Home Theater View

NHT Leaves, Returns; Miss Them Much?

NHT (aka Now Hear This) has been a respected mid-tier speaker manufacturer based in the U.S. since 1986, but as the recession hit earlier this year, they chose to shut down product development and manufacturing, take some time off, and approach the market fresh. They weren't bankrupt - at least not yet - they just saw their distribution channel erode as independent dealers and custom installers went out of business, and their price points crept up to the point where they were out of line with economic realities. Some of this was driven by rising commodity prices, some by a disconnect with changing consumer priorities.

Somehow I missed this story. Anyway, after just a few months off, they're back.

They've shrunk their product line nearly in half, and are selling and distributing online-only. If this sounds similar to the Outlaw model, it is, only NHT isn't just selling direct, you can buy from amazon, Audio Advisor, OneCall, and a few others. This eliminates dealer reps, salespeople, and lots of shipping, so prices are down 20% as well. They're killing all print ads because the goal of print ads was to drive prospects to the dealers, though they will do online advertising because they need to drive sales somehow.

Post CES Thoughts and Unintended Poetry

As usual, I attended CES 2009 and spent a lot more time talking with mobile devices vendors (my day job) than home theater. This was a good strategy for anyone this year because the Palm pre stole the show, but there were still plenty of thin LCD TVs, 3D TV, mobile TV, and a few speakers and receivers sprinkled throughout the sprawling show floor. I didn't make it to the Hilton, where most of the high end audio was housed, at all. Still, it's hard to avoid home theater when you have to attend press conferences from Sony, Samsung, LG, Toshiba, etc. and walk the show floor.

After talking to the Dolby Mobile folks, I was pressed into sitting through a terrific demo of Dolby IIz, which adds a (derived, not native) height channel. I've been using Yamaha receivers for years that perform the same trick, so I could certainly appreciate the notion - Dolby seems to be going more for sound placement (i.e., making it sound like the helicopter is hovering above you), while Yamaha is intended for room augmentation (i.e., making it sound like your room is bigger). The 9 minute demo certainly sounded great, but if I listened to my own home theater at those volume levels I'd be deaf before the end of the movie.

I also saw the latest generation of DLP in both super-large format (Optoma's HD8200 projector) and small (TI-powered pico projectors for use with cellphones were everywhere). I stopped by the Optoma booth to see the pico projector, and stayed for a short demo of the HD8200 on a 2:35 screen in a completely dark room. They were playing a clip from I Am Legend, a movie I have only seen in projector demos, so I know the clip well. Contrast ratio and black levels were insanely good, but there was weird artifacting that appeared just before fast motion content that drove me crazy. It could be an issue with the setup, the source, or a bug in a preproduction demo unit, but if I had bought that system, I'd be returning it.

Finally, at the Sony press conference the swag was an eco-friendly bamboo fiber bag, which feels like silk and is apparently intended to be used (and reused) for grocery shopping. Or something. When I unpacked it after the show, I noticed that the care tag is unintentionally poetic and hilarious, a sort of bad translation haiku:

CAUTION
Do not close to fire
Only for shipping bag
Hand wash
Washing will shirink slightly
Only non-chlorine blench
Wet dark cloth will fadeing
The color will fading under sunlight or fluorescence for long time

Profound.

-avi

Klipsch vs. Klipsch

Another one from the email bag today:

I've been searching for a great sounding speaker system for computer use (Pc & MacBook Pro in the near future). I mainly want it for music, it will also be used for movies & games since I have a 40" connected to my pc. I've heard a bunch of systems, but nothing stands out of the crowd (I like to hear all sounds in a track as recorded). I ended up deciding on the (Axiom Audio Audiobytes and EPZero Subwoofer) till I read your review of them. What is your choice since I do listen to Trance & Hip Hop and do a little mixing? I noticed you like the Klipsch 2.1. Is that your favorite choice? I don't mind spending around $500 if the system is well worth it.

My preferred PC speakers are the Klipsch ProMedia 5.1, which Klipsch discontinued way back in 2003. I have tested several systems since then, including the Axiom AudiBytes and Logitech’s Z5500 5.1 THX system, and I still prefer the old Klipsch. The Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system looks similar to the 5.1 in photos, but it is not even close in terms of specifications. The speakers have different frequency response ranges, different maximum output levels, and different materials. The 2.1 subwoofer is much smaller and has a completely different configuration. As soon as I find a speaker system that beats the Klipsch I’ll write about them – and probably ask to buy the review samples – but thus far I haven’t.

