Audio Emporium
Newsletter
The long awaited Rotel RT-1084, $800, has arrived. It
has AM/FM and HD radio built in. HD radio is FM with significantly better fidelity. A fair
number of stations even have TWO channels. For example, WHAD offers talk on one channel
and classics on the other.
How good
does it sound? It sounds good, well worth listening too. Is it as good as CD? No. You can’t
believe that bit of PR. But I can heartily recommend it. The audio purity is actually
better than XM or Sirius.
The RT-1084 also offers the OPTION of a Sirius module
for $50. You can purchase a Sirius module and then get the readout through the RT-1084
face. There are plenty of good, diverse programming options on Sirius. The music stations
are commercial free. The fee is about $10 a month and well worth it.
Best Deal In
A Center Speaker? B&W HTM-61 $600
Whenever
you say “best” you invite controversy. But, we’ve got a pretty good case to
make! B&W has just introduced its HTM-61, $600. What makes it better than the 500
other companies out there with $600 centers?
We’d
like to say it’s as easy as listening. But, every house and store has a different
environment, different associated equipment etc. It might be easy if we could get
everything under one roof to audition. Since we can’t, let’s look at how it’s
built.
HTM-61
uses B&W’s renowned 1” aluminum domed tweet. It has recently been improved!
The new version has a unique poly rolled surround at the circumference to prevent edge
distortion. B&W maintains its use of Nautilus technology. That denotes a tapered tube
behind the tweeter to dissipate the back wave and prevent cabinet reflections.
The
midrange is B&W’s Kevlar, FST (surroundless) design! This patented FST midrange
has been the heart of the highly esteemed 800 Series. Now, this quality of midrange driver
has trickled down to where you can get it in a center for just $600! Before HTM-61 it
would run you $2500 via the HTM-3s.
The
woofer is a new 6.5” Kevlar woofer, which is quite similar to the one used in the
684. Note- this is new, a Kevlar WOOFER!
The
result of all this fancy stuff is that HTM-61 has excellent clarity- without being bright.
Nobody else out there offers a surroundless midrange driver like B&W. Very few
companies work with Kevlar. Even if they do, slapping Kevlar on a stamped basket does not
a great speaker make! And the Nautilus poly rolled, Nautilus tweeter is cutting edge
technology- yielding that beautifully smooth B&W top end.
B&W
can do all this because they make these products themselves. They don’t buy speakers
from other manufacturers and just screw them in a box!
New
Salamander
When it comes to audio video furniture I begin to yawn. Most of the companies making the stuff haven’t even taken the time to measure what will fit, and what won’t. We find openings 16” wide and 14” deep- not even close. We find “slots” for equipment- where the IR receiver of the gear couldn’t possibly be seen by your remote. The wire management plans just don’t work.
Salamander has been a welcome exception to this rule. Their Synergy Line has been the pride of the AV industry’s furniture category for years. They’ve made very nice modular options.
But… let’s not pretend the Synergy Line cuts it for everybody. We audio geeks are fine with it, but the style and finish level just isn’t up to “fine furniture.” Salamander wanted to make that step.
The CHAMELEON Line has recently landed here. You’ll be impressed with the sizes, options and finish quality. Just visit salamanderdesigns.com. Go to the custom configurator and fiddle with the options. Better yet, stop in to see that this really is nice furniture grade product at affordable pricing! The typical triple wide cabinet with center speaker grill/space runs $1900!