Welcome to the trade fair report of the 20th International Consumer Electronics Fair in Berlin.
Are you interested in the latest fully automatic coffee machines, epilators, Vacuum cleaner and washing machines? Then, dear visitor, you've come to the wrong place. Because this report will deal with a rather manageable part of the IFA, namely that HiFi-Segment.
And so that I can't stop writing this report after just one page, I'll add a few impressions from the home cinema area.
Unfortunately, it has to be said that the "IFA Audio Entertainment" area has been shrinking more and more in recent years. But fortunately enough representatives of the hi-fi industry remained at the fair.
Let's start with Kenwood. The company, which was first founded in 1946 as a radio manufacturer, recently announced the release of a compact hi-fi system CD-player and built-in speakers under the name K-323. This so-called one-box system with 2 x 20 watts could also be viewed in Hall 6 as if on a silver platter.
Shortly thereafter, the colleagues from JVC were also to be found. There, among other things, special attention was paid to the new in-house generation of the super-slim LCD–Television pointed out. The models of the XIVIEW series are all Full HD capable and only master (it has to be said) the 100 Hz technology for eliminating motion blur. Here is a little insight into the smartly constructed model wall.
Things got even more impressive a few meters further on at Panasonic. In addition to the latest models in the VIERA series, not only the PlasmaTVs with 600 Hz technology on board, but also demonstrated the latest trend on a whopping 150 inch NeoPDP plasma panel: Full HD 3D! This development can also be found with other manufacturers, but Panasonic's presentation was the most impressive for me. Using an infrared controlled shutter glasses Panasonic succeeds in creating a realistic 3D feeling. But the combination of 3D television and 3D glasses is only half the battle. Because of course players like Blu-Rayplayer to be 3D compatible. The devices must therefore be able to feed the flat-screen TV material processed in 3D. And that also means that exactly this material has to be created three-dimensionally during production. Films on Blu-Ray must therefore be recorded in 3D directly on the set. The only question is who puts on thick glasses during a cozy TV evening...
A short detour then led me directly to Hall 4.2, to Sony, to be precise. There, too, at many stands there was a great deal about the latest notebooks, MP3–Players, but also shown on televisions. such as B. the new models of the BRAVIA series. The Full HD-capable LCD devices are equipped with Sony's "Motionflow 200Hz" technology and thus deliver sharp movements in all types of film and sports. Here is a brief explanation of the technology behind it: Motionflow technology is used to optimize moving images on the television by inserting additional images between the individual image sequences. A TV with Motionflow 200Hz technology displays four times more images per second compared to a normal 50Hz TV. The result is sharper and smoother image transitions, which makes a big difference, especially in sports and action scenes. But Sony, too, and it should be noted that, like Panasonic, relies on 3D technology. The first 3D-capable LCD devices should come onto the market at the end of 2010, Sony announced at a press conference at the IFA. A few scenes from the game Gran Turismo on the PlayStation 3 (prototype) have already been used to show how the whole thing should look next year. The show was interesting though...
The Pioneer company, which has 1.2 employees, was also represented in Hall 40.000. In addition to the two new AV receivers
SC-LX72 and SC-LX82 as well as various new releases in the KURO TV series, Pioneer also let us take a look inside the reference Blu-Ray player BDP-LX91. THE BD-Live-capable bolide boasts not only gold-plated connections on the back, but also the PQLS technology specially developed by Pioneer, which ensures excellent CD playback by immediately eliminating interference caused by runtime errors. Although this has been on the market since February, this should by no means indicate outdated technology. Of course, the whole thing also has a proud price of almost 2.400 euros.
Also to be found in Hall 1.2 was the German turntable and speaker specialist ELAC. The new 180 line made its debut there – one specifically for the more demanding stereo– and home cinema listeners developed a loudspeaker series in the price segment from 380 to 1.000 euros. Of course, the often highly praised JET is also on board with the models in this series.Tweeter as well as ELAC's proven aluminum sandwichMembran-Technology. The high-quality bi-wiring terminals with easily accessible, angled, gold-plated clamping sockets are also suitable for larger cable cross-sections (16 mm²) and for high-quality fork cable lugs with an opening width of 8,5 mm. Also to be admired was the relaunch of a traditional loudspeaker: the Spirit of Music CE. The 5-WayBass reflexThe ELAC developers have once again improved the system, which had one success after another a few years ago, using the latest technology.
Once around the corner, the Onkyo booth presented itself. There were a number of new AV–Receiver– models to look at. So also z. B. the TX–NR1007. The new 9.2 AV receiver, which is therefore suitable for Dolby ProLogic IIz, opens up a wide range of possibilities for loudspeaker arrangements and uses for its owners. The networkable and THX Ultra2 Plus certified TX-NR1007 has an output power of 180 watts per Channel at 6 Ohm and is the second smallest model in the TX series. The device, weighing 23 kg, will be available from specialist retailers from mid-September for a price of 1.349 euros. Also visible in the photo is the new Bluâ??Rayâ??Player DVâ??BD507, whose test report you can find here can find!
