The 1998 International CES Review!

DISCLAIMER

This Review has been written by Juan Velasquez (aka Old One Eye). If you have any questions or comments about it, please contact him directly.

Internet Mobile Audio is hosting this report because of Juan's brutal honesty and thorough review of many companies' products. However, the opinions and all information contained within this review do not represent the opinions of Internet Mobile Audio or any of its affiliate companies.

THE ARRIVAL

After a long, torturous drive (including a trumped up ticket) I finally made it to Las Vegas on Thursday for CES. I went to 2 computer stores and 3 Staples to find a Sony digital camera that takes 3.5" discs. Finally found one so this year I will be having a TONS of pictures of the show to share with everyone.

In addition, for the first time, I'm bringing a handheld computer to write this report so as I find all the latest info. (Well, should have brought the laptop instead.... its a pain in the ass to try and type with those little keys and even harder to see.)

For those of you who haven't tried one of these Mavica cameras, they kick ass! I had lots of guys with digital cameras asking me questions to see how I liked the thing. I would highly recommend this camera to anyone out there who is looking for a digital camera.

Well, finally made it. Took a cab to the Sands Exposition Center and made it in no time. Last night I figured out why I was able to find a room at Motel 6 so easily. Turns out its next door to the Las Vegas airport, and we were under the flight path. DOH!!

"OLD-ONE-EYE'S" CANDID COMMENTARY

First, it's time for me to bitch. Just about every car in the booths that I saw still had its regular license plate on. What are you guys thinking?!?! I hate to break it to you guys (you might be reading this now) but if I was a bad person (which I'm not) I could track down where you live by your license plate. Bad news...

I thought some people might have learned after a few thefts at IASCA a few years ago.

Where do people get off messing with other people's cars anywise? I sat in a very nice car at the MTX booth (a green Integra, should have pictures of it) and the guy had some clown mess up part of his head unit installation up because he began prying on it. He caught another guy trying to walk off with his remote!?! I just thought people would have more courtesy with someone else's pride and joy. Ask before you look and touch. Another car had a compression driver give out at IASCA finals as well because some clown couldn't keep his hands to himself. Well, that just really pissed me off.

The next one is my favorite. It's the assholes at the booths that have turned lots of this business into a job and have stopped having fun. In particular, I would like to give my sincerest "thanks" to the National Sales Manager of the car audio division over at Adcom. If we have any Adcom dealers out there, it would be great if you passed my "thanks" along to him. I come into the Adcom booth and head straight to the car audio section. I start talking to one of the tech guys (very nice guy, very excited about the product, told me about all the new and great features) and then I asked for some product information (something I had done a thousand times before over the years). Then he says, "Why don't I get you the National Sales Manager to help you." At this point I said, "Cool!"

This guy comes over and looks at my badge then proceeds to ask me some personal questions, "Had I worked in a shop?"(Yes, I have and also at a manufacturer), "What kind of shop do I have", and several more that were really none of his business (considering I only asked him product information and nothing else). I had decided that this year I was not going to BS my way through this show. I wasn't going to say I worked at a big shop, or was opening a new shop or anything like that. So, someone calls his name and he turns his back on me almost in mid-sentence and walks off?!? I was like WTF? Sure, it's his job to talk to dealers, but without customers and potential dealers, the manufacturers won't have anyone to sell to. So next time I go looking for car or home audio, I know whose product not to look at (if the guy at the top treats the customer like shit, I hate to imagine what the guys below him do). Well, Adcom, I guess you can kiss one potential customer goodbye. (For those of you, who deal with Adcom and don't believe me, I have one of his cards that the tech guy gave me.... his initials are R.T.)

a/d/s/

A/D/S and Orion are sharing the booth again this year, this time in the Hilton. No demo vehicle this year (I guess Phaze got the jump on the Sniper and got left out in the cold). They had a killer amp in the booth (see the pictures) that just blew me away. Its called the PX/a and its 8 channels, 4 x 75, 2 x 25 and 2 x 125. It has digital signal processing used to select system format, crossover points, gain, low-frequency contour, and surround sound options (imagine an 8 channel amp with a EPX2 onboard). The 2 x 125- watt channels have high current/low impedance capabilities. They also had a woofer and set of separates that went along with the amps "built like a brick shithouse" theme. They had the 336PX separates (reviewed in CSR in the last month or two) and a 10" woofer (that looks like the midrange on the 336PX, only twice as big). The thing has an aluminum cone, and is just beautiful. Dual 4 ohm voicecoils, huge magnet (its hard to describe, but its very impressive looking, great for a highlighted installation). This is the cream of the crop from a/d/s. I didn't get to see any prices, but I would imagine there is going to be a pretty steep price to increase its appeal among the few select people who can afford it. The 3 series seems similar to last years models. Still no 3 way system like Boston, DEI, MB Quart and a few others have. The baskets and frames seem to be designed to fit in as many Japanese, European and American cars as possible (seems that OEM integration is becoming the big news this year). The A series is the bottom of the line a/d/s stuff (I guess its the 3 series should have been called the 7 or 8 series (like the 850csi and 750i BMWs) and the A series should have been called the 3 series). Good stuff, but just average compared to the top of the line stuff and the 3 series. Seems that dealers want to be able to offer a pricey, a mid-priced and a budget line of everything they sell hence the A-series.

The A-series tweeters happen to use some of the technology of the pricey 336 tweets, just without the pricey magnet and huge crossover that those come with. The P-series amps seem similar to last year's model, so I won't go into detail. They did release an idat/m DAC. It appears to incorporate an anti-jitter circuit, but from the technobabble in the brochure I'm not really sure. A/D/S seems to have missed the boat on this thing. All these high tech features, and they give it only a maximum output of 4 volts. It can also be used as a digital volume control (good idea). In addition, they also brought out a FDI (factory direct interface). This thing seems like a pretty good idea. Using some type of test signal, it is able to bypass some of the equalization used in many OEM headunits. Apparently it injects a signal, then looks for what it looks like when it comes out and its changes the input signal accordingly to compensate. The more stuff like this and the CD technologies stuff below that comes out, the bigger trouble some of the headunit manufacturers are going to be.

The monster ADS amp with the built in digital signal processor and 8 channels.

ALPINE

Lots of cool cars in the booth. Alpine pissed me off again this year. Not even a single brochure was to be had. Even funnier was the fact they printed up a glossy, 3 fold, full- page glossy map to give people a tour of the booth, but no product info. They had a Dodge Durango with a killer install (done by Steve Brown and some other guy (Steve's car was the Acura Legend with tons of red fiberglass that was on the cover of AS&S).

They also had a DVD 5.1 channel Mobile multimedia system. They had a cool prototype of a fully digital amp (not sure how it worked, but they claim its a few steps ahead of the Infinity stuff). Introduced a couple new v-12 amps, including for the first time a 5-channel amp.