-avi

Odds and Ends

Logitech sent over Z-5 Omnidirectional notebook speakers. They're not going to put my Klipsch THX speakers of business (not by a long shot), but you need to remember that they're powered entirely via USB and don't take up too much desk space. Simplicity is clearly the goal here; the last USB-powered speakers I looked at, Altec Lansing's XT1's were designed with portability in mind. Compared to the XT1's, Logitech's Z-5's play extremely loud and sound extraordinary. They should make a great holiday gift for the notebook user who listens to music through fuzzy notebook speakers.

Logitech also sent over triple.fi 10 pro's from their recent Ultimate Ears acquisition, and I had them on hand at the recent Apple "Let's Rock" event, where I pitted them up against Apple's upcoming $79 in-ear headphones.

You get what you pay for - on both ends of the price spectrum. For $79, the Apple headphones sounded great - easily competitive with the low end of Shure and etymotic's range, and they blow away Bose's in-ear efforts (I can't comment on UE's entry level headphones, as I haven't listened to them). But they couldn't hold a candle - on bass or midrange - with the $399 UE's triple.fi 10 pro's. I was also annoyed that the Apple headphones are not fully compatible with the iPhone, just the iPod touch and new nano. (That new nano needs to be felt to be believed - it is vanishingly thin and the colors are gorgeous. Apple did a really nice job with this one.)

I'm really enjoying the triple.fi headphones, and finally had a chance to do some quick listening tests vs. one of their main competitors: Shure's $499 SE530. For natural, neutral sound quality, the SE530's are incredible, as well they should be at that price. The UE triple.fi 10 pro is a bit less neutral and seems to amp up the body of bass and warmth of the lower midrange - which is often lacking on headphones. Both are equally revealing, but I would describe the sound of the UE's as more "fun. Which is better? It's a matter of taste. While I suspect the Shure's are more accurate, listening to rock and pop with the UE's is more involving.

But my favorite headphones for the iPhone (and any phone with a 3.5mm jack, which includes most new RIM BlackBerries, Nokia's XpressMusic line, and select LG and Samsung phones) are still Shure's SE530's with the Shure iPhone microphone adapter, pictured below. They sound great with the compressed music you have on an iPhone, have the most comfortable shaped foam earplugs in the industry, and the modular design allows you to swap out various cord lengths or accessories.

 

Is it a Receiver or a PC?

CEDIA and IFA news is filling up my inbox, but one press release jumped out at me. I've seen similar features from other manufacturers (Onkyo immediately comes to mind), but the emphasis on digital media features in a new receiver from Yamaha was a big enough shift for me to write about it. Here's the headline:

NEW YAMAHA RX-Z7 7.1 CHANNEL HOME THEATER RECEIVER EXPANDS ON YAMAHA’S HIGHLY ACCLAIMED Z-SERIES, OFFERING SOPHISTICATED HOME ENTERTAINMENT AND BEST-IN-CLASS HD PERFORMANCE

Well that sounds like any other high end super receiver. But wait, here's the subhead:

Following the Lead of the Company’s Flagship RX-Z11; The RX-Z7 Integrates iPod, Bluetooth, HDRadio, Satellite and Internet Radio, and Rhapsody Playback with Pure HD Sound and Picture in a Versatile Multi-Zone Digital Media Hub

If this makes it seem like Yamaha is not trying to differentiate the receiver with amplifier channels or surround sound decoding -- the traditional reasons to buy a receiver -- you'd be right. Here's the third paragraph of the release:

Offering DLNA support and compatibility with Windows Vista, the RX-Z7 can stream music files (WAV, Mp3, WMA, AAC) stored on locally networked PCs and other devices, as well as Internet radio streams (Mp3, WMA). In addition to supporting SIRIUS Internet Radio*, the unit offers full compatibility with Rhapsody, giving users unrestricted, on-demand access to the subscription music service’s enormous selection of content spanning virtually every genre, style and taste. The RX-Z7 also integrates with Yamaha’s MusicCAST system, providing access to as many as 40,000 songs that can be stored on that system. The AV receiver can display album artwork through its GUI to take user engagement to a new level.

