| |
Sweet
Home Audio
Newsletter
April 2015
1290 S. Missouri Ave.,
Suite C,
Clearwater, FL 33756; web:
www.sweethomeaudio.com
Inside
This Issue
Dolby Atmos
- The latest in Home Theater Audio
Electrocompaniet - Lower Prices, New Products
Now open Saturdays
18 Months, same as cash
Consignments
Store Hours
(Click here to go to our main web site)
Some of you may have heard about Dolby's latest creation for theaters and home
theaters. Atmos is the next logical step in bringing greater realism into
your home theater. Here is some more information about this new technology
that you might find interesting. Here is some general information that was
written by Sam Sabin and published in the Sound and Vision online magazine:
"Atmos
is an object-based audio mixing system
that allows movie sound engineers to
place objects essentially anywhere
inside of a dome-shaped envelope above
the audience. Recorded "objects"—whether
a human voice reciting dialog, the sound
of a traveling helicopter prop, an
insect in a tree in the forest, or a
foley effect of breaking glass—are
dropped inside a graphic representation
of the listening space displayed on a
desktop monitor, moved around as
desired, and assigned metadata that
describes the object and its position at
any given moment. This data becomes a
permanent part of the soundtrack. The
Atmos decoder in the theater knows the
speaker/channel configuration available
to it at that installation; as many as
64 separate speaker channels can be
addressed by the processor. When the
soundtrack is played back, it uses the
metadata to automatically map the
speaker output levels in real time to
position each sound as close as possible
to where the mixing engineer intended.
This is already decidedly different
than traditional "channel-based" mixing,
wherein a movie might be mixed with a
7.1-channel soundtrack in which every
sound gets manually placed, or panned
across different channels on the mixing
board to create a sense of movement. The
7.1-channel soundtrack must then be
arduously adapted to 5.1-channel and
stereo mixes for smaller systems. That
work is essentially eliminated with
Atmos. But what's key to the Atmos
theatrical experience is the addition of
individually addressable ceiling
speakers, typically found in left/right
pairs that correspond to the position of
the surround speakers mounted on the
theater's side walls. It's the ceiling
speakers, and the way in which they're
discretely controlled by the Atmos
soundtrack, that allow for a more
realistic soundfield than has been
possible even with a traditional
7.1-channel setup with side-wall and
back-wall surrounds, or any of those
artificially-derived adaptations that
add height and width speakers to 7.1 and
5.1 channel soundtracks. Instead of
ambient sounds tending to hug the
boundaries of the room where the
surround speakers have been
traditionally located, they can be made
to come from directly overhead for any
seat in the audience."
-SoundandVision.com,
by Sam Sabin
Here are some products that we sell
that are Atmos enabled or ready:
Marantz
The Marantz
SR-7009:
9.2 channels of
high performance audio, high performance
video with Atmos, WiFi and Bluetooth
built in. This one has it all.
Denon
Denon has three AV receivers with
built-in Atmos processing. They
are all excellent performers.
Onkyo
Onkyo offers 5 AVR models that include Atmos processing. Entry starts
at just $699.
Definitive Technology
This A60 upward firing speaker module is designed to fit on top of their
BP-8060ST floor standing loudspeakers. It will also work as a stand-alone
speaker. Just $499 for a pair.
Definitive Technology BP-8060ST floor standing loudspeaker with built-in powered
subwoofer!
The A60 Atmos speaker sits atop this speaker seamlessly. It's small
footprint makes it an easy speaker to fit into most home theater systems.
The fact that it also has a built-in powered subwoofer saves you both money and
space, plus, with the multiple subwoofer configuration (a powered sub in each
tower speaker), you get a smoother bass response that with a single separate
subwoofer. Just $999 each.
Anthony Gallo Acoustics
Gallo offers a variety of small speakers that produce big sound that can be
installed in the ceiling, on a wall or on any flat surface. Fire them up
or toward the listening position. You'll get the full impact of 3D Atmos
sound without having speakers dominating your room.
There are a good number of other speakers that will work well in an Atmos home
theater system. Give us a call or come in and we'll help you configure the
exact right system for your home theater and audio interests.
I intended to write a brief description of my impression of
Electrocompaniet gear. However, while reviewing on-line comments about EC,
I came across this piece published by Positive Feedback. It so accurately
describes my own findings, that I decided to let it speaker for me. Here
it is:
"I have always had a fondness for Electrocompaniet products.
Being a tube guy, Electrocompaniet products sound a lot like the best qualities
of tube gear while still maintaining the speed, impact, dynamic headroom, and
accuracy of solid state gear. Not bad in my opinion for a solid state product
coming from the frozen tundra of Norway. You would think Electrocompaniet would
be a tube based company knowing how cold it can get during those long Norwegian
Winters. This tube like sound has a lot to do with Electrocompaniet's original
design philosophy, their goal is to create products that lean toward the side of
musicality or "getting the music right" as opposed to reaching for that last bit
of extension many other manufacturers strive toward. This is paying high
compliment to Electrocompaniet since most solid state products do not excite me
or grab me emotionally like tube based gear does. What is truly amazing, all of
the gear offered by Electrocompaniet is solid state in design—not tubes. In my
opinion, that is truly a "hat trick" getting tube like musicality from a solid
state design. Another aspect I like about the Electrocompaniet gear is, their
looks. Since I am an aesthetics kind of person Electrocompaniet products display
what I would like to call SES—Sexy European Simplicity. All of their Classic
Line products share a similar face plate design that is simple, functional,
classy, and good looking all at the same time." Jeff Parks, Positive
Feedback, Issue 51
We have a broad selection of the Electrocompaniet
line here in our shop. If you haven't listened to this gear lately, you
really should come in and sample it. I think you'll be glad that you did.
Better yet, Electrocompaniet has just announced
lower prices on their entire line.
All of these products are brand new
and factory fresh.
Here are some examples:
Save $1,920 on a pair of AW180 mono
block power amps!
250 Watts into 8 ohms
380 Watts into 4 ohms
625 Watts into 2 ohms
Stable into 1/2 ohm loads!
Musical and powerful - great combination.
Save $2,300 on a pair of AW400 mono
block power amps!
400 Watts into 8 ohms
765 Watts into 4 ohms
1010 Watts into 2 ohms
Stable into 1/2 ohm loads!
These amps are truly amazing.
Save $1,560 on the AW250-R stereo
power amp!
2 x 250 Watts into 8 ohms
2 x 380 Watts into 4 ohms
2 x 625 Watts into 2 ohms
2 x 1100 Watts into 1 ohm
Stable into 1/2 ohm loads!
The most amazing stereo solid state amp I've
ever heard.
Save $850 on the ECI-5 MKII
integrated amp!
2 x 120 Watts into 8 ohms
2 x 200 Watts into 4 ohms
2 x 370 Watts into 2 ohms
My favorite solid state integrated amp by
far.
Save $540 on the EMP 3 Multiplayer!
Plays: Blue-ray 2D and 3D, DVD, SACD, CD, DVD-A, HDCD,
Upscales video to 4K, internet streaming via Ethernet connection or WiFi.
DLNA certified. 2 USB inputs and an HDMI 1.4 input.
http://www.electrocompaniet.com/products/classic/digital/EMP_3
These are representative of the
savings you can now get on brand new Electrocompaniet gear. Come in or
call for current prices on all of EC's products.
ECI 6 - Integrated amplifier with
DAC and Media Streaming!
ECI 6DS Fully balanced integrated amplifier
with built-in D/A converter and media streaming
The ECI 6DS is a
powerful integrated amplifier, equipped with a number of analogue and
digital inputs offering a wide range of connectivity.
The built-in media
streaming unit is fully compatible with established standards like UPnP
and DLNA. The ECI 6DS enables you listen to nearly all formats with
musical content from your home computer network, internet radio or
different types of USB and NAS- storage devices.
With its high
performance sample rate converter and D/A converter the ECI6 DS is able
to improve all of your digital sources like TV’s, cable- and satellite
tuners, CD/DVD/Blu-Ray players and not to forget your computer and media
player. Independent of their native resolution all digital sources will
be upsampled to 24bit/ 192kHz and can be connected by SPDIF, USB or
Toslink.
The new ECI6 DS offers 2
x 125 Watts and is based on the successful ECI 5 MK II. To make it even
better we have equipped with an even better power supply and a more
sophisticated preamplifier module. As a result we can offer you an
extremely substantial and dynamic amplifier, capable to control a wide
range of speakers in the marked.
Analogue sources can be
connected to one balanced (XLR) input and three single-ended (RCA)
inputs. Two preamplifier outputs, one balanced and one single ended,
making sure the amplifier is prepared for future extensions.
The advanced ECT4 system
remote controller will give you full control, not only on the ECI 6DS,
but also on your TV, Blu-Ray and PVR. The ECT4 system remote control has
a graphical interface that makes it easy to browse through your music
collection, it displays the cover art from your music connection and
internet radio stations.
The ECI 6DS offers
extended UPnP support for external control by Windows, Android or Apple
APP’s such as Bubble UPnP, Songbook, Plugplayer or Kinsky or
Sync:Stream.
Now just $6,150; $1900 less than its original price
of $8,050.
ECG 1 - High performance turntable
with tonearm and cartridge!
This is Electrocompaniet's first ever turntable, designed by
company's CEO, Mikal Dreggevik. ECG-1 is a sandwich construction
made out of three layers - acrylic and aluminum, benefiting from the
internal dampening in the acrylic and the rigidity of the aluminum.
The construction using different materials increases the internal
vibration dampening further, so the chassis will have no resonance
problems. The turntable is also fitted with a platter made out of
acrylic that is very similar to the vinyl material used in the
record. The record is meant to be placed directly onto the platter,
without the use of a mat. This ensures a strong coupling between the
two parts, basically making the LP a part of the platter. The
acrylic has good internal dampening, so it won’t ring like a metal
platter.The ECG-1 is fitted with a 24 volt AC asynchronous motor
that is perfectly controlled by a two phase low harmonic analogue
sine wave controller. The motor is very precise and will follow the
frequency of the motor controller, without the complications and
over engineering necessary with a DC motor. Norwegian turntable is
fitted with the Jelco SA-750EB tonearm. It will handle phono
cartridges weighing between 4 and 12 grams. Since Electrocompaniet
has no in-house production facilities for making its own phono
cartridge, the development and production is done by Sound Smith
company, after Electrocompaniet's specifications, making the
cartridge an OEM product. Sound Smith specializes in making Moving
Micro Cross cartridges and also the Electrocompaniet cartridge uses
this technology.
$4,450 with tonearm and Sound Smith Cartridge.
ECP 2 - High performance Phono
Stage!
ECP 2 Balanced Phono Stage Preamplifier
The new Electrocompaniet ECP 2 Phono Preamplifier is designed according to
guidelines seen in the phono preamplifier from Dynamic Precision. It
incorporates state-of-the-art instrumentation operational amplifiers and like
other Electrocompaniet products, it uses the highest quality of discrete
components through the whole signal path, all DC coupled of course.
The ECP 2 accommodates any imaginable pick-up and cable combination, thanks to
it’s highly configurable input stage. User can select best suiting capacitive
and resistive load configuration regarding to the pick-up cartridge used as
source, no matter whether it is of an MM or MC type. Overall gain is also
adjustable in 5 dB steps to accommodate different output levels from different
pick-ups. The ECP 2 follows strictly the standard RIAA playback equalization
curve, having also steep low frequency roll-off to filter out unwanted signals
originating for example from playing back warped records.
Specifications:
Gain @ 1 kHz RCA Adjustable 39,8 – 71,4 dB
Gain @ 1 kHz XLR Adjustable 45,8 – 76,4 dB
Resistance loading (RL) Adjustable 10 Ω – 47k Ω
Capacitive loading (CL)
Adjustable 0 – 350 pF
Maximum output level 17.5 V rms (+ 25 dB V)
Output impedance
100 Ω single-ended, 200 Ω balanced
Frequency response
20 – 20 kHz +/- 0.2 dB
RIAA Correction Accuracy ± 0,1 dB
Subsonic filter -3dB @ 11 Hz, 24 dB/octave
Channel separation
> 85 dB, 20 – 20 kHz
THD + Noise
< 0.003 % @ 1 kHz
S/N-R 96 dB, 1 kHz, A-weighted, ref. 10 dB V output
S/N-R
91 dB, 1 kHz, A-weighted, ref. 5 mV input
This seriously high performing phono stage is
just $2,300.
EMC 1 MK III - Reference SACD Player!
EMC 1 MK III Limited Edition SACD
player
Since 1998,
Electrocompaniet has produced one of the best
sounding CD players on the market, the EMC 1-UP. The
new Limited Edition EMC 1 MKIII builds upon this
legacy, and brings it into the area of high
definition audio. The Limited Edition EMC 1 MKIII is
designed for uncompromising playback of standard
audio CD and SACD. The player has a high performance
sample rate converter, fully balanced D/A converters
and discrete analog audio circuitry for excellent
performance. It features an unique cancellation
system which cancels acoustic / mechanical
vibrations, preventing the laser pick-up from
receiving unwanted and sonically degrading signals.
The audio quality surpassed our own EMC 1 UP,
arguably one of the best CD players on the market
today.
Product highlights:
• No-compromise mechanical design with five
different housings, which shield analogue, digital,
transport, transformer and controller circuitry.
• Electromechanical cancellation system which
cancels acoustic-mechanical vibrations, preventing
the laser pickup from receiving mechanical
distortions.
• Separate transformers and power supplies for
analogue and digital circuits.
• Fully balanced D/A converter with discrete
analog audio circuitry.
• Digital outputs via S/PDIF and Toslink.
•12V trigger input for remote power ON.
• RS232 port for firmware upgrades and control
through a wide range of home installation systems.
• Soundcare superspikes for the best possible
footing.
Technical
specifications
Output level
(unbalanced) 2.3Vrms, (balanced) 4.6Vrms
Noise floor
< -130dB
Frequency deviation
(20-20kHz) 0.05dB
Channel separation
> 110 dB
THD+N
<0.003%
Dynamic range
120 dB
Compatible formats: CD, HDCD,
SACD, MP3
Digital outputs: SPDIF COAX,
SPDIF TOSLINK
Control inputs: RS232, 12V
Trigger
True balanced
system
Mechanical filter which
cancels acoustic/mechanical vibrations preventing
the laser pick-up from receiving unwanted signals
FTT Power supply
W: 18.9 inches x D: 16.6
inches x H: 4.7 inches
Weight: 39.6 lbs
Reference quality, unsurpassed
for $6000.
To accommodate your busy schedule, we are
now open on Saturdays from 10:30 AM until 2:30 PM.
No appointment necessary.
Come on in and listen to some great
music, talk to me about your home entertainment plans or needs and pick up some
great audio and video deals!
We're still open Mondays through
Fridays, as usual - it's still a good idea to call before you make the trek over
here in case I'm out of the shop helping another customer.
Buy it now and take
eighteen months to pay for it with zero interest!!
In association
with Synchrony Financial, we are offering eighteen month, same-as-cash
financing on your purchases during February 2015.
The application
and credit approval process takes about five minutes.
This is a deferred
interest promotion. Pay the full balance within the eighteen month term and
you'll pay no interest at all.
Upgrade your home
theater or music system today and spread your payments out over eighteen months.
This offer is good on both new and used equipment.
Come on in and
let's get started!
We'RE ALWAYS addING new
consignment pieces.
we've reduced the prices on
Most Consignment items.
Sell your old gear on consignment and turn it into cash—money
for you to spend.
If you are in the market for home audio or home video gear and you're on a
budget, buy from our Consignment Department. We've got quality used A/V
products on consignment at very attractive prices.
Consignment makes sense. Buying or selling—either
way you save.
Every month we add new items to the consignment list (see it at
the end of this newsletter). We even have music on consignment—CD's, LP's
and even Laser Discs.
Here, at the
home of beautiful sound, we make it easy.
- Our Consignment policies and procedures:
Click HERE
Now open
Saturdays! 10:30 AM until 2:30 AM.
We are frequently out of
the shop helping customers at their homes and businesses.
So, especially if you're coming a substantial
distance, please call before you
come.
We'd hate to miss you!
(727) 446-2505
Monday through Fridays, we
do our best to keep regular hours here (see below times).
Our official schedule:
Monday thru Friday—10:30
AM to 5:30 PM
Saturday
-
10:30 AM to 2:30 PM
Thank
you for reading
our newsletter and visiting our web site.
Call us at (727)
446-2505 if you have any questions.
If you can,
come in and check out our shop. We'll make you feel right at home.
~ Brian &
Peggy Rovinsky
|