Audioholics Featured Reviews & Articles

We're bringing you the latest updates straight from the show floor of CES 2013. This is the largest electronics trade show of the year and, while several large home theater companies have pulled back to make CEDIA their primary show, CES remains the place to get all of the important gadget, technology and display news for the industry as a whole. With an eye for what's hot, we will update this page throughout the week to bring you the latest and greatest products and revelations from the show floor as they appear.

We walked into the first room which was the EMP room and the first thing we saw was that they were playing Battleship - which if you have or haven't seen it, well, it's like a long series of explosions that lasts about 2 hours. It's the perfect movie to show off what a 5.1 system can do with respect to directionality, soundstage, bass response and overall system coherence. We also enjoyed hearing the clear dialogue which we could credit to the excellent EMP Impression E56Ci Center Channel. Let me back up and tell you a little bit about this system that we demoed. First of all we had the E55Ti Tower speakers, which we are very familiar with and have reviewed. The surrounds were the E55Wi surrounds. Bass was powered by the new ES1010i powered subwoofer, which uses a dual 10-inch poly-matrix cone driver and goes down to 35Hz.

Aperion Audio made an appearance at the 2012 Audioholics Get Together Event in Tarpon Springs, FL with its Aris Wireless Speaker for Windows. The speaker uses four active and two passive internal drivers, including a pair of 1" neodymium soft dome silk tweeters, two powered 4" fiberglass woofers and two 4" passive radiators. The frequency response is 65Hz - 20kHz. We got a chance to listen to this speaker and it was really immersive and loud - in fact, the way it filled up the room we were in was quite impressive given its relatively small size. The Aperion Audio Aris has three different listening modes including Natural, Bass Boost and Enhanced Stereo. The mode we listened to the most is Natural - and the one you want if you want to get the best (most accurate) sound. If you absolutely want more bass you can certainly play with Bass Boost, but we'd leave it in the default.

Angel City Audio showed off their new Trinity LR speakers at the 2012 Audioholics Get Together event. This is a left/right bookshelf model which has a frequency response of 30Hz - 35kHz and a sensitivity of 90dB @ 1w/m. They are about 16" deep but there is also a Trinity Center model that has a slightly reduced frequency response. It plays down to around 55Hz, but it's also reduced in depth (to just 12") so you can better place it on its side as a center channel. Now the great thing about these speakers is that you can combine them in a 2-channel, 3-point, 5-point or whatever type of system you want. The LR can disperse evenly enough to be used as a center, or you can grab the Center model for that. Or you could use a whole system of the Center model if you want something a bit smaller in depth all-around and you plan to use a subwoofer to fill in the missing low end.

We visited the Emotiva room and were fortunate enough to catch Dan Laufman for an interview. Dan at Emotiva had so much to show off this year at the 2012 Audioholics Get Together that we really needed to have him tell us, in his own words, what products were new. Dan complied and, in fact, Emotiva had several different things they were showing off at the show. First off Emotiva was showing off the differences between its Ultra Series amplifiers its X-Series amplifiers and its Reference Series amplifiers. All three five-channel amps were present at the show with their tops removed so attendees could see the guts inside. This showed of the Emotiva build quality which was consistent across all 3 models. Emotiva merely varied the components used within the amplifier to achieve different output power and amplification levels. Incredible build quality and value has been an Emotiva staple since its inception and appears to be going strong moving forward.

HSU Research showed off their speakers and subwoofers at our 2012 GTG event . The big thing was that this room sounded fantastic. First off was the VTF-15H sub in satin black which runs $879. It has two ports in front and the lowest extension is found by plugging one port - which is how it was configured in the listening room we were in. That yields an extension down to 16Hz. We definitely felt that in our demo. For larger room you can open up both ports open which lowers the distortion provided you aren't digging down past a low frequency extension of 22Hz. The system was well integrated and the sub didn't sonically stick out but instead provided deep tactile bass for a great "wow" effect.

We got to listen in the Salk Signature Sound room. Jim Salk brought three sets of speakers to the 2012 Audioholics Get Together Event, but what they were really focusing on were their SoundScape 8 tower speakers. These are the little brother to the Soundscape 10 and 12's and use the same ribbon tweeter and Accuton midrange, but the Soundscape 8 uses two 8" woofers in front in addition to dual side firing 12" passive radiators. Sensitivity is 87db SPL @ 1w/m which means it can be driven by any reasonable amplifier, and it can play down to an impressive 25Hz. This room was a favorite among audiophiles. Based on the sound quality and appearance of Salk speakers, its no mystery as to why.

Every year there are a number of different trade shows for manufacturers to show off their products, but most of the time these events are impersonal and rushed. With the Audioholics GTG, we wanted to create an event that allowed Audioholics staff, vendors, and attendees a more intimate environment that encouraged quality interaction. We created a friendly, no-pressure atmosphere for everyone to listen, talk, and maybe even buy. This goal was part of our larger mission of being able to give something back to the AV community. That's why we didn't charge any registration fees, served a home cooked meal, and held it at a small venue. We also had a private party the night before the event for staff and vendors. And I mean party, including a DJ, dance floor, bellydancer, and full coarse meal, to set a relaxed and friendly pace. Overall, the event was a huge success. Attendance was well above expectations and we had a great time meeting and talking with everyone. We are excited to expand the event for the Audioholics 2013 Annual Get Together at a destination Florida beach location.

Teamed up with our dedicated forum readers and A/V enthusiasts, Audioholics is hosting a "listening" event in appreciation of the audiophile experience. We are just a few short weeks away from this event. Are you registered? We'll be gathering at the Lake Tarpon Resort in Tarpon Springs, Florida on October 26th and 27th for a meet and greet, and to listen to new audio equipment demoed by our sponsors (ie. Salk Sound, Emotiva, EMP, HSU and more). We have the entire wing of this lovely resort to host dedicated sound rooms for each participating sponsor and the sky is the limit. Registration is FREE and lunch will be provided for all registered attendees. You are welcome to BYOB (Bring Your Own Beer) and BYOM (Bring Your Own Music) if you want to hear all this great equipment with familiar source material. Simply give us feedback in the dedicated forum thread of this announcement and let us know how you would like to participate. Free party swag and product giveaways are just more perks to register and participate at our event. Hope to see you there!