That sounds like a PC media extender, not a receiver. The fifth paragraph really takes it above and beyond:

The RX-Z7 is the ultimate AV receiver for iPod users. It easily connects to Apple iPods via the optional iPod docking station (Yamaha YDS-11; MSRP $99.95). Once docked, the iPod can be operated via the receiver’s remote controls. A one cable connection allows users to view the iPod’s operating status (song title, artist, album with cover art), as well as video and pictures on a television monitor. Docked iPods charge automatically, so they’re always ready for a road trip. Giving users even more ways to access their music, the RX-Z7 boasts two USB ports that adhere to the Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) for playback of Mp3, WMA, WAV and AAC audio files from a portable player or USB drive.

For those who keep music stored on their phones or other Bluetooth-enabled devices, the RX-Z7 is compatible with Yamaha’s optional YBA-10 Bluetooth Wireless Audio Receiver (SRP $129.95), which enables wirelessly streaming audio to the AV receiver. 

... The RX-Z7 also supports iTunes tagging, so when users hear a favorite song on HD Radio, they can instantly bookmark it to their iTunes account.

XM Radio and HD Radio support are also on board, as are multiple channels of amplification, video scaling, HDMI switching, and multi-room support. Still, the differentiating features are all about managing PC-derived digital media.

High end receivers have always been about offering lots of features and flexibility. But when you emphasize streaming media, Vista support, Bluetooth, and extensive iPod integration, it sure sounds like a PC to me. Why not just put an HDMI switch and amplification unit in a PC? All the digital media management is already on there as is video scaling and surround sound decoding. Yes, the inside of a PC is an electrically noisy place, and putting amps inside would require a different power supply. But these are design issues that can be (and already have been) overcome in other contexts.

Logitech Buying Ultimate Ears

Logitech announced today that it is buying high end earbud vendor Ultimate Ears. UE is best known for $1000+ custom headphones for professional musicians, but it also has a line of consumer headphones in the $40 - $400 range. Its business model is incredibly similar to Shure - both come from professional audio (initially microphones in Shure's case) and branched out into the consumer space. In contrast, etymotic's background was in hearing aids, and V-MODA seems to have come from the fashion world.

Without the custom business, Ultimate Ears is just another headset vendor, and its brand differentiation will be difficult for Logitech to maintain. But if Logitech leaves the core custom business alone, it can definitely build up the consumer side -  Ultimate Ears could definitely use better distribution and broader consumer awareness; Logitech excels in these areas - just look at what they did with Harmony (speaking of which, I just got in a Harmony One remote control; a review will follow shortly).

In terms of how Ultimate Ears actually sound, I have no idea. I have tested most of the competition - Shure, etymotic, Sennheiser, Sony, v-moda, and Bose, to name a few. I should be getting in some Ultimate Ears product soon for comparison.

Sonos 2.0

Sonos announced several upgrades today to its whole-house audio system (my review of the original system is here).

The receiver modules have shrunk in size, have been upgraded with an upgraded version of Sonos' proprietary wireless mesh networking technology, and the one with an internal amplifier (the ZonePlayer 120) has gotten more power. The software has been upgraded, and it now supports ridiculously large music collections (65,000 songs), OS X Leopard, and NAS devices (networked hard drives, which means you can listen to your own songs without turning on your PC).

What hasn't changed:

• The Controller 100 ($399) gets no upgrades. It was well designed to begin with, though it is a bit bulky. It also no longer has quite the same wow factor, as it mimics Apple's last generation of music devices (the clickwheel iPods), rather than the current touchscreen models.
• A separate charging cradle ($39.99) for the Controller is an essential add-on that Sonos released a while back, but there are still no in-wall versions of the cradle.
• There is still no boombox option; the ZonePlayer 90 assumes you're hooking it up to a stereo system, iPod dock, or powered speakers, while the ZonePlayer 120 assumes you have a spare pair of speakers lying around. Sonos sells a pair of inexpensive, very high quality speakers for use with the ZonePlayer 120, but I've always thought that Sonos ought to build self-contained units for use in kitchens, home offices, and bathrooms.
• There is still no weatherproof outdoors option.