Several pictures of the Dodge Durango (why did I put it down as Dakota? Hell if I know). Very Cool Car!

Alpine Dakota Picture 1

Alpine Dakota Picture 2

Alpine Dakota Picture 3

Alpine Dakota Picture 4

Alpine Dakota Picture 5

Both pictures of the same thing. A CD/MD/CDChanger controlling Double Din headunit.

Alpine Double-Din Picture 1

Alpine Double-Din Picture 2


ALUMAPRO
Came out with appears to be new loaded woofer boxes. In addition, they seem to have more lines of woofers, some with the cool cast baskets, others with cheaper looking stamped or cast baskets (hard to tell). In addition, they seem to have more colors to choose from for the cones.
AUDIO CONTROL
They changed the artwork on lots of the products. Unfortunately they still have some of the features the old stuff has (why can't they go to the nice plug in connectors that Phoenix Gold has on its EQs and Xovers?). The new look is cool, but some people might not like it (I would assume that if you don't like the look on your old AC gear, you could have them painted and then have AC resilk screen them to look like the new gear. They released an Epicenter Series II. Some of the new features include Para-Bass that allows the used to contour the system for each individual system. In addition, they came out with the Iasys, a portable audio analyzer that does everything and anything. Bad picture, but it shows some of the new silkscreening.


BLAUPUNKT
Let's see. Didn't really see much. They had a keycard thingy that you slid into the in dash headunit that is used to deter theft as well as personalize the stereo's operating features. It has a built in processor and memory chip for storing stuff. In addition, when the card isn't in the deck, bright orange plastic thingy slides out and it flashes as a theft deterrent.
BOSTWICK
Well, nothing really special. They have some JL Stealth box- looking sub enclosures, just not available for as many models as JL, MTX or any others that make them. It appears that Bostwick is also selling wires and accessories as well (again, probably offshore stuff just like about everyone else).


CD TECHNOLOGIES
First off, why is it Clif Design, marketed by CD Technologies?!?! It's just so confusing really. I ended up finding out that it's the brand they use for their components in the pre-designed system they sell. [Ed: Actually, Clif Designs is no longer in business, and CD Technologies purchased the Rights for the trademark, and thus is marketing these speakers.] I listened to the car in the booth, which was a 7 or 5 series BMW with a pretty interesting system. It had a pair of subs, an amp and a signal processor in the trunk and a pair of midranges and tweets in the kickpanels. All of this was being run off the OEM deck. ALL of the bass seem to be coming from the front of the car (even when the subs started to run out of gas, it still appeared to come from the front of the car). I don't know how they did it, but it was some pretty wild stuff if you ask me. With a price of less then $700 for the cheapest one, I was blown away. OEM integration, great sound and it was cheap. My only dislike was the fact that it was painfully obvious that it wasn't OEM. It sounded great, kept the OEM deck, but it just didn't integrate cosmetically. It seems that with a little work, this could put a scare into a lot of people who make a living ripping out OEM decks. The amps are being manufactured by Monolithic (good stuff as well, which makes the cheap one even a bigger bargain). The president of CD Technologies' personal ride. It featured a drop in box with monolithic amp, signal processing and woofers. Also featured in the Scosche booth (after they banged up their demo car on the way).
CERWIN VEGA
Released a new 15-inch Stroker woofer (for those of you who aren't deaf enough already). It features dual 2-ohm voicecoils so you can wire them in parallel and get a 1-ohm load out of your high current amps. These guys had a minitruck in the booth that sounded like total ass. It featured a tube driver 4 channel and a wall of subs that were about an inch from your gray matter. Install was on par, but the sound was just horrible (I would like to note just about every car either had the bass cranked way too loud, or was being drowned out by the SPL vehicles around the Sands). They also added two prebuilt boxes loaded with stealth subs. A ten and a twelve-inch model are available. This is a demo truck with a Butler amp that sounded really bad.

CLARION

Hmmm. Why in the Hell would your release a 32" woofer? I mean, this is one of the stupidest ideas from a fairly respected manufacturer. At the same time, they came out with one of the coolest headunits at CES. It seems odd that the same people responsible for one are responsible for the other. Back to the woofer. The woofer box was about the size of a pretty large rear projection big-screen TV. Who is going to be able to fit this in their car? Even funnier was the fact that the woofer was hooked up to a HUGE amp with about 16 gauge wire (hmmm... that was smart).

Now, the cool stuff. Clarion introduces the AutoPC headunit. It's the worlds first MS Windows CE based system integrated for the car environment. It does everything (imagine the old CAL-1000 taken several steps further). Built in 10 band EQ, 35 watts x 4 (Uh... is anyone ever going to come out with realistic headunit output levels?). Voice activated controls with a 200-word vocabulary, voice memo, address book, navigation, mileage log, text-to-speech features, detachable face (something everyone should do on their top of the line stuff (like Alpine)). Its got a slot for flash memory, USB interface, runs a CD or CD ROM, has an 8 color display (its DIN sized with the front folding down to get to the CD slot). It's an open platform like a PC so it can be upgraded at a later time if needed. (I just hope they put a reset bottom on the damn thing, since I'm sure the one in my home PC is starting to wear out thanks to Windows 95). In addition, you'll be able to upload stuff using infrared from your handheld or laptop computer. It has a 60MHz processor. In addition, they have a 6-disc changer/CD ROM changer that goes along with it. Here are more of the features. DSP, 8 Meg flash memory, GPS receiver, interface with an Ungo alarm (like the alpine AI net alarm), cell phone/modem interface, and much more. In addition, you can have the deck do what some of the fancier high end American cars do (like call for emergency help, help you find your way if your lost, remote unlock if you lock your keys in the car, security monitoring (like the teletrac service)). It will also let you receive pages (like the Motorola alphanumeric pager) as well as traffic reports sent over the pager. It addition, you can also forward your email with sender, subject and the first two lines sent to you in your car (?).


DEI
The first booth I hit was the DEI booth. I'm not really an alarm techie so I just kept walking. I did bump into John Durbin and talked to him for a little while. They had set up a hotline that connects you to the nearest dealer (cool). They also seem to be pretty proud of their ISO 9001 certification (not sure what it is, but seems like lots of people are claiming they have been certified). Its a quality control certification, so those of us out their who don't want to get stuck with junk should look to see if their car audio, home audio (or just about anything electronic) carries this. DEI was issued a patent on a dual or multi-stage shock sensor. Supposedly, this has some new technology (can't really patent something that has already been done). They also released some tube enclosures, a 3 way speaker system based on their 6, 4 and tweeters with a supplied crossover. They didn't have a vehicle on hand so I didn't get a chance to listen to it. They also announced, earlier in the year, they would offer lifetime warranties on all DEI amps installed by authorized dealerships. Also have some cruise control stuff (not really anything that interested me so I kept walking). DEI also marketed some wire and sound accessories (I say marketed because unless I'm mistaken, they don't make any of their stuff). Again, like most of the stuff on the market by most people, it looks pretty generic.
DIAMOND
Debuted some new motorsport separates (similar cones, cheaper steel baskets). In addition, they introduced a midbass crossover that will allow you to add an additional driver and make a set of 2 way components into a set of 3 ways.


