EISA Awards 2005/2006: Home Theater

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

EUROPEAN HOME THEATER RECEIVER

Pioneer VSX-1015

Pioneer’s VSX-1015 provides every feature a home theatre enthusiast could require. It is the world’s first THX Select2 certified AV receiver, and includes decoders for Dolby’s Digital EX and Pro Logic IIx, DTS 96/24 and DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 and Matrix 6.1. An additional bonus is Windows Media Audio 9 Professional compatibility, allowing playback of PC-based digital surround-sound content. All channels employ 192kHz/24-bit DACs and there are 7x 150 Watts of power on tap. Yet the VSX-1015 wields this power with a friendly face, courtesy of an automatic set-up routine which configures speakers and matches system sound to the acoustics of the listening room.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

EUROPEAN HOME THEATER LOUDSPEAKER


Tannoy Arena

Tannoy’s Dual Concentric drive-unit technology has long been famed for its coherence and pin-point imaging ability. Now, in the Arena home theatre package, those same advantages become available to home cinema enthusiasts on a budget. The satellite speakers – tiny, futuristic vented aluminium enclosures – house a new 100mm Dual Concentric driver with 19mm titanium dome tweeter. The centre speaker includes an additional 100mm woofer for extended low end while the highly-configurable active subwoofer has on board a 300W digital amplifier. And the really good news? It works as well for music as it does for movies.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

EUROPEAN HOME THEATER SUBWOOFER


B&W PV1

B&W’s PV1 is an elegant, sophisticated electro acoustic masterpiece. In a perfect example of form following function, this amazing component uses the principle of a ‘pressure vessel’ to create a very small but powerful subwoofer with zero structural vibrations. It includes two latest-generation transducers with aluminum-coated mica cones, mounted back-to-back and driven by an advanced 500 Watt amplifier. For once here’s a sub that excels in low-end extension and output level. It copes admirably with demanding stereo and multichannel recordings, yet won’t offend the most delicate aesthetic sensibilities.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

EUROPEAN HOME THEATER SYSTEM



Samsung HT-P1200

Samsung’s HT-P1200 is one of the cleverest new all-in-one systems. It’s fully specified for CD and DVD, yet by including a PC-style USB Host port, this system also hooks up with content from MP3 players, digital cameras and other multimedia devices. The HT-P1200 handles almost all optical disc formats, including DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD. Its High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) permits connection to High Definition displays; and with the additional benefit of a built-in Faroudja DCDi chip, its output video signal can be adjusted for optimal display on a wide variety of display resolutions. Even though it is undeniably affordable, Samsung’s latest home theater system looks as though it should cost much, much more.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

EUROPEAN HT HIGH-END COMPONENT


Denon AVC-A1XV

Denon’s AVC-A1XV is a THX Ultra2 certified behemoth of the latest digital technology. With ten channels of more than 200W each, there is no shortage of power, yet this firepower is precisely directed by the unique Audyssey Labs equalisation system, which provides room correction for up to eight listening positions. There are myriad signal inputs and outputs, including DENON Link and iLink, and even the video output is larger than life. Its DCDi technology can upsize images to high-definition 1080i resolution, with a choice of DVI and High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) inputs and outputs.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

EUROPEAN HOME THEATER INNOVATION


Yamaha YSP-800

Yamaha has overturned the conventional wisdom that spectacular surround-sound requires five or more separate loudspeakers. The Sound Projector YSP-800 comprises just one compact loudspeaker cabinet, in which are mounted numerous small speaker drive units, each with its own individual digital amplifier. Yamaha’s digital sound processing system enables this array of tiny transducers to direct focused beams of sound all around the room, creating a highly three-dimensional soundfield which is hard to distinguish from multi-speaker effects. With DTS and Dolby Digital decoding on board, the YSP-800 is the most neat, complete, discreet home theatre speaker you can imagine.