January 12, 2009 - Series 4

Wadia is building on the success of the 170iTransport with the 151Digital Amplifier (left) and 121Decoding Computer. The 151' has a class-D-based amplifier, volume control, and a built-in DAC that accepts up to a 24-bit/96kHz signal via a USB input. Interestingly, the 151' only accepts a digital signal; there are no analog inputs. The 121' is a DAC with volume control featuring Wadia's DigitalMaster technology that operates at 24-bit/705kHz. As with the 151', the 121' has a 24/96 USB input. Both units have a cast-aluminum chassis and are expected to be priced at $1000 or less when released. [www.wadia.com].

The essence of Zu Audio? Maybe. The Essence speaker ($5000 per pair) is Zu Audio’s latest creation. This moderately sized floorstander marries Zu’s Zu260FRD/G4 full-range driver with a ribbon tweeter that operates above 10kHz.The Baltic-birch/MDF cabinet is available in a number of automotive-grade paint finishes.

Even though it was just a prototype, this Arcam Blu-ray player was drawing quite a crowd. This is probably because Arcam is renowned for the performance of its CD/SACD and DVD players and people are wondering what Arcam will bring to the table with Blu-ray. There was no price or release date available for this yet-to-be-named player.

The Panasonic DMP-B15 is said to be the world’s first portable Blu-ray player. It is BD-Live capable and has an HDMI output so that you can connect it to an external high-definition display device. It will be priced at approximately $800 and should be available in the late spring or early summer.

Another first! If you want to bring Hollywood into your home, you might as well use the same technology as the movie studios. Panasonic unveiled its new DMP-BD60 Blu Ray player ($299), which incorporates the same Uniphier video-processing chip found in the equipment at Panasonic Hollywood Labs, where all major studios (except Columbia) go to prepare film movies for transfer to Blu-ray on a 350" plasma screen. According to the manufacturer, the Uniphier chip is the best way to "realize original movie quality" from a Blu-ray Disc. In addition, the DMP-BD60 has an Ethernet interface to allow for the downloading of YouTube videos, which can be saved on SDHC memory cards. Panasonic expects to begin shipping the DMP-BD60 in March.

Back to old-school audio, Bergmann of Denmark showed a new turntable that comes with tonearm and is priced at 15,000 euros (approximately $22,000). There's no model name given and not much data is available about the design -- like the styling, it might be all about simplicity. However, the company was quick to point out the air-bearing tonearm, which like the rest of the 'table, is of its own creation.