DYNAUDIO
Dynaudio had Al Fillippi's car in the booth (the Blazer that was featured in Stereophile magazine (?!?!) and should be featured in any of the magazines). After listening to this car, I think I'm going to be running Dynaudio's in my car. This car made me want to get a job (actually, the system in the car, not the car itself). I really didn't see much (I guess you can bug Peter Lufrano over at the Autophile or go to www.dynaudio.com if you need more info). Two words. Wow and Wow. This thing sounds great, cool looking too. Blazer Picture 1 Blazer Picture 2 Blazer Picture 3 Blazer Picture 4
DYNAMIC CONTROL
Released a new sound deadener. Had a cool Camaro in the booth as well. The sound deadener they released is similar to the Rockford blue spray on deadener, but its supposed to work just as well if not better and be cheaper (I'm going to have to try this stuff out, its about half the price of the blue stuff). It is also water soluble, paintable and is available to spray with your gun or in an aerosol can. Vintage camaro that was featured in the Dynamat booth. Camaro Picture 1 Camaro Picture 2 Camaro Picture 3 Camaro Picture 4


EARTHQUAKE
Normally I would have bypassed this booth, but they happened to have a Ground Zero-looking sub in the booth so I had to take a look. Apparently it looks like they had GZ OEM the stuff for them (not sure, but that's what it looked like to me). To make them stand out even more; they had the Earthquake logo placed on the dustcap. Earthquake's knockoff of the Ground Zero sub. They also use this sub in a home theater box they are selling.
ECLIPSE
They had a new single din in-dash deck similar to the Alpine in-dash with the built in TV. This was a very cool looking TV. It holds a 5.8" screen and controls just about anything that Eclipse makes. It folds back and slides back into the dash as well. It features the NOB rotary encoder, and can be adjusted at different angles for best viewing position. It also features the ESL security stuff as well. They also released a double din with a monitor built in. Similar features as above. Some of the high-end CD players and receivers seem to be the same as last year, except the models say R (i.e. the 5303R is the new model). All the high end decks seem to have gone to the NOB knob which seems pretty cool (played around with one at a shop, like it much more then up and down buttons but not as much as my old 7909).


MEMPHIS CAR AUDIO (FULTRON/ARIA)
Yep, Fultron's new name is Memphis (as in the home of Graceland). Arthur Fulmer, the head of Fultron said he wanted a timeless sounding name, so they went with Memphis. Didn't really see any new product at the booth, besides the knockoffs of the old Soundstream Reference amplifiers.
GROUND ZERO
These were the subs people have been talking about. Featured in the Sunfire True Subwoofer, these things are MASSIVE. The top of the line Nuclear Series is just HUGE. Three inch voicecoil and linear excursion up to 2.7� (?!?!). The surrounds on these speakers are almost an inch wide and are VERY stiff (this speaker is unlike anything I had seen before). [Ed:A quote from Richard Clark best describes this, "Being this stiff is like driving a car with the front brakes locked."] The most puzzling thing I saw in the booth was premade boxes already loaded with the drivers. If your going to drop the type of cash these speakers run, why would you go out and get a premade box? Or an acrylic box? Great products, but their marketing seems to leave a bit to be desired.


HIFONICS
New Industria series amps and speakers. Built in Xovers with RCA outputs as well, 2-ohm stable. Honeycomb cone on the woofers. Generation X amps look like the same ones released last year.
JL AUDIO
Came out with a JL W3 series. Someone at the booth told me to imagine a w6 and a w0 series woofer having sex. The W3 is the offspring it would have. The w7 is nowhere in site (Steve and Manville were very tight lipped about it). The W3 isn't ready to ship just yet, but they said it would be out in the next month or two if I remember correctly. The Powerbump backplate provides exceptional mechanical clearances. The surround is made out of foam and has a huge excursion. The W3 also has a vented reinforcement collar that makes it more reliable as well as pumping air directly onto the voicecoil. They have received a patent on this, so you won't be seeing this on any ultimate audio subwoofer in the near future (these were the guys claiming their woofers were just like the w6s, only cheaper). This thing has up to 1 inch of linear Xmax. This is the best part, they will be available in dual voice coil 2 ohm, 4 ohm and 6 ohm drivers, so those who have high current amps can go crazy with these. They are designed for smaller sized enclosures, with power handling up to 250 watts. If you need more info, you might want to check the JL Homepage at www.jlaudio.com. They had a nice Audi in the booth featuring 10W3 woofers in the rear deck and I'm assuming their new separates. Didn't get chance to listen to it but it was very nice. Also had a prototype stealthbox for a 911. Very nice as well (have to be if Z-box is still making stuff). They also introduced a new stealthbox for the Toyota Tacoma truck. The Audi in the JL booth. Very cool install (but its hard to photograph through glass so you'll have to take my word for it. JL Audi Picture 1 JL Audi Picture 2 (Outside) JL's new line of Coaxials


KEF
Another interesting experience. Guy comes over (turns out he is one of the bigger cheeses, so I guess I picked the wrong guy) and I ask him for a brochure. He tells me that they were only planning on only having 70 dealers nationwide for KEF, so I wasn't going to be getting any KEF brochures. They had the Suburban that was featured in CSR. It has 5.1 channel DTS multi-channel audio decoder. Won't be out for a while, so it might be a while so don't run out looking for one of these. Also had a cool hotrod, and a really cool demo room running the 5.1 channel stuff. WOW! Man, time to upgrade again (either that or I get to eat and pay rent... still deciding). A couple of pictures of the hotrod in the KEF booth. KEF Hotrod Picture 1 KEF Hotrod Picture 2 KEF Hotrod Picture 3
KICKER
Kicker had a cool booth going. They had a guy doing card tricks (really killer tricks mind you, with him being able to guess what word you had picked out of a book and making an image of a randomly picked card appear on a Polaroid picture). They also had Frank Rougeou's Honda Civic in the booth. 97 IASCA champ, 97, 96, 95, 93 and 92 USAC champ (damn, doesn't this guy get tired of winning?!?) Nice car, Ranes on the passenger floorboards that tilted up, EQTs on the driver's side, and two kicker amps, one behind each seat recessed into the floor. Kicker was celebrating its 25 anniversary (actually Stillwater made stuff other then car audio so its really not their 25th year in car audio). They came out with lots of 25th anniversary stuff. They had silver anniversary models of amps and subs; all with what appears to be very polished aluminum or chrome finishes. All the silver anniversary subs have different writing on the cones to distinguish them from other tuff. New for this year is the cone on the Solobaric. It doesn't have a dustcap, but the cone and dustcap are actually one piece. It seems like the XPL finally got a cast basket (after using the basket off the competition sub last year). I'm not sure if it's new, but they have a multi-module docking port that allows you to use two of the modules on one amp. New modules include a Parametric Bass Module, Active remote gain crossover module, KickerEQ (basically an PunchEQ circuit), and the Multi-Module docking port. It seems that kicker is trying to get in on competition teams, and has the Kicker Competition Group. The Impulse 2252xi 2 x 225 watt, 356xi 6 x 35 watt amps are new for this year, with 2 new crossovers added to the Impulse line, a 2 way and a 3 way 18 dB/octave. In addition, they introduced an Impulse BassStation power subwoofer enclosure using smaller amps and Impulse drivers.


