Polk Audio's newest in-wall speakers were on display for all CEDIAnistas to see. In a separate part of the booth, Polk demonstrated the company's - and the world's - first THX Ultra2 Certified in-ceiling loudspeaker, the RTS100, along with the RTS105 in-wall. On static display were two THX Ultra2 Certified hopefuls from Polk: a dipole in-wall and an in-wall center channel.

Auralex Acoustics quietly showed off their latest offering in home theater acoustical treatment. The new SonoSuede System looks great, is designed to be a do-it-yourself project, and is reasonably (as far as room treatment packages go) affordable. Different color combinations are available, and you can custom order other colors if you simply must have something to match that special designer couch you bought. The SonoSuede System package has a suggested retail of $1199.

The guys from Sonic Integrity had arguably one of the hippest things at CEDIA. The Tube Pod--quality Hi Fi for your iPod.

The unit comes with speakers and features an iTube Vacuum Tube amp and an iTube docking station....I already have it pegged for the next issue of Home Theater or check it out now at www.tube-pod.com

Sim2 showcased their full range of single and three- chip 1080p DLP projectors---including their brand new mac daddy: The three-chip DLP HT5000.

I also loved the new Home Cinema Scope system anamorphic lens option for 2.35:1 aspect viewing. Say good-bye to black bars.

Pictured above is the Sim2 C3XLINK projector----compact + high performance = brilliant!

It's always a pleasure to see what's new at Sunfire. This year it's the Theater Grand 3 receiver (TGR-3) A/V receiver shipping next month.

The receiver delivers 200 watts on each of its seven channels and it has side axis outputs for up to 9.1 channels. If you have a multi-sub system, there are three sub outs to simplify installation.

The beauty of the TGR-3 though, is that it is not just for custom installs, it is perfect for the Home Theater reader who is a Do-It-Yourselfer that demands performance.

Vidikron's Vision Model 100t--one of the world's first THX certified video projectors--put on an amazing demo at the Vidikron booth.

The 100t uses advanced three-chip DLP technology featuring 1280x720 native resolution. The demo showed off the award-winning CineWide with AutoScope option eliminating useless black bars. You've got to love that!

Acoustic Research is taking the idea of a "bookshelf" speaker to a new extreme with this model from the Home Decor Series. The SAT510, a quite substantial traditional bookshelf speaker, hides inside a fake-but-convincing shell designed to look like four well-read, weathered books. The front of the books have tiny perforations that let the sound through. Other various disguises - like table clocks, lamps, and planters - are also available.

The best thing I heard at the show was the JL Audio demo. Partnered gear included a SIMS2 projector, Screen Research screen, HALCRO Logic disc player, Dynamat acoustic treatment, and Tributaries cable plus JL's speakers, subs, and electronics. The demo had everything that matters including big bass, non-abrasive midrange, and wide dynamics. Subs are extremely adjustable, using either an automatic setup routine or manual controls.

Approximately 87 percent of all speaker models introduced at the show were from Paradigm. Bill VanderMarel shows off the new Signature line with beryllium tweeter. Even more significant, to me, is the fourth-gen revision of the Studio line—the second-gen Studio/20 happens to be my longtime reference speaker—with the aluminum tweeter upgraded to a better one and the polymer woofer giving way to satin-anodyzed aluminum. Highlight of the revised Monitor series is a new and larger version of Paradigm's classic budget bookshelf model, the Titan. Millenia is the new "lifestyle" line, and there are in-walls galore.

Top-flight DVDO deinterlacing is the highlight of Arcam's DV139 DVD-Video/-Audio/SACD universal player. It acknowledges the latest fad in video specsmanship by upscaling images to 1080p though it is not a Blu-ray or HD DVD player. Still, given the fact that the first-gen Blu-ray and HD DVD players don't play SACD or DVD-Audio, the DV139 may deserve a place as the second (or first) of two players on your rack. (Feeling artsy, I forbade removal of the water bottle.)