A complete Sonos system is incredibly cost effective when compared to custom installed wired multi-room alternatives. But it is still pricey overkill for filling just one or two rooms with sound; two iPods and two iPod docks runs less than half the cost of a Sonos. The direct competition is starting to catch up; Logitech's Squeezebox Duet (pictured here on the right) undercuts Sonos on price and has a similar scroll wheel controller (the Duet costs $399 and includes a receiver; the equivalent Sonos Controller + ZP90 combo costs $748). One major difference is in ease of setup - Sonos wins hands down, in part because Sonos doesn't require a PC or a wireless network. I have tested Logitech's predecessor, the Squeezebox, and found its basic remote and user interface nearly unusable; I plan to test the Duet and future products in Logitech's line shortly.

-avi

Product Review: Axiom Audio Audiobytes and EPZero Subwoofer

Axiom has been trying to get me to review a set of speakers from their home theater surround lineup, but I asked to start with something smaller, so they suggested their Audiobytes PC speaker system. I’ve been using what counts as “high end” speaker systems in the PC world on my media center PC for nearly a decade. My primary PC speaker system is a Klipsch THX Pro Media 5.1, which I have pitted against a 5.1 THX setup from Logitech, 2.1 systems from Altec Lansing, and others over the years. Axiom’s Audiobyte system consists of up to four pieces: modest sized left and right speakers and an enormous desktop amplifier/volume control that I struggled to find room for on my desk ($349 for all three); and a subwoofer roughly the same size as a full sized PC desktop case that will almost certainly be placed right next to it ($179). The speakers can be ordered in some fairly exotic enclosure materials (from various types of wood to bold designer colors), which is fairly common in high end audio and home theater, but quite unusual for PC speakers. For review purposes I asked for a set in basic black (pictured to the left; the subwoofer is pictured separately, below).

The system arrived in two large, heavy boxes (large enough that visitors to my office could not believe that they contained a PC speaker system). All the cables required to hook up the system are included. The cables don’t offer the most flexibility in placement, but since most users will just be flanking their computer monitor with the speakers, super-long cables aren’t required. There are small rubber “feet” you can add to the speakers, but no stands. This is a shame, because the speakers will obviously be used on a desk, and in most situations, that will be below ear level; angled stands would be a big help.

The amplifier unit serves all the speakers; the subwoofer does not have its own power supply and amplifier. The amp glows blue around the volume control and never got more than warm after hours of continuous use. The large amp does seem to have an effect on the system’s capabilities, imbuing the Audiobytes with tremendous dynamic range – they can play ridiculously loud without distortion. For example, John Williams’ “Hedwig’s Theme” from Harry Potter goes from quiet to over-the-top brassy; the quiet sections were clear and full, and then – boom, it’s loud! – but without any sibilance on the horns. Some of this power is wasted on a near-field product like a PC system where you have a defined listening position – most listeners will be no more than three feet or so from the speakers at any time. Still, it’s nice to have gobs of power on reserve, even if there’s no way anyone will ever push the amplifier beyond mid-point before going deaf.

The main speakers and amplifier combination is more neutral and analytical than warm. Pianos were rendered realistically, which is quite hard to do and rarely achieved on PC systems. Female vocals were also good, but not great, mostly because the sound is overly localized to the little speaker. Similarly, drum kits were loud and crisp but were still sounded like they emanated from a little box three feet away rather than from a real drum set farther back. In short, they sound better than most PC speakers, but you can’t expect audiophile nirvana for $350. 

Still, the system’s clarity is excellent. The mark of a good PC or iPod speaker system – you can easily tell which songs have been recorded at higher bit levels – is achieved here. Better sources sound better. I also found that the added fidelity and ability to raise endlessly raise the volume is useful beyond music when used with a PC – a webcast with poor audio quality was much clearer and easier to follow.

However, despite the big subwoofer, at anything less than ear-bleeding levels, the EPZero generated very little bass. The sub has three setting: “flat,” “half,” and “full.” It badly needs something beyond “full,” say, a “Spinal Tap” setting that takes it to 11. On Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music” her vocals were crystal clear and the bass had wonderful tone – there just wasn’t that much of it. I wasn’t sure what was going on here, so I tried the “full” setting and played an even more bass-heavy dance track, “SOS.” On the Klipsch system played at the same volume level, the room shakes. On the Axiom, the bass is extremely tight – ‘bob your head’ tight, not ‘shake your rear’ tight. It worked well enough for classical and indie rock (Jonathan Coulton never sounded better), but the Axiom system isn’t the best system to listen to house, electronic, or hip hop unless you prefer listening at levels loud enough to damage your hearing.