KOVE
This is the company started by Gary Kovner (head of Lanzar before it took a dirt nap and was bought by Sounds Around, makers of Pyramid and Legacy). Nice guy that's excited about the gear. Kovner had some interesting news. He had gotten Mick Fleetwood, Rikki Rocket (hell, this guy is probably the only one besides Gary remembers who he is) and a few other guys to switch to Kove stuff. (Here is the part that got me thinking, if you only make speakers (like Kove does) what happens with the guys who run all Lanzar gear that switch to Kove speakers? Do they keep the Lanzar stuff or is Kove going to spring for amps as well (as a manufacturer, speakers are cheap to get, amps aren't especially if you don't make them). Kove was able to hang onto the majority of the crew that made Lanzar what it was up until a few months ago (then again, most guys would rather work with a bunch of people they know in a place they like (sunny So. Cal) then has to pickup and move out to the East Coast). For a guy who had his company go bankrupt, have it put up for sale, tentatively bought by one company, then bought by Sounds Around, Kovner seems to be doing pretty well. Considering how much time they had, they were able to get a relatively good booth, print up a pretty nice sales brochure as well as a team Kove newsletter.
LANZAR
Lanzar has similar stuff from last year (they dragged out one of their old show cars). They were stuck sharing a booth with Pyramid and Legacy stuff. They had new low cost stuff (looks an awful lot like cheap pyramid or legacy stuff). They are the Vibe line and are very low price (and low price looking). In addition, they had some coaxials that were weird looking. Similar looking to the JL audio bridge over the tweeters, but they have 3 legs instead of two. In addition, they have a Steel Bass line that is above the OA series.


LIGHTNING AUDIO
Introduced a Strike line of wires (knock-offs of the Streetwire stuff, but I'm assuming much cheaper (and probably offshore). The wires are silver and blue translucent jacketing. Introduced a new battery with a voltmeter built in (unless I keep my battery in my dash, I don't see why it would be of much use, although for those who have SPL vehicles and keep them in the back it seems like a good idea). Compact battery, very cool, lots of output (it seems that Lightning Audio might become the runner up to Streetwire.) They come out with tons of cool stuff every year but have to compete with Streetwire coming out with even cooler stuff, like a team trying to win a championship while Jordan is still playing). They released a cap with digital voltmeter on top (I'm wondering, if they can sell a cap with a cheap voltmeter on top, why can't we just get a cheep voltmeter by itself? How about just incorporating a voltage sensor right into a headunit?) as well as some platinum colored distribution blocks, fuse holders and other accessories. Visually the stuff is second to none (besides the Streetwire). Some of the accessories they introduced are really just offshore stuff, but to differentiate themselves from everyone else, they have blue clear acrylic instead of just regular clear acrylic which makes the stuff stand out even more. They also introduced something that looks similar to the Orion MBR (multi battery regulator). Basically, it's an electronic battery isolator that isolates several batteries and is much easier to install in most cases. Besides that, they had the Gates Bronco in the booth, and on Sunday they decided to crank it up (everyone was packing so their wouldn't be any SPL police handing tickets out). Thing is LOUD (funny thing is that the car doesn't really rattle as much as some of the other SPL vehicles I have seen).
MB QUART
Biggest news is the Q series components. Midrange drivers have a very small (but powerful) neodymium magnet. Some the advantages are the small size as well as the fact that it's supposed to be magnetically shielded. They have a die-cast aluminum frame with 1.5" voicecoils. The tweeter also has a neodymium magnet with Grade 1 titanium. Apparently all these hi-tech goodies let them use a simpler crossover design (hmm, I thought Dynaudio had already figured that one out). The crossover is a beauty. Musicomp with very high grade parts. It also has an extruded aluminum case with a Plexiglas top. In one word: cool - in another: pricey. They are priced in the 700-800 bucks range. In addition, they made it so they will drop into the same spot as other .03 referenz stuff, so it allows you to have easy retrofit if you decide to upgrade at a later time to the Q-series. They also had what they liked to call "bolt on performance". Basically they are putting application specific packages together (like for some later model American, European and Japanese cars) that are all supposed to drop in. They also released a new tweeter, the RNX 25. You guessed it; it is a metal dome tweeter. Titanium dome with neodymium motor. They have also started to package just about every speaker short of the autobahn and the referenz with Musicomp crossovers. I'm not sure what is going to happen to all those guys who blame their SQ problems on the lack of Musicomps crossovers instead of their lack of installation skills now that they throwing them in with most of their speakers. The new Q-series speakers. Very impressive looking. Q-Series Picture 1 Q-Series Picture 2


MCINTOSH
Lets see, they had a new MD4000 model (in essence a rebadged clarion CD changer controller with a small display and remote). Funny thing is it will take them until the summer to put some McIntosh silk-screen on a Clarion product. Also new is a MCC446, which is a 4x55 watts + 2 x 110 watts. It has built in electronic xover, powerguard, and Lexan top. In addition, they are revamping all their car speakers by this summer. The 4", 5", 6", 6"x8", 8", 10" and 12" will all be changed. Mac introduced some new amps, with a 300 x 1 mono amp available this fall, a 2 x 110 watt available this summer, and a 2 x 40 available this summer. The new amp in the Mac room. It's about 3 feet long and those are output transformers.
MONSTER CABLE
Released a mini-XLN RCA wire. They also had the tube they use to compare XLN cable to the competitors (this tube is supposed to simulate a car because it is rigged in a way that it puts out lots of noise). The part that got me is they were comparing the XLN twisted pair to Streetwire's old non-twisted pair cable (Streetwire has 3 lines of twisted- pair RCA, but they choose to use their non-twisted pair for their demonstration. Hmmm..... That's really fair.) They had a killer 911 with a Sony XES system (amps painted to match the car as well). They also had the yellow Ferrari that was featured in CSR a few months ago (it was also inthe booth last year). Very nice. Since last year they wouldn't even let you look at the cars cross-eyed, we were surprised people were hopping in and out of both cars (since both cars probably belong to Noel Lee the head at Monster Cable). Either way, I felt like Mike Meyers in Wayne's World eyeing the guitar in the glass case. One day... Noel Lee's 911 turbo with a Sony XES system. Its good to be the (cable) King. That's a speaker with a human hand in front of it. It houses an 18 inch woofer and 2, 8 inch or 10 inch mids (don't remember).