These two Canadian speaker brands may now be under the Klipsch umbrella but they retain their distinctive identities and sounds. I was most impressed by Energy's in-walls including the RC-6W left/center/right speaker ($350), RC-8C surround ($325), and RC-8C sub ($600). They have the clarity that is Energy's signature at affordable prices. Pictured is the Mirage OMD-15 tower ($1250/each), a relatively more affordable member of the OmniSat series. It bounces tweeter output off a spoon-shaped object to achieve surround-like spaciousness even with just two channels, though it would also form a surround system with the matching center ($750) and satellite ($375/each).

Snell's legendary designer Joe D'Appolito has taken the LCR 7 ($1000/each), favorably reviewed in our pages by Steve Guttenberg, and gotten two new models out of the same driver array, including a silk dome tweeter and two 5.25-inch treated-paper woofers. The ICS 1030 ($900/each) is an in-cabinet model while the AMC 6030 ($1250/each) is an in-ceiling model.

You don't need a fancy docking station to link your iPod to a big system. A patch cable will do, the kind that has a stereo mini-plug at one and two RCA connectors at the other. But many of the cables sold for this purpose are of unreliable quality. Wireworld promises better performance with the iWorld, pictured. Also pictured is a green teabag because it's good for you.

Xantech's four-source HD44CC5 High Definition Component Video Matrix Switcher let's you send four streams of high-definition 1080i video and digital audio up to 1000 feet over CAT5. You'll need a HDRXGS01 CAT5 receiver in each zone. The receiver automatically senses the cable run length in 20-feet increments and self-adjusts for best picture quality. The HD44CC5 is coming in January 2007 for $1895. Each receiver is $250.

Canton's fine people pulled us aside to show off the new CD 3200. It's a sleek, beautiful, contemporary-looking silver tower that has an internal 200-watt IcePower amp and four aluminum 4-inch mid/bass drivers and one of Canton's ADT-25 aluminum-manganese tweeters with a 2-1/2-way crossover. The CD 3200s are $1600 each.

Two of JL Audio's three massive are now pumping it up: the 12" Fathom f112 and the 13.5" Fathom f113. These beasts are big, loud, claim to go down to 22 Hz, and use a room acoustic correction system that's supposed to help produce more balanced bass throughout the room. The system works much like what's found in a number of receivers these days, in which you plug a microphone into the front of the sub, and the sub automatically generates a series of tones that are analyzed by the internal circuitry to get a final optimization curve. The Fathom f112 has an internal 1500-watt amp and sells for $2600 in satin black. The 2500-watt f113 sells for $3200 in satin black. A 305-pound beast with dual 13.5" woofers that goes below 20 Hz will be available sometime next year.

Control4 continues its dominance in affordable home theater and whole-house automation with a huge presence at CEDIA. While the main central components - the $599 Home Theater Controller and the $1499 Media Controller - remained basically unchanged, the company announced a new in-wall touch panel (approximately 10") and ugrades to its 4Sight subscription service that allows a homeowner to both monitor and change the status of lights, garage doors, and other household gadgets via the Internet using any browser.

Accell thinks it's little HDMI 2 to 1 Switch is going to be a big hit. The diminutive $99 switcher - 2.1" wide x 2.1" long x 0.6" high - is fully HDCP compliant and supports high definition (HD) video in resolutions of up to 1080p as well as multi-channel digital audio. Switching is done via a built-in push button or the included infrared remote. The small gadget doesn't need an external power supply and comes with an infrared extender that allows the switch to be installed out-of-sight behind your gear.

While there was no pricing or availability info, Hitachi’s 65-inch 1080p plasma sure was pretty. They also were showing a 42-inch 1920-by-1080 panel. While the necessity of that resolution in a panel that size is dubious at best, it was cool none the less. It uses ALiS, so it’s possible to call this a 1080i plasma.

Shipping in a few weeks is the 37HLX99, a 768p panel that refreshes at 120Hz. In between the actual frames are “dark” frames that are can vary somewhat in brightness depending on the video signal. This should cut down on motion blur, and possibly increase the black level. More on this tech in the future.

JVC was showing off a new 1080p projector. They claim a 10,000:1 contrast ratio without the use of an iris. They’re not sure on pricing yet, but they’re expecting sub-$7000 (as in $6,999.99 probably). Look for it around February.