Let's now come to the second German hi-fi representative at the IFA 2009. We're talking about Canton. A whole fleet of speakers could be seen at the manufacturer's booth. The highlight was certainly the 20.000 euros (pair price) "Queen of the reference class", at least that's what Canton calls her. The Reference 1.2 DC is an uncompromising 3,5-way bass reflexFloor-standing with a fabulous sine power of 500 watts (900 watts music power) with a Efficiency of 89,5dB. The 1,43 m tall floorstanding loudspeaker weighs 96 kg and is partly made of MDF boards up to 5 cm thick. The photo shows the representative of the high-end class in cherry veneer. However, the model is still available in white lacquer, black lacquer and silver lacquer. The second picture shows the connection terminal with individual treble and midrange adjustment.
Just next door there were other new loudspeakers available. So also some new and old series from Heco. The first example is the Victa series, a special edition for the manufacturer's 60th birthday. The picture on the left shows the Victa 500. This model is a 2,5-way bass reflex system that goes up to 38.000 Hz with its tweeter. The Victa series also includes two bookshelf speakers (Victa 200 and 300) and two bigger sisters of the Victa 500, namely – perhaps you can already guess – the Victa 600 and 700. To complete the surround set, there are another 80 watt center called Victa 100 and an active bass reflexSubwoofer under the name Sub 25A to it.
Another series that is not new but is worth mentioning is called CELAN XT. Picked out, I would like to show you the almost monstrous active bass reflex subwoofer Celan Sub 38 A. Its 600 watts final stage make him together with his 38er Chassis almost a reference in the league of active subwoofers up to 1000 euros.
Let us now dedicate ourselves to a combination of the best loudspeaker and image reproduction technology. We are talking here about the joint booth of the manufacturers DALI and Mitsubishi Electric. In a mini cinema hall set up specifically for screening purposes (as well as a larger hall in which Loudspeakers the MENTOR series were used) the film "Shooter" was just starting. The image was captured using the Full HDDLP– Projector's "Mitsubishi HC3800" was thrown onto the screen and produced a decent picture. In terms of sound, the whole thing was then supplied by DALI's complete LEKTOR fleet. It is noteworthy that this system not only delivers the best results for demanding music enjoyment, but also for use in a home cinema. The LEKTOR 5.1 system is already available for a set price of 2.334 euros. The smallest Loudspeakers of the series, the LEKTOR 1, was - incidentally - mentioned by many readers of this page as a Loudspeakers of the year 2008 in its price range. The picture below shows the reference LCDBeamer Mitsubishi Electric HC700.
There are also interesting things to report from the Middle East of Germany. Vestel, the German sales subsidiary of the Turkish Vestel AS, presented a range of decent LCD and LED TVs. The gigantic 82 was in a class of its own
Inch TV with Ethernet interface. Why Ethernet, some of you might be wondering. The answer is obvious: to retrieve interactive content such as news, weather, etc. Some manufacturers are already talking about the death of teletext. In comparison, you can see a standard 46-inch TV in the picture.
Auch HDTV–Receivers for satellite reception were represented. An example of this is the UFS 902si from Kathrein. The one for receiving digital TV and Radio suitable receiver is of course also backwards compatible with conventional ones PAL–signals. With the HDMIinterface, the receiver can be connected to a flat screen television (upscaling of the PAL signal to 576p, 720p and 1080 possible). In addition, a YPbPr–Connection , and a Scart– Connection (TV) available. There is also a USB interface for importing software updates.
LG's stand was a bit more lavish. A whole arsenal of products was self-confidently built up, which received the EISA award (see Figure 1). Among them was the entry-level Blu-Ray player BD390 (see Figure 2), which, in addition to its Full HD suitability, also offers a YouTube interface, an analogue 7.1 output and WLAN support according to the 802.11n standard. The device is priced at around 350 euros. LG shows a setup example in the third picture. Under the title "Slim Height Blu-Ray Bar" a simple, yet elegant and comfortable looking living room furniture is shown. Among other things, the HB954S home cinema system is used here. At the end of the exhibition stand there was another nicely arranged row of plasma and LCD TVs (see picture 4). Important information for you again at this point: LG also has a first one at the IFA OLED– Featured on TV! It's only 15 inches tall, but I was told LG promised to launch the device later this year. Devices up to 32 inches are to follow next year.
To wrap up the plasma, LCD and LED sections we now come to the last manufacturer worth mentioning which is Samsung. Its creative minds have chosen something quite sophisticated for the “product presentation” (see image 3). But in addition to the many LCD and plasma devices from Samsung, most of the visitors were interested in the new LED technology. Because with a power consumption of only 85 watts during operation, e.g. B. the 55 inch B7000 of the 7 series (see picture 1) one of the top places. Of course, the device is also Full HD capable and masters 100 Hz technology. But the trend also seems to be going back to tube televisions (irony), because Samsung still had a real “chunk” on offer in the second picture.
Finally, I would just like to let you have a look at some pictures of selected Plus-X-Award winners. For example, the Denon AV receiver and Blu-Ray player combination with Metz LCD TV (image 1), the Integrated amplifier Magnat MA 800 (image 2) and finally Denon's compact system CX1.