MTX

They had a nice booth this year, even though the same semi as always with different gear on the inside. Mark Eldridge's hard-to-beat 4-runner was in the booth. Had a last body style Mustang that was featured in CarSound. It was a very nice install. Had a computer controlled "thingy" that monitored temperature, voltage, and apparently switched the car from SQ to RTA settings. Eldridge's 4-runner had they same computer and display (where do I get one of these). They had temperature sensors manufactured into the sub woofers to monitor the temperature with the computer. Very trick (again, how do I do this?!?!) I got pictures of some of the stuff in the mustang that was pretty wild (saw both the competition books but wasn't really going to take pictures of these). There is a TON of work in both of these vehicles (even more then appears on the surface (there appears to be a ton of work done on the surface as well). MTX had lots of goodies. First off, they had new heatsink designs. Imagine the new PPI gear, but with a rougher texture and not so rounded. They are available in black or white as before. As an added bonus, they have throw in a T- shirt in every amplifier box (nice bonus if you ask me). They have introduced new high current amp. 25 x 2 (IASCA ratings) with output at 65 x 2 at 14.4 volts with 700 watts bridged into a 1 ohm load (when is IASCA going to get real with the power classes? Some companies bend the rules others just break them (like Orion or Soundstream)). They also finally put in crossed over outputs. So you can set your amp to have a high pass or low pass output (250X, 275X, 2150X, and 2300X only). Symmetrical power supply (2150X and 2300X) distributes heat evenly, supposedly to make it more reliable. These amps also have a port for an Extended Bass Control (like the Phoenix Gold amp) that let you mount a knob up front to let you control the gain. The also switched to individual gain controls for each channel. They claim to be using bigger MOSFETs (they look pretty close to the same size to me) for better power stability. The amps are also supposed to take an 8-volt input (which I thought they took before). All the thunder amps have changed power output. Instead of 240, 280, 2160, 2300, 4160 and 4320 you now have 250, 250x, 275x, 2150x, 2300x, 225HO, 4200x, 4300x and 5400x. They each put out 25x2, 25x2, 37.5x2, 75x2, 150x2, 25x2 high current, 25x4, 37.5x4 and 25x4 + 100x1. As before, the IASCA rating is about 1/2 to 1/3 of the dynamic14.4-volt rating. The 4 channels also have an output that would allow you to run a summed output to another amp (like as a subwoofer amp). The 5-channel amp also has a digital class D amp used to drive the sub channel. Although thespecs are preliminary, looks like a killer amp. The signal processors look pretty much the same to me so I won't go into detail (that's what www.mtxaudio.com is for). They had lots of new stuff in the speaker department. Most notables were the Thunder 7000 subs. A step up from the thundercast, as they work in smaller boxes to boot! Cast basket, plastic surround that is one piece with the gasket, 2.5" voicecoil, 1000 watt power handling (1500 watt for the 15"), asymmetrical linear drive technology, rubber boot to protect the magnet, 4, 8, and 12 ohm models are just some of the cool features. This is MTX's flagship driver. The Thunder 3000 and 5000 didn't seem that exciting in comparison. This is the basic, bottom of the line driver. None of the high tech features of its two older brothers really. Foam surround, stamped basket, and not even a 12-ohm model available.... Cinderella's ugly stepsister if you ask me... then again, the ugly ones need loving too. The Thunder 5000 is more like it.

MTX also released some wires and accessories. Not to bag on anyone, but, besides the RCA wires, the stuff looks like just about everything else on the market (probably made offshore as well, just like most of the stuff besides Streetwire (hey, I could be wrong, but if your going to spend all the money that it takes to make your own wires and accessories, why would you make it like everyone else's stuff... so if MTX did make the stuff, it spent way to much time copying the competition).

Also released some JL audio stealthbox-like prebuilt enclosures. (I like the typos in the brochure though... "...it also had to have enough density to dampen any resonances" (where do I put the water so it can *dampen* the resonances?). Anyway, besides that this seems like a good idea. They look like textured vinyl, with the ability to get them to match your car. They introduced models for the newer Ford Ranger, newest Ford Ranger, Ford F-150, Ford Exploder, Chevy Suburban, newer GM F-Bodies, Dodge Ram Extra Cabs, Dodge Dakota Club Cab, Toyota Tacoma, Chevy Extra-Cab, Mitsubishi Eclipse with more to follow. Most take 10" woofers.

Here is a cutaway view of the new Thunder 7000 amp (held by none other then MTX's Grizz Archer).

The Acura in the MTX booth. Very nice job on the horns painted to match the exterior,and an aperiodic setup in the trunk.

MTX Acura Picture 1

MTX Acura Picture 2

Three pictures of the MTX mustang that won USAC. Very nice (the really grainy picture is bad, but if you know the Mustang you know they went through a lot of work to get the headunit and computer display up there).

MTX Mustang Picture 1

MTX Mustang Picture 2

MTX Mustang Picture 3

The new MTX thunder forms, available in colors to match your car.


ORION
Came out with some new stuff. Have a picture of the TREX amp (not sure what it is, what it does, or anything else, but I got a picture of it. They also had an amp called the Reactor I think. New is the 105R HCCA (25x2 and 50x2). All the HCCA amps are now -r- series. New heatsinks for these amps, and they now have built in crossovers. They can also set up the first amplifier in a chain to act as the master and the rest as the slave for gain and volume control purposes (so that when you change the gain on one, I guess all the rest change as well). The HCCA amps also incorporate a port that allows you to control the gain remotely from the dash (not sure if it's a knob or something else). The XTReme line has the same new graphics and heatsinks as the HCCA only in black. They also incorporate the internal crossover, remote gain, and signal routing features of the HCCA. Two new models are available. The XTReme 400 and 800 (100x2 and 200x2 respectively). They fully redesigned the XTR separates (remember Orion and a/d/s/ are owned by the same company). Last but not least, they introduced the DEQ-30 (what was shown as a Concept piece a year or two ago). It's a 30-band digital EQ with a built in DAC as well as digital, balanced and unbalanced ins and outs. No clue what it is besides another monster from the people that brought the concept stuff.
OMEGA/EXCALIBER ALARMS
Released a gold series of alarms (I guess the other stuff was available for purchase out of gumball machines last time I looked). One interesting feature is a window module about the size of a package of gum you mount on the windshield. It has the valet switch and a digital indicator telling you what is going on as well as a LED that flashes. Not sure I like the idea, but seems cool none the less.


