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Emotiva ERC-2 CD Player

Rick Schmidt

Emotiva continues to occupy an interesting space in the audiophile realm. It is now possible to get an entire two channel or five channel system consisting almost entirely of Emotiva products, CD player or DAC, a preamp, a variety of amplifiers from one to five channels, a pre-pro on the way and interconnects. The Emotiva ERC-2 is a two-channel CD player with balanced outputs for low noise transfer between the CD player and your preamplifier. At $449, this is a player to reckon with.

CD Players

Paradigm SUB 1 Subwoofer

Chris Heinonen

One can never be too rich, too good looking, or have too much bass. The first two axioms are ones that unfortunately I cannot test out myself, but the third is one that I am willing to get a shot. For years Paradigm has delivered some award winning, room rattling subwoofers. The SUB 2 is their most powerful subwoofer, and the SUB 1 isn't far behind. In fact, either one of these top notch subs can blow you out of the room.

Subwoofers

Energy Veritas V-6.3 Speakers (5.1 System)

Jim Clements

Energy speakers have been around since 1973. They came into prominence with the Pro 22 and later with the Veritas v2.8 speakers which were a big hit in the mid 90's. At an MSRP of around $6,000, the Veritas v2.8's were known for an excellent price/performance ratio.  Here, I'll review their latest iteration of the Veritas line, the V-6.3's in an all-Veritas 5.1 system!

Surround Sound Speaker Systems

WireWorld Gold Starlight 6 Digital Interconnects, Eclipse 6 Interconnects, Platinum Eclipse 6 Interconnects, and Eclipse 6 Speaker Cables

John E. Johnson, Jr.

WireWorld makes A/V cables at many price levels, including some that are very, very expensive. While at CES 2011, I spoke with David Salz about his designs, and I was intrigued enough to request some for review. What I received were cables that showed some of the best bench test results I have ever seen in A/V cables. Needless to say, I was very pleased. They are expensive, but life is a bitch when you love quality.

Audio Cables

Sunfire SDS-10 Subwoofer

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Sunfire didn't build the first small subwoofer, but they did begin the trend towards small, powerful subwoofers, characterized by having drivers with long excursion and high power class D amplifiers. The SDS-10 is the 10" model in a line that also has 8" and 12" versions. It uses a front-firing driver with a 10" down-firing passive radiator. The amplifier is rated at 250 watts RMS. For $500 MSRP, I was pretty amazed at its performance. It won't crack the plaster, but it will party hard.

Subwoofers

Velodyne DD-18+ Subwoofer

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Just when you think a product can't get any better, it gets better. Velodyne, renown manufacturer of subwoofers from the very small to the very large, has released its latest very large sub, the DD-18+. It has a 1,250 watt RMS power amplifier (3,000 watts peak) and a frequency response of 14.4 Hz -120 Hz ± 3 dB. The magnet, at 40 pounds, weighs as much as some small subwoofers themselves. The subwoofer uses a Windows software interface, via USB, for setting the room EQ, and the bench test results are the best I have ever seen from Velodyne.

Subwoofers
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Samson to Expand Expedition Line of Portable Sound Systems

Secrets

Hauppauge, NY – February 03, 2010 – Samson Technologies, an industry leading audio technology manufacturer, is excited to announce two new additions to the Expedition family of Portable Sound Systems. Due out in April of this year the XP40iw (wireless) and XP510i will join the highly successful XP308i Portable Sound System. The new models will continue Expedition tradition of delivering powerful single system portable sound and are perfect at a tailgate, backyard barbeque, wedding or Christmas party.

Press