The lack of bass at reasonable volumes really bothers me, and the high price doesn’t help matter, so I had fully expected to end my review on a negative note. But the longer I listened to music on the Audiobytes, the more I enjoyed them. The main speakers have a very neutral, open, non-fatiguing sound. They sound good. Would I spend $350 for them? Probably not. But I’m quite reluctant to let Axiom know that I’ve completed the review and ask for a shipping account number to use to return them.

Product Review: mStation 2.1 Stereo Tower

Against my parents' wishes, all my aunts and uncles got together and bought me a cheap stereo system as a Bar Mitzvah gift. (My parents would have preferred a set of Talmud, a computer, sports equipment - literally anything that wasn't a stereo system I could use to blast horrible rock and roll and annoy my father. Yes, I grew up in the movie Footloose.) It was a thing of beauty: a Fisher record player/tape deck/am/fm radio and a pair of speakers that were at least three feet tall. Oh, those speakers were huge, and the system could play much louder than my parents would like. I was happy.

It didn't take long before I realized that while the speaker cabinets were huge, there was only a single, mid-sized full range driver in each of those big boxes. Similarly, when I unscrewed the 1/8" particleboard side panels from the stereo component box, I discovered there was mostly air inside. When you turned it up an played it loud (genuinely loud, not the "it's too loud! Turn that horrible music off" level that I was restricted to when my parents were home) it distorted quickly. The system looked impressive, but performed about as well as its price point probably dictated.

They probably won't appreciate the comparison, but  after a few months living with mStation's 2.1 Stereo Tower, I have concluded that it is the modern incarnation of my old stereo system. It looks great and takes up a lot of space, but its sound quality -- while much better than that old Fisher -- is limited by its price point.

The mStation is without question one of the largest iPod docks of any kind. The top two columns are the main speakers; thanks to some clever engineering they can be screwed on and rotated slightly outward for some directionality. Unfortunately, the speakers are still too close together to get realistic stereo separation. The main cylinder is a "subwoofer" - a 5" bottom facing driver that generates a fair amount of mid-bass. The bass tends to be boomy, and the driver is still too small to reach truly low bass. Plastic inserts are included to customize the dock to a specific model. Other than the shuffle, every iPod I tried fit, including an iPhone, iPod touch, 1G nano, 2G nano, a 4G iPod, and a current iPod classic. Like many such systems, a remote control is included so that you can control the system from across the room (power, volume up/down, play/pause, FF, RW, and controls to adjust the bass and treble). Unlike a desktop dock, the tower will almost never be within arms reach, so the remote control is extremely useful.

At $299, the mStation 2.1 Stereo Tower can play loud enough to fill a mid-size room with undistorted sound, or a large room if the volume is kept to moderate levels. There are plenty of other choices at the same price point that won't dominate your room, but offer better sound. For example, I pitted the mStation against Logitech's AudioStation ($299, but amazon has it for just $129), and found that the Logitech's sound was richer, with considerably tighter bass. Bose also has a $299 desktop iPod speaker dock with the company's signature sound (boosted midrange and clear highs) that also handily beats the mStation. Of course, neither of those systems double as room furniture. With extensive use of aluminum in the columns, the mStation could be easily confused for a product from Bang & Olufsen; I expect set decorators will use it when creating a "bachelor pad" look for CSI Miami. It looks much more expensive than it is, but it sounds more like its price point.

Product Review: Accell 4x2 HDMI Switcher

HDMI was supposed to bring the home theater world from the confusing age of multiple cables for audio and video (and sometimes multiple audio cables and multiple video cables) down to just a single cable from each component to your display. If your display doesn’t have enough HDMI inputs for all your sources, you need an HDMI switcher or a receiver which has an HDMI switcher built in. Then you need an HDMI cable from the each source to the switcher or receiver, but just one from there to the display. Fortunately, even some budget receivers now have HDMI switching built in (starting around $400), and there are good inexpensive HDMI switchers on the market like the XTremeMac HD Switcher I reviewed last year.

