Marantz is establishing a new top-end price point in tuner/preamp/surround processors with the shipment of the $3,599-suggested AV8801, which can be paired with the new flagship MM8077 seven-channel power amp at $2,399.

Marantz’s $3,599-suggested 11.2-channel AV8801 tuner/preamp/surround processor.

The 11.2-channel component joins the recently shipped $1,699 7.2-channel AV7701 and the $1,599 AV7005 preamp processors in the Marantz lineup of AV separates and exceeds the price of a previous flagship preamp processor, the $2,999 AV8003, which was discontinued a few years ago, a spokesperson said.

Compared to the AV7701, the flagship model adds AM-radio band and 4K up-scaling from standard-definition sources, not just from HDMI-connected sources. The flagship also offers 192kHz/32-bit processing compared to 192/24 processing. With the new preamp processor and amplifier, the brand’s line of AV separates consists of three preamp processors and three amps.

The new preamp processor is the brand’s first audio component with 11-channel capability and Marantz’s first component with DTS Neo:X post processing, which adds add two front-height and two front-width channels to a traditional 7.1 home-theater system. The 11.2-channel component supports Neo:X’s full 11.1-channel capabilities, whereas some Neo:X-equipped audio components in the industry support up to 9.1 Neo:X channels. The AV8801 is also Marantz’ first product to incorporate Audyssey’s XT32 room-equalization technology and Audyssey Sub EQ HT processing, which optimizes sound for dual-subwoofer setups. It’s also Marantz’s first audio component with four-port Ethernet switch.
Like the 7.2-channel AV7701 preamp processor, the flagship features DLNA 1.5 networking, AirPlay, HD Radio, Internet radio, 4K passthrough and up-scaling with GUI overlay, 3D passthrough, optional stereo Bluetooth, two simultaneous HDMI outputs, a third HDMI out for a remote zone, and Audyssey DSX post processing, which adds front-wide and front-height channels to a 5.1 system.
Both preamp/processors also stream photos and audio from networked PCs and connect to broadband modems to stream Internet radio stations, Pandora, SiriusXM Internet radio, Spotify and Flickr.

Sony Electronics formally took “4K Ultra High Definition” to the next level Thursday by introducing the first 4K playback device supporting its newly released 84-inch LCD TV.

The new 4K Ultra HD Video Player is a hard-disk server that connects easily to Sony’s matching XBR-84X900 84-inch LED LCD TV, allowing consumers to view 4K resolution movies and short-form 4K videos. The server and 84-inch 4K Ultra HD LED LCD TV sets were scheduled to be officially unveiled and demonstrated at an invitation-only event with Sony recording artist John Legend.

Sony said it is making the device available as a bonus “loaned”—as the company put it—exclusively to U.S. customers purchasing the Sony 4K LED TV. The hard-disk server, which has been used for in-store demos of the company’s flagship 4K Ultra HD TV screen, comes loaded with content, including both full-length Hollywood features and a gallery of videos, creating the first true home 4K experience, Sony said.

Currently, the device is the only method consumers can use to play natively produced 4K Ultra HD content on the new high-resolution displays. As a stand-alone unit, the Sony XBR-84X900 TV up-scales all video inputs, including the more than 7,000 Blu-ray Disc titles currently in distribution, to what Sony said is “a near-4K resolution” through the use of Sony’s proprietary 4K X-Reality PRO three-chip picture engine.

“Sony is a company of firsts, and this introduction of the first 4K technology platform continues that pioneering, innovative spirit,” stated Phil Molyneux, Sony Electronics president and COO. “We were the first to introduce 4K projectors to cinemas in 2005, the first to introduce a 4K projector designed for the home in 2011, and the first to offer a 4K up-scaling Blu-ray Disc player earlier this year. Now we’re the first to begin closing the content loop, offering native 4K content for the home and delivering the most immersive, awe-inspiring entertainment experience yet.” 

As it has done with high-definition and 3D, Sony is looking to take the point for the consumer electronics industry in leading the way into the next new video format. Sony pointed out that “it is uniquely positioned to be first to market in delivering 4K Ultra HD solutions,” in its multiple roles a content producers, and consumer and professional equipment manufacturers. Sony said its spin on the 4K Ultra HD Home Experience for the home includes its “84-inch 4K LED TV, the video player, and an Xperia Tablet S that serves as a remote control through an easy-to-use app.”

Long known for its movie servers, Fusion will debut the Ovation Music Streamer (OMS), an audio-only solution for streaming music to as many as five zones.

For this product, Fusion didn’t reinvent the wheel. Rather, the company built this box around the popular Squeezebox audio system from Logitech.

“As we began architecting our own audio streamer system, we came across Squeezebox and all the other open source products built around it,” says Fusion VP of sales Ingo Schmoldt “It seemed an ideal base upon which to build because there are tons of users vetting the GUIs, and of course there are a host of free drivers and apps available for all the major automation companies and mobile devices.”

Indeed, many CE pros already use Squeezebox and other cheap consumer devices in their fancy A/V racks – obviously not an ideal solution with the lack of margin, special rack kits, and multiple boxes with separate IP addresses for integrating with home control systems.

“They all say they want a more integration-friendly product — one that isn’t available everywhere on the Web and actually allows them to make some decent margin,” Schmoldt says.

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He adds that plenty of other vendors make excellent multiroom streaming products for the custom channel, but dealers “all seemed to say that they’re way too expensive.”

Ovation streamers start at $995 for the OMS1, which supports three analog zones, and tops out at $1795 for the OMS3, which supports up to five zones (four analog, one digital). The top model features a fanless chassis with a 1TB hard drive and a CD drive for ripping music (FLAC and MP3 simultaneously). In the middle is the $1,295 OMS2, which supports three zones (two analog and one digital) and offers 500 GB of internal storage.

All units support 96kHz/24-bit HD digital audio playback and most of the major file formats including Apple lossy, Apple Lossless (AAC & ALAC), MP3, OGG Vorbis, WMA and FLAC.

The units are designed to be Squeezebox compatible, meaning integrators can take advantage of existing drivers from home automation vendors, and utilize all the major mobile-device apps currently available.

Currently, two-way drivers are available for Savant Systems, RTI and Elan, but a Control4 driver is on the way, thanks to Kevin Luther of Blackwire Designs.

“We were brought in to develop a driver to allow Control4 to give the user two-way feedback from the Fusion product to every C4 interface including touchpanels, mobile devices and apps,” Luther says. “I have personally been using the product in my own home with a Control4 system and I find myself using it every single day. At this price point I think this product is guaranteed to fill a real need in the industry.”

He adds, “The entire line seems incredibly cheap and should be able to be spec’d into almost any multizone project.”

And, before you ask … no wireless.