OZ AUDIO
They released a new P series powered sub woofer line. These are bandpass enclosures with built in subs and 200-watt amps. In addition they have some midrange drivers which feature solid-body cones, flat piston drivers.
PANASONIC
Released a double din receiver featuring tape and CD functions as well as controls for Panasonic changer. Also features a four-color display.
PHAZE AUDIO
They have come out with a new look (the amps have gone from having champagne looking gold to a silverish color. They had the most beautiful car I have ever seen. It was called a Sniper, a 50s or 60s hot-rod dropped onto what appeared to be a Viper with viper brakes, motor and suspension. This car was incredible, a work of art by Troy Tepenier (sorry for the misspelling, but this is the guy who had done the last two cars that graced the Orion booth). I got several pictures for those of you that haven't seen this car featured in many hot-rodding magazines. They have introduced a 4 x 75 amp (reviewed in CSR) as well as a 3 way balanced xover (I think it has tube circuitry in it) as wellas a tube line driver. The tech guy I talked to was pissed that they had taken the prototype out of his car to put it on display (now there is the type of guys I like talking to at CES. They love music and cars and see CES as a chance to see other people with similar interests). They had also signed on Michael Anthony from Van Halen and Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top to endorse the stuff. They also had some Ottomusic drivers (not sure if they are new this year, but the truck they had last year with these drivers sounded beautiful. A tube xover and tube line driver. All they need to do is a tube EQ and some tube heads will be set. Well, here are several pictures of the Sniper, the killer new rod from Troy Tepanier (sorry for the misspelling), the guy who did the last two cars featured in some of the Orion ads and brochures. Phaze Audio Sniper Front Phaze Audio Sniper Interior 1 Phaze Audio Sniper Interior 2 Phaze Audio Sniper Interior 3 Phaze Audio Sniper Interior 4 Phaze Audio Sniper Rear End Phaze Audio Sniper Rear Valance 1 Phaze Audio Sniper Rear Valance 2 Phaze Audio Sniper Engine Phaze Audio Sniper


PHOENIX GOLD
Had the new Reactor amp (thought I had taken a picture of it). Its two of the newer amps on a single chassis (like the frankampenstien, son of frank amp enstein, etc.). Limited edition, looked pretty killer. New this year is a budget line of amps, the QX series that are already out. They introduced a 100 x 2, 50 x 2, 35 x 2 and 50 x 4 amps. Supposed to be replacing the Sapphire line. Besides that, it all looked the same to me. All the ZX and ZPA amps nowcarry .v2 designation added to the end of it. Not sure what it means, but I guess it must be special (don't even go out of the way to describe what the v.2 means.) Phoenix Gold's newest preloaded Sub boxes A picture of the 99,000 dollar amplifier that comes out in the CSR and CA&E product guide issues.
PIONEER
Pioneer had some pretty cool stuff in the booth. They had a dragster in the booth (no stereo though) and that was about it for car audio. They had a navigation screen that was set up with the aspect ratio of a HDTV monitor (really wide like a letterbox movie). They released a woofer with diamond plate looking indentations on the cones. They looked like aluminum but were in fact plastic (pretty cheesy if you ask me). Available in three flavors (free air, low-Q and DVC low-Q). In addition, they had some new amps, with new cosmetics. In addition, the new changers are available with optional voice control, disc memory and disc memory. They have introduced a slim-line remote that looks similar to the skinny remote that Alpine has. The coolest thing (besides the wide-screen in car monitor and the flat panel HDTV) was the double din radio they had. Voice naming (optional) Hi-Bit Legatio Link DAC, digital compression (why doesn't every CD player have this?!?!), built in 13 band front and rear EQ, 13 band auto- EQ, DSP, motorized front panel, spectrum analyzer, pocket fisherman, you name it, this deck has got it. It also plays tapes as well as CDs and controls a CD changer (a choice of 1, 6, 12 and 51 disc changers). The new pioneer amps cosmetics The Pioneer dragster that was in the booth A Carrozeria (Pioneer in Japan) wide aspect ratio monitor The woofers look like diamond plate, but its a plastic cone