But what if you have two displays?

At least in terms of receivers, you’re in a completely different price category – no $400 receivers for you. The least expensive receivers I could find with dual HDMI outputs are from Onkyo and Denon. Onkyo’s TX-NR905 has extremely high end video processing, advanced room correction that smooths the sound at multiple seats, a ridiculous amount of amplifier power with THX Ultra2 certification, the dual HDMI outputs we’re looking for, and a price tag that ranges from $1500 - $2000 (assuming that you can find one in stock. It seems that they’ve been selling quite well). Unfortunately, only one HDMI output works at a time, and to change between the two HDMI outputs, you either must physically press a button on the front panel to cycle through the settings, or adjust a setting in the menu. Neither option is conducive to automation by a universal remote control which is a fairly common way to use a product in this price category. Denon sells the AVR-4308CI, which is also chock full of features, as you might expect for a product that sells in the $1800 - $2400 range. On the Denon, the dual HDMI outputs are driven in parallel; there is no way to select them individually. This is fine for some situations, but it means that whatever the source device is outputting had better be perfect for both displays if they’re both turned on at the same time (only one display gets to handshake with the source device through the receiver and tell the device what display resolution, frame rate, etc. it wants).

There are several HDMI switchers on the market with dual HDMI outputs, and they’re a lot less expensive than buying a new $2000 receiver. Accell has sent cables here in the past, and when I saw them at CES this year they were showing off an entire line of reasonably priced HDMI switchers, topping out at a 4x8 switcher – four sources hooked up to eight displays for those times when you want your rec room to look like a NASA shuttle launch. The Accell UltraAV HDMI 4-2 Audio/Video Switch is far more reasonable (4 sources to 2 displays), and lists for a very reasonable $299 when most similar switches start at $500; I asked them to send one over for review.

It wasn't perfect, but overall I liked it: it does one thing (switches HDMI signals) for a reasonable cost, and it does it pretty well, though with some caveats. It’s quite small and I had no trouble installing it. I didn’t have a high definition test pattern disc to use, but video quality on real-world material appeared unchanged by the switcher – Ratatouille on Blu-ray from a PS3 looked just as ridiculously good direct from the PS3 or routed through the Accell. The PS3 and my Panasonic projector often have minor handshaking dropouts when loading a disc and making its way to the menus; the instance of dropouts did seem to increase after adding the switch in the chain, but if so, the difference was minor and – honest – I may have imagined the increase. The switch automatically changes the input to whichever source device is on. Since my TiVo HD is always on, I couldn’t test that fully, but it did default to that input. Accell claims that the switch mirrors the source on both outputs (like Denon’s scheme above), but I didn’t find that always worked in the real world – I could usually only lock onto the source on one display at a time. It’s possible that there was a problem in the switch, but I’m willing to bet that it’s a glitch in the way my TV and projector handle HDMI signals or the difference in resolution between the displays (a Panasonic 720p plasma and a Panasonic 1080p LCD projector). For my intended purpose – watching either the TV or the projector, but not both at the same time – the Accell switch worked perfectly.

A small infrared remote control is included that has discrete buttons – and discrete IR codes for those who want to copy them into a universal remote control – for each individual input, power on, power off, and a toggle switch for selecting between outputs A and B. In a really nice touch, an infrared receiver cable is also included so that the switcher can be secluded behind a cabinet. The switch contains a signal booster for longer HDMI cable runs up to 82ft; I was not able to test this, as my longest run is 25ft. The switch is designed for HDMI version 1.2. HDMI version 1.3 is the latest and greatest iteration of the standard, and adds things like Deep Color which have not been implemented yet in any source material. For most people, there is little practical difference between HDMI 1.3 and 1.2, but if complete futureproofing is an absolute requirement, this iteration of the 4x2 Switch isn’t for you.

Accell isn’t the only 4x2 HDMI switcher on the market; Gefen makes one for $549 that has some additional functionality, such as splitting out the audio signal to a coax output, that could be extremely useful in certain setups. And budget cable outfit monoprice.com has a budget model with HDMI 1.3a compatibility for just $89 – I’ll be testing that one next. For $89, if it just turns on I’ll be impressed.

-avi