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Mark Levinson ships activity-based No. 502 Media Console
You know you're an enthusiast when an AV receiver isn't good enough for you and you go the separates route. But leave it to Mark Levinson to give cash-saturated folks another level again. The No. 502 is kicking off a new product series for the company, and indeed the world -- at least that's what Mark Levinson would have you believe -- it's not a mere "A/V processor," but a "Media Console." We're sure the performance is top-notch with the Faraday cage chassis, six HDMI (cough, 1.1, cough) inputs, phase-matched bass management and Gennum VXP broadcast-quality video processing; and certainly the design is a far cry from what we envision when we hear "media console." But at the asking price of about $30,000, we'd like to see gear that does more than bundle an AV processor with Harmony-like activity functionality. Still, it is a gorgeous bit of machinery that screams "high end" without screaming -- check out the pics after the break. [Via CEPro]
Making a case for a "separates" approach to HD
It's no wonder HD fans have a high incidence of chronic upgrade-itis; it goes hand-in-hand with the forever forward march of technology. Most of us build our HT setups around an A/V receiver -- exotics aside, all the functionality in a receiver can provide good value. But when the upgrade fever strikes, replacing the bundled switching, decoding and amplifying tasks is a lot of "purchase inertia" to overcome. The system-building approach advocated by the linked article (written over a year ago) presents an interesting alternative to the receiver-based system: separate the video and audio chores. Admittedly we're into a fairly high price point here, probably in the $2k receiver range. But if that's how you roll, consider if the larger "up front" cost to a video processor and receiver fits with your view of "price vs. performance."
NAD intros new processor-tuner-preamp, amps
NAD Electronics has announced a new preamp-tuner-processor and two new amplifiers for HT duty. Preamp-tuner-processor is a mouthful -- couldn't they just say "ampless receiver"? The T175 (NAD's T744 receiver pictured) preamp-tuner-processor takes NAD's "less is more" approach in user interface but doesn't skimp on the features, with four HDMI 1.3 inputs capable of passing 1080p, Audyssey room correction/calibration, and TI's Aureus 7.1 DSP for surround sound decoding. The T975 and T955 amps are, wouldn't you know, 7- and 5- channel amps that deliver 140- and 100- Watts per channel, respectively. This gear is in the high-end separates part of the market, with the T175 and T955 coming in at $1,999 each, and the T975 a wallet-busting $2,499.