PRECISION POWER INC.
PPI is celebrating its 15th anniversary. It is also celebrating its sale to Phaze Audio/Butler. They introduced a limited edition, $10000 amp to celebrate as well in addition to offering all its regular amps and processors with a chromed finish, silk-screen lexan bottom plates and certificates of authenticity. The 2500F1 amp is pretty wild looking. Its huge, being 25" x 16" x 4". It includes a balanced line driver as well as a dash mounted status indicator. You should be able to see it and their other items on their new web site after February 1. www.precisionpower.net It looks like solid brick with a window on the top so you can see how much overkill the amp has on the inside. Cool amp, but way too much dough. On the plus side its supposed to put out over 2000 watts into a 4-ohm mono load. New this year is a Power Class Pro 15" subwoofer. PPI's limited edition 15th Anniversary amps, in chrome The $10,000 15 anniversary 2x500 watt PPI amp (2500 F1) PPI 2500 F1 Picture 1 PPI 2500 F1 Picture 2
ROCKFORD FOSGATE
RF has released some new features on its "Star Trek" amps. Its called MEHSA (Maximum Efficiency Heat Sink Application). It allows the output transistors to be mounted on the heatsink in such a way that they transfer more heat to the heatsink. Weird thing is that they aren't held down by anything (like a screw or a bar). This is supposed to increase reliability and thermal stability as well. From the looks of it, the endcaps are now available in gray to match the amp as well as brushed silver or brushed silver color. They also have a punch link that allows two or more of the maps to be chained together (seen pictures of the endplates painted several different colors and it seems that just about any color looks better then the gold they decided to use last year). The amps (or at least the power amps that I saw) appear to be available in a chrome finish (these amps are beauties without those gold endcaps.) They had a vehicle in the booth that seems to be a repackaging of last years vehicle (too bad, its a nice car, I just don't want to see it two years in a row). RF released the biggest amp ever. Apparently with MEHSA they are able to achieve 5 times better heat transfer. This 500.2 yields 1500 dynamic Watts. This year they released a successor to the PA1 (actually it would be the PA1HD), a half din EQ with 4 bands, 6 outputs, 4 inputs, 9.5 volts RMS of output voltage). They also released a PunchX, a 2 or 3 way xover with up to 6 outputs, 12 dB slopes (come on Rockford, jump on the 24 dB/octave xover slopes bandwagon before the nineties are over.) This one also takes up to a 10-volt input (great if you're running one of the Rockford head units or a line driver). The woofers look similar to last year, with different designs on the dustcaps. The Power line is still the Corvette of the line, with the Punch line being available in single and dual voicecoil flavors. The Series 1 seems to have been replaced by the RF series (probably happened last year, but I don't keep up with this stuff as much as I like too). They developed a new line of separates that look pretty impressive (I have always been pretty impressed by the RF subs, but never the mids and tweets but these just might change things). The line is called the fanatic Q line. Molded ABS plastic frames, glass fiber cones, rubber surrounds, aerovent cooling and flat black spider are some of the features on the mids. The tweeters are aluminum with silk edge surrounds, ferrofluid cooled (whose tweeters aren't at this point?) and can be mounted flush, angled or surface. The Xovers are first class as well. 24 dB octave high pass and low pass (why can't they do this with their electronics?!?). The Xovers are shaped like the amps with smoked acrylic tops (cool if you ask me). Tweeter attenuation, Mylar caps, 0/180 degrees switches and my favorite optical tweeter protection (WTF is this? they list it as a feature on all their new separates. Is it just technospeak (like garbage man becoming waste management engineer) or is this a real feature? In addition, they have a feature that allows you to add second pair of midrange to the front fill or a rear fill with attenuation. The fanatic X series offers similar looks, but different stuff. Universal (let me guess, stamped steel?) baskets, poly cones, plastic surrounds, silk dome tweeters, ferrofluid cooling, 18 dB/octave high pass, 6 dB/octave low pass (how much more expensive could it have been to drop in an extra cap or coil or cap and coil and made this a 12 or 18 dB/octave?). At the bottom of the rung is the fanatic P series. Similar to the X series, but with a cheaper inline tweeter xover, Mylar dome, and foam surround. The brochure and the booth are pretty snappy. My favorite though is the pictures in the brochure. Most feature women and the few that don't gave me a good laugh. My favorite is the guy with his television sitting on top of his dual woofer car sub box (the prefab ones). Has anyone ever placed magnets close to TVs? Not exactly good thing to try. RF's biggest news was their new Triple X RCA's featuring gamma geometry. Apparently, instead of twisted pair, the wires only come across each other perpendicularly (not sure if this works or not, then again twisted pair technology is something thephone companies have been using for years... maybe this is the new technology that we need). They do have almost 50 patents pending for this stuff, so there has to be something there (I hope). Funny thing is that they say its better then twisted pair, but they still sell twisted pairs aswell. In addition, they also have a gamma series speaker wire that is woven like the RCA wires. It claims to reject noise better then any other speaker cable on the market (mind you that speaker wires don't really pick up that much, so its really not that weak of a link in the chain). Visually it's very cool looking, but I'm not sure if it will work or be noticeable. To match the amps and speaker x- overs, they now have distribution and fuse blocks that match. In addition, they have a fuse hold that is shaped like the RF logo, and also had some woofer boxes like the JL audio stealth boxes. A picture of the new Rockford power amps (with the chrome heatsinks) The new MEHSA way of mounting the transistors to the heatsink (notice their are no bars or screws holding them down) RF separates picture 1 RF separates picture 2 The new Rockford Stealthboxes (let me guess, they probably will call them Punch boxes or something).


SCOSCHE/EFX
Scosche released some new capacitor buss bars (featured in several ads already). In addition, they are featuring caps with the monitors on the top as well as an in-dash capacitor monitor. Its half din, has 20 LED and its basically a digital VU meter in your dash. After about two years of dragging their feet, they finally released a twisted pair RCA. It has a cool braided nylon jacket, and all the features you would expect when you have 2 years to catch up.
SONY
Sony's has been trying to push MD for years in the US. After going back to the drawing board (marketing wise, plus the fact DCC is pretty much dead) Sony gave MD a big push in Japan, followed by one in Europe, and now its the US's turn. It has dropped the price of most of the MD gear, trying to get it to a level where people can afford it. They introduced a MD receiver, a MD changer that dropped from $700 to $500. In addition, they have added the rotary knob that the CDX-910 has on some other models. The coolest thing I got to see (I didn't see any of the ES stuff, but was told that the CDX 910 was going to be replaced at some point later on in the year) was the double din deck. Cassette and CD with CD/MD controller built in. It lacked a detachable face or anything close. So, you might be in trouble if you leave this in your car in a bad neighborhood. It also seems pretty plain compared to the Pioneer, Alpine and Eclipse double din decks but I'm sure its also much cheaper. Sony's MD Player Picture 1 Sony's MD Player Picture 2 Sony's MD Player Picture 3 Sony Double Din Headunit
SOUNDSTREAM
Soundstream replaced the Reference series amplifiers with the new Rubicon (you can probably take a peak at www.soundstream.com if you want to peak at what they look like). Some of the new features include: RUBI (rapid-use branched impulse) power supply delivers enormous low impedance low frequency stability STACT (Stabilized Apex Current Topology) architecture that reduces power supply stress by 50% to significantly increase amplifier efficiency while ensuring open response and detailed imaging Harmonic Bass Alignment that redirects second and third harmonics to fundamental peaks at low frequencies for tight, well defined bass response Hawkins Bass Control which provides focused subwoofer boost and routes otherwise wasted amplifier power to the audible bandwidth (fixed, variable or parametric depending on model number) Trident Protection topology that safeguards against thermal, dead short and voltage inconsistencies. They also added a front "spoiler" (what they hell were they thinking when they called it a spoiler?) that covers up the wire connections. Needless to say, every Rubicon amp is new. They have a Rubicon 1002, 702, 502, 302, 202 and 102 in two channel models (similar to the Ref. 1000s, 700s, etc). In the multi-channel, we have the 805, 604, 405, 404 and 204 (again, similar to the models from the reference series). The Class A series has expanded. The Class A 5.2 (cheating... I mean sleeping beauty as SS likes to refer to it) is rated at 1/4 watt x 2 at 4 ohms and puts out 500 watts into low impedance (come on IASCA, what are you waiting for to step in? Unless they do something, everyone is going to have to come out with rating numbers like these to be able to get the SPL crowd's business). They also released a Renoir to go along with the Picasso (2 x 50 watts). Supposed to be an audiophile piece (with all the goodies that the Picasso has). The Class A gets the "spoilers" as well. Soundstream also changed the Airbass remote to the Airbass2000 (ugly as hell if you ask me, with none of the labels being labeled in the brochure I picked up). Soundstream also released a Rubicon subwoofer line. Looks a lot like the Reference line but with a little different cosmetic. The SPL speaker line looks unchanged as well (although they have a "NEW FOR 1998 SPL" blurb at the bottom of the page. New for 1998 is the SPL 170 and the SPL Mule. The SPL 170 is the next step after the SPL 160. A 15" sub, dual voice coil, two heatsinks attached to the backplate and another between the frame and top plate, double stacked magnet, threaded connectors that take up to a 8 gauge wire are just some of the cool features. Retail for $450-$509. The Mule was designed specifically for SPL competitions with it putting out its highest output at 60 Hz. It also has a heatsink, extended pole piece, flat spider, pulp cone, vented pole piece and high temperature voice coil wire and adhesives. It does have what appears to be a stamped frame, which seems like a minus for the SPL sub category. Although not new, the 2-ohm separates and coaxials seem like a great idea. Buy a 2 ohm stable amp, buy some 2 ohm drivers and get the most out of the amp. Some of the "biggest" news from Soundstream was that they bought out Stewart Products (who were manufacturing the amps for them). This "news" was supposed to put SS back on track with the DaVinci and other amps. (Oops, did I mention that the Tarantula wasn't even mentioned in the new brochure.... Oops.) Funny thing is that Stewart was making the amps all along from the D100s to the Rubicons and everything in between (funny that they don't mention that and Wade Stewart designed the Ref 500). So, it just seems SS found a scapegoat for some of its quality control and missed ship dates problems by blaming Stewart. New Class A Soundstream Amplifiers New Rubicon Series Amplifiers New SPL170 Subwoofer


