LAS VEGAS, 16 January 2007 — Years ago there was a popular PC game called “Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds.” In that game Freddi had to bring a clock to a character named “Ray” in order to get hold of a “Superduper Dooka Booka Poly Gizmo.” The Gizmo was a box which, when activated, allowed Freddi to pass through a net and grab the prize on the other side. That’s how it is with Home Theater today. Consumers need many Superduper Dooka Booka Poly Gizmos in order to be able to gain the prize — a magnificent high definition viewing experience.
In some places there’s only a limited interest in Home Theater but here in the Kingdom, since we don’t have public movie theaters, everybody would like to be able to create the theater experience at home. Last week, the sights and sounds of home theater technologies were featured attractions at the 2007 International CES.
“The latest advancements in audio and video technologies are driving the home theater market to new heights,” said Karen Chupka, senior vice president of events and conferences for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the producer of the International CES. “High-definition televisions and high-performance audio systems are in high demand and together are a powerful home theater combination.”
So if you wanted to set up the ultimate home theater experience, what would you put in your living room? In the quest for ideal viewing pleasure, Arab News ruthlessly sorted through the technologies available last week at CES. We listened to high-performance sound systems, stared at high-definition displays and spent hours being massaged by state-of-the-art recliners. It was a tough job, but we somehow managed to drag ourselves out of the chairs long enough to put forward these top-of-the-line picks.
A superb sound system is a basic requirement of any home theater. For true listening pleasure nothing compares to Anthony Gallo’s new Reference 5LS. The long-awaited “Big Brother” to Gallo’s acclaimed Reference 3.1, the Reference 5LS is the culmination of everything Anthony Gallo has learned during a lifetime.
For years Gallo aimed to create sound systems that were readily marketable and in the end retail price was always a consideration in the design. But now the company believes that due to the demand for excellent quality home theater systems there is a market for sound systems that attempt to provide the ideal listening experience regardless of price.
The Reference 5LS builds upon the Reference 3.1’s strengths, achieving even greater performance in virtually every aspect of sound quality. Measuring a full 78” in height, this state-of-the-art line source spans the gamut of frequency- and dynamic-range, yet its slender 7” width and 11” depth enable it to be incorporated beautifully into most decorating schemes.
The cornerstone of the Reference 5LS’ standards-setting performance is a patented CDTTM tweeter, whose power-handling, off-axis response and efficiency approach the textbook definition of ideal. Midrange drivers employ Gallo’s Spherical Enclosure Technology which virtually eliminates enclosure resonance and diffraction while enabling broad dispersion. The 5LS is also the world’s first speaker to use multiple CDT tweeters: To form the line array, Gallo deploys seven CDTs and eight 4” carbon fiber midrange drivers, each housed it its own 5” spherical enclosure. Although most line sources must horizontally offset their various drivers, Gallo alternates Tweeter cylinders with Midrange spheres, one atop the other, in perfect vertical alignment. As a result, the phase and dispersion problems caused by driver offset are entirely eliminated.
Twelve aluminum, rear-firing 4” subwoofer drivers equal the surface area of a 15” driver, but reproduce bass with a speed and transparency that no large driver can approach. The tubular stainless steel bass enclosure is stuffed with Gallo’s S2 acoustic fill, which further enhances the quality and quantity of low frequency output. Capable of being driven by a single, capable amplifier, the 5LS allows the options of bi- or tri-wiring, as well as bi- or tri-amping.
To better understand what this sound system offers, see www.anthonygallo.co.uk/gallo-products/technologies.php and www.soundstagemagazine.com/measurements/test_loudspeakers.htm. Whether judged in terms of its output capabilities, spatial performance, aesthetic appeal or system and room compatibility, Gallo’s Reference 5LS is a delight in design and engineering innovation. The Reference 5LS becomes available in the third quarter of 2007 priced at about $15,000.
Excellent audio can’t be coupled with average video, so bring on the High Definition displays. At CES, Sharp Electronics unveiled a 108-inch LCD television, the world’s largest. The TV becomes available in the summer of 2007 and has not yet been priced. While big and bold, it wasn’t the ideal pick for a home theater system. That honor went to Sony’s Bravia KDL-70XBR3. Available in the spring of 2007 for about $33,000, this Bravia is a 70-inch 1920x1080 progressive flat panel LCD HDTV. It is Sony’s first LCD with x.v.Color which is supposed to get rid of blurry images. The 70-inch Bravia is equipped with Triluminos LED backlighting and 7000:1 dynamic contrast ratio with Advanced Contrast Enhancer (ACE).
The colors on the Bravia are clear and brilliant and the blacks cut amazingly crisp tracks across the screen. And here’s a tip for all you guys who think you know everything about picking out a top quality TV. A growing body of research shows that women are much more sensitive to visualizing shades of color. So it should be the lady of the house who makes the final decision in choosing the perfect home theater display.
As to which gizmos to use to provide content for your home theater, there are two super choices to consider. Sony intends to bridge the gap between the PC and TV with its VAIO TP1 Living Room computer. The console’s small spherical shape is designed to fit next to an LCD TV. It can record, pause and rewind live TV — including over-the-air high-definition and standard-definition programming — for on-demand playback. It can also access Internet television shows and other videos on the web. Engineered to be easy to use, the unit connects to a high-definition television via an included HDMI cable, delivering digital video and multi-channel audio to the TV through a single cable. The console also comes equipped with a remote control and a matching, wireless keyboard ergonomically designed to fit on your lap so you can surf the web and check e-mail without the added restraint of tangled cords. The VAIO TP1 Living Room PC will be available in March for about $1,600.
For easy viewing of HD movies, you’ll need to invest in a dedicated player. At CES, LG Electronics unveiled the Super Multi Blue, the first player that can play discs from the competing Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats. LG hopes that a dual format player will jumpstart the purchase of HD content. The player will be available in the US beginning the first week of February for $1,199.
While users of the new LG player can take advantage of all the interactive features included on Blu-ray discs, Super Multi Blue is currently limited to simply playing HD DVDs without their interactive functions. Super Multi Blue will play 1080p content, currently the highest possible video resolution available, and has an HDMI 1.2 output.
Now that all the gizmos have been selected to create that superduper home theater, there’s one more essential piece of equipment required for the ideal entertainment environment — a really comfortable chair. Let us recommend the Inada Relax Robo. The Relax Robo maximizes room space as it requires no extra back space since the chair slides forward in the reclining position.
For massage, the chair features a see-saw 3D roller mechanism that offers a maximum extrusion of 6 cm for deep kneading. The Automatic Shiatsu Point Locator Function uses optic sensors to find shiatsu points that vary according to body type. The Relax Robo is equipped with Voice Control Function, so the massage can be controlled by voice command. The chair is covered in Italian leather and is purchased customized in any one of 50 colors. The Relax Robo retails for $12,000. That might seem a lot to pay for a chair, but if you’re already purchasing the 70-inch display and the Reference 5LS sound system, you can afford it.