Atlantic Technology's new speakers

Atlantic Technology has unveiled three new series of home theater speakers, along with a set of new, powered subwoofers. The inspirationally-named System 1400, System 2400, and System 4400 speakers replace the System 1200, System 2200, and System 4200e models the company previously offered.

Each speaker series includes three different models: an LR front channel speaker, an MTM center channel speaker, and a selectable dipole/bipole surround channel speaker. A new speaker, the System 1400 SR-Z, brings the total number of new satellites to an even 10. The 1400 SR-Z is a dipole/bipole selectable model that Atlantic says is designed for use in the height channels of 7.1 or 9.1 systems that use Dolby Pro Logic IIz (but it also works as a standard surround speaker for 5.1 or 7.1 set-ups).

The new models feature subtle changes from the previous Atlantic speaker lines. The System 1400 and 2400 models now use Atlantic's "low resonance tweeter," and the System 4400 speakers offer new on-wall mounting options. Their visual designs have also been tweaked, to look similar to the company's floor-standing speakers.

Audyssey Labs introduces 10-channel surround

Yesterday, Audyssey Labs announced DSX, a new technology designed to add extra channels to a 5.1 or 7.1 surround-sound system. DSX, or Dynamic Surround Expansion, adds two front height-channel speakers, just as Dolby’s new Pro Logic IIz technology does, but it also adds two width speakers, each positioned 60 degrees to the side of the listener. The scheme also supports a center surround channel. The goal is greater listener envelopment and a more seamless listening experience.

You’re counting in your head, right? Yep, that’s a total of 10 speakers, plus a subwoofer. However, DSX is an a la carte proposition. According to