CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association) put on its annual exhibition, that may arguably rival CES in significance to the Home Theater market. Each year many home audio and custom service providers vie for attention, putting up their wares for demonstration. For complete coverage of the CEDIA Expo check Audioholics CEDIA page where categories are neatly laid out for quick view. I’ll run through my own $ .02 right now, but I am not actually chillin' at CEDIA. But I wish I could be there!
As we’ll see CEDIA exhibitors are trying to out-cool each other. Except at CEDIA, cool isn’t measured by oversized sunglasses or a shaggy hair-do.
Sunfire TGR-3 Receiver: My own preference is for less expensive stuff but I make an exception with Sunfire. It’s the company started by Bob Carver, whom some call a legend I the audio hi-fi world. Sunfire’s new TGR-3 Receiver is a high end Home Theater receiver. It includes:
• Seven discreet channels at 200 Watts RMS
• HDMI digital video switching
• Dolby Digital and DTS processing including Sunfire’s own patented Sonic Holography
The thing probably weighs a ton, which is usually a good sign in your HT gear. This unit also employs Sunfire’s own TDC amplification technology. It provides high current power to your speakers, but also does this trick where it only provides as much current as it needs and only when it needs it. Sunfire claims the amps will run 20-30% more efficient with TDC. The technology has actually been licensed to other companies. It’ll keep the amplifier stage of your new Sunfire receiver cool, eliminating fan noise altogether.
But the best thing is just that it’s a Sunfire and I could never possibly afford it - it’s just one of those dream devices as far I’m concerned. It runs for the princely sum of $4999.
NAD T – Series: Back to Earth now with one of my favorite real world, affordable companies, NAD. The T series receivers have been around for several years and this year’s CEDIA had the company's T-975 seven channel and 955 five channel power amps.
T - 975
• Seven discreet channels at 140 Watts RMS
• 20 Hz – 20 kHz at .08 Total Harmonic Distortion at 8 and 4 ohms
T - 955
• Five discreet channels at 100 Watts RMS
• 20 Hz – 20 kHz .08 THD @ 8 & 4 Ohms
Now, I hear you saying, “Those are nice specs you’ve got listed there, Wayde. But we expect that from a pair of NADs. Tell us, what’s really cool about these power amps that we haven’t seen before?”
Glad you asked! These babies have this funky variable speed fan cooling system. It’s the same system from the M25 Master Series Amps. We’ve all heard cooling fans in our amps kick on and off whenever the heat reaches a critical point. But these use a unique forced air system that eliminates thermal cycling – it’ll even measure the input levels to prevent the fans from kicking on during a quiet point in the movie. These NADs run for $2199 and $1299 for the 75 and 55 respectively.