUFSEN BEOVISION 8 TV
Flat-panel TVs hold inherent aesthetic appeal, but from a design standpoint, they offer no more surprises than a McDonald’s meal. Manufacturers sometimes tout the slightest distinction—a barely perceptible color pinstripe or a slim translucent accent—as a bold design element. Bang & Olufsen, however, has rejected flat-panel precedents as enthusiastically as other manufacturers have embraced them. This Danish manufacturer is renowned for doing things its own way, often discarding accepted form factors in the pursuit of more pleasing aesthetics and easier operation.

To date, the new BeoVision 8 is Bang & Olufsen’s most daring statement in flat-panel TV design. Its truly distinctive feature is a large "lip" that protrudes below the screen. Chief designer David Lewis added the protrusion in order to provide room for what is surely the most substantial speaker system ever built into a 32-inch flat-panel TV. Two front-mounted speakers provide stereo sound, and a bottom-mounted four-inch subwoofer speaker gives the BeoVision 8 the most satisfying bass response of any screen in its class.

As Lewis explains, the unusual speaker enclosure supports a unique aesthetic: the TV as a theater in miniature, with the enclosure serving as a stage and the columns at either side of the screen suggesting curtains. The screen itself enhances the theatrical effect—when the set is turned on, the image opens from the center, as a pair of curtains would.

Retractable feet allow the TV to sit atop a table or on the floor, and the set can also be mounted on a wall. A polarized glare filter rejects stray light, making the Beo-Vision 8 ideal for use in brightly lit rooms. According to Bang & Olufsen, the set resists glare so well that its picture still looks good even if the set is viewed beneath a veranda.

With 1,366-by-768-pixel resolution, the $3,950 Beo-Vision 8 is appropriate for use with high-definition or standard video sources, as a computer monitor and video game display. No matter what it displays, the BeoVision 8 is one of the few TVs likely to garner just as much attention when it is turned off.

Bang & Olufsen, 847.590.4941, www.bang-olufsen.com

MERIDIAN AUDIO MUSIC SYSTEM
Meridian Audio began as a partnership between audio engineer Bob Stuart and industrial designer Allen Boothroyd; both now rank among the leading practitioners in their respective fields. When they decided to create a tabletop music system, they set the goal of designing a product that would be both visually arresting and far better sounding than comparable designs. To laud the $2,995 Meridian-Ferrari F80 merely for accomplishing both goals, though, seems faint praise.

Boothroyd’s arching design is molded from a dense composite material used in Ferrari race cars. The shape and material combine to form a remarkably rigid enclosure and a visually appealing chassis, especially after it is coated with one of five high-gloss, lacquered Ferrari finishes. Two front-mounted speakers and a rear-mounted subwoofer—each powered by its own digital amplifier—deliver sound clear and powerful enough to fill a great room or six-car garage. Stuart’s digital audio technology smoothes the sound to near perfection, equaling the tonal purity of many high-end audio systems.

The F80’s entertainment options include an AM/FM radio tuner, a DVD/CD player and an optional iPod dock. In addition, any audio source device can be connected through jacks on the back. Most functions can be controlled through buttons on the front or from a credit card–size remote control. In a classic, consumer-friendly Boothroyd touch, one need not navigate an array of buttons to adjust volume—there’s a simple knob on the F80’s right side.

While many manufacturers describe their products as "the Ferrari of . . . ," for the F80 that distinction is true—both literally and figuratively. There is simply no easier, more attractive way to get high-performance, audiophile-quality sound in the home.

Meridian Audio, 404.344.7111, www.meridian-audio.comGOLDMUND REFERENCE II TURNTABLE
Reports of the record player’s demise have been grossly exaggerated; the humble vinyl record survives even as ultra-high-tech challengers DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD (SACD) have withered and died. Most serious audio enthusiasts still consider the record the ultimate in sound quality. One might conclude, then, that the ultimate record player would produce the finest recorded sound mankind has ever heard.

Audiophiles will argue forever about which record player is best, but Goldmund’s $275,000 Reference II surely ranks among the contenders. Manufactured in a limited run of 25, at a rate of five per year, the Reference II is a masterpiece only a handful of people will ever have the pleasure of hearing in their homes. Add the available tonearm and photo stage to the package, and you’re out the door for around $375,000.

A glance at the Reference II’s specifications sheet might leave one wondering what sort of seismic event would make the player’s needle jump a groove. The supporting table alone weighs more than 550 pounds. The platter on which the record sits weighs 44 pounds, and is crafted from alternating layers of acrylic and brass in order to cancel out what minuscule resonances might arise.

The audio signal produced by a phonograph cartridge is vanishingly weak and highly susceptible to interference. Goldmund eliminates this problem with its optional tonearm, which converts the signal to digital right inside the headshell holding the cartridge and needle. All necessary equalization is performed digitally, rather than through a separate phono preamplifier. The Reference II provides both analog and digital outputs; vinyl enthusiasts who prefer an all-analog approach to Goldmund’s advanced technology can use other tonearms and cartridges if they desire.

Touch-sensitive controls set into the top of the support table select rotational speeds of 33, 45 or 78 revolutions per minute, as well as lower and raise the Goldmund tonearm. These functions may also be controlled remotely. Even the vertical tracking angle—the most critical of adjustments for a record player—can be fine-tuned by remote control, in increments of 1/10th of a millimeter.

Each Reference II is installed and calibrated by a team of Goldmund engineers—who, one expects, must possess both impressive technical acumen and considerable physical strength.

Goldmund, 888.465.3001, www.goldmund.com