STREETWIRES
There's some new stuff here. A 7 cell battery that looked like a capacitor bank, a battery with a built in distribution block/fuse holder on top and some cool new looking accessories. I saw a video that shows you why Streetwires is the best shit out there. Talked to Phil for a little while. He really knows his stuff, and had a few funny stories to tell (like the customer whose cap was busted because the light wouldn't come one (thought the little vent would light up like one of those eyes in the Delco batteries). A picture of the Streetwire battery with a built in fuse and distribution A fuse holder (bad picture, I know) that holds 4 high current ANL blade fuses.
XTANT
First off, Xtant released some new amplifiers. Not as feature packed as the other stuff we are used to. No built in fan, they are called the Marathon Music Machines. They have a row of heatsinks across the topside (see attached picture). Still has internal docking ports and most of the features of the most expensive stuff is available as well, only that you have to buy optional cards to do it. They have three models, a mono 125-watt, a 2 x 50 watt and a 4 x 50 watt. The cosmetics are OK (the other stuff looks better). They do include the same product warranty as the other stuff, which is an added bonus (4-year parts and labor). They don't have the RCA outputs like the A and X series amps or the fan cooling system. All the amps are going to start shipping with a polished cover instead of the brushed stainless steel cover they have now in a few weeks. The amps look VERY nice (probably won't cost anymore either). I think that they have a new A series amp coming out, a 3 channel 50x2 + 100x1 (not sure if its new or not). The rest of the product line seems to be the same to me. They did have Julian Zamora's Corvette in the booth and another car (don't remember what it was). Overall they had a nice display going on. Three pictures of the new Xtant stuff, including the new M series amps. xtant amplfier picture 1 xtant amplfier picture 2 Xtant Amplfier Picture 3


ZAPCO
After all the cool stuff they released last year, I didn't really seem much in the Zapco booth. I'm sure some people got to take a close look at some of the stuff in the Zapco booth, but being a non-Zapco guy, I didn't really get a chance to see much of anything.
NONE OF THE ABOVE
There was tons of cool non-car audio gear. Panasonic introduced a portable DVD player with a screen attached. It's about the size of a small paperback book opened up. Part of the appeal of DVD is the sound that comes with the standard, but this is still quite a product. In addition, it seems that just about everywhere I went they had a huge HDTV flat screen TV. They had one in the Marantz booth, in the Sony booth, in the Pioneer booth - you name it. Very impressive, but very expensive. One of the biggest problems seems to have been the controversy surrounding the DVD vs. Divx format. In essence, Divx plays DVD discs as well as Divx discs. Divx discs are designed to be bought, taken home and played during a 48-hour period. After that, you have to pay to see them again. In addition, they want to have your Divx player hooked to a phone line so they can bill you if you watch the movie again. In addition, if you take the Divx movie to another house during the 48-hour period, it won't play on another Divx player without having to pay again. DVD players won't play the new Divx media, so it looks like some people will be left out in the cold. Seems that studios wanted a bigger piece of the pie, so they decided to try to grab the whole damn thing. This could just kill DVD or at least seriously wound its chances. Leave it to the guys who spend $200 million on a movie to whine that they aren't making enough money. I saw some cool stuff at the Alexis Park hotel. One home speaker was a speaker with an 8" dome used in a bipolar array. Sounded great and looked pretty impressive. I tried a set of headphones that simulated surround sound with just 2 channel headphones. I swear these things had me fooled (the stuff sounded great). Saw some wild looking audio gear (like some huge amps, speakers and wild looking turntables). Some pictures are enclosed of everything. Yup, This is a turntable. Probably costs more then my car and system combined. Probably don't sound any better. What's a CES report without Terri Weigel?!? These speakers are about as thick as the brochure they handed out with them. Try running these wires into your door (they probably cost more then most people's stereos as well). Focal subs in a very stealth enclosure in a Tahoe or Suburban. This was in the DLS booth. DLS had this shipped over on a boat for the show. The car is also the guys daily driver (showed me the rock chips on it and everything). DLS Peugot Picture 1 DLS Peugot Picture 2 DLS Peugot Picture 3 DLS Peugot Picture 4 A monster amp from this new company called Chronic (I think its owned by Snoop Doggy Dog :P ) Home audio guys can get this amp in any one of these colors. (Damn I'm jealous..) More of the same... Monster home amps. One is standing besides a lamp and the other has a CD in front of it to show scale. Monster Amp Picture Monster Amp Picture w/ CD Speaking of color, Asian manufacturers figured people would want these colors and patterns for their woofers (one of them had a felty feel to it). This was the car in the Tsunami booth (metra's new line of audio cables). Allegedly, the car is a Sunfire or Cavalier. Tsunami Picture 1 Tsunami Picture 2 Tsunami Picture 3 Tsunami Picture 4 Tsunami Picture 5 Tsunami Picture 6 Interesting pictures. The new home audio velodyne line has two voicecoils, one in the front and one in the rear. This thing also has two spider assemblies,one in the regular spot, and one hanging off the back of the magnet. Pretty wild stuff. Velodyne Picture 1 Velodyne Picture 2 And finally, more absurd stuff! Those speakerwire stands are to keep the wires from picking up interference from the earth's magnetic fields. These guys also featured a cable using coax TV cable with an adaptor threaded on each end to convert it into RCA cable! Guys working the room were very nice (gave me a very in depth demo last year) but some of the stuff is voodoo to me (and to scientists as well). Spooky item photo!