New Products - Jan. 2002
Hot gear from the world of home entertainment
(continued)
Sony
The superconvergent Sony Dynamo Vaio MX personal computer wears many hats —
it’s a PC, a TV, a radio, and both a player and a recorder for DVDs, CDs, and
MiniDiscs. At its heart is a 1.7-GHz Pentium 4 processor with 512 megabytes
of RAM and an 80-gigabyte hard drive, but it also has built-in NTSC and FM tuners,
a CD/DVD-R drive, and a slot for a Sony Memory Stick. With Internet access you
can preset TV recording up to two weeks in advance, and the hard drive can store
up to 90 hours of video, easily burned later to DVD. Pick your connectors: two
IEEE 1394 (FireWire or i.Link), one Ethernet, one serial, one parallel, and
two USB ports; an S-video input and output; an optical digital audio input and
output; and a PC card slot. Price: $2,800. www.sonystyle.com,
800-222-7669
Samsung
Go digital, go widescreen, go flat — go for it all with Samsung’s 30-inch DynaFlat
TSL-3099WHF HDTV monitor. Connected to an HDTV tuner, the direct-view set displays
high-def broadcasts in the 1080i format on its flat 16:9 screen. An advanced
shadow mask is said to improve electron-beam precision and thus picture clarity.
The set is trimmer than comparable direct-view sets, measuring 357/8 x 227/8
x 18 inches and weighing in at 155 pounds. A dual-tuner picture-in-picture function
can display either two channels side by side or one inset within the other.
There are two wideband component-video inputs for HDTV signals as well as four
composite- and two S-video inputs. A universal remote control is supplied. Price:
$2,799. www.samsungusa.com,
800-726-7864
Standesign
If you can’t install a rear-access door in your home theater component rack,
Standesign’s BCM retractable component rack seems like the next best thing.
The rack neatly tucks inside a wall, sliding up to 50 inches out on a removable
gantry when you need to add a component or make adjustments. Its cable-management
system will keep your wires from getting tangled when you slide everything back
in. You can add as many modular shelves as you need to hold your gear, spaced
8, 10, or 12 inches apart. Prices: rack, $599; gantry, $249; shelves, $99 each.
www.standesign.com, 612-706-9250
Terk
Ready to launch yourself into satellite radio? Besides a compatible car tuner,
you’ll need a special car antenna like Terk’s TRK-SR1 (shown) or TRK-SR2, both
of which receive XM Satellite Radio (but not its competitor, Sirius). The glass-mounted
SR1 attaches to a side window with a strong adhesive and feeds signals through
the glass, so no modification to your vehicle is required. You can fold down
the 10-inch rod when there’s low headroom, and a sleeve protects it in the car
wash. The stealthier SR2 can be mounted on the roof or trunk; it’s about the
size of a computer mouse. Mounting hardware, cables, and connectors are supplied
for both models. Prices: SR1, $100; SR2, $80. www.terk.com,
631-543-1900
MB
Quart
The on-wall speaker line from MB Quart starts with the 13 x 7 x 6-inch QL A80
Balcony DS shown here, which when mounted on a side wall has a forward-firing
5 1/4-inch woofer and two angled 1/2-inch titanium tweeters. One tweeter is
coaxially mounted with the woofer for precise imaging, the other fires toward
the rear to create a more diffuse soundfield. Flip a switch, and one tweeter
is turned off for rear-wall mounting. The QL A50 Balcony Classic, with a 4-inch
woofer, looks similar. Designed for corners and shaped like a one-eighth sphere,
the magnetically shielded QL A46 Octa has a 3/4-inch tweeter and a 5 1/4-inch
woofer. Each speaker comes with its own durable mounting gear. Prices per pair:
A80, $499; A50 $399; A46, $249. www.mbquart.com,
800-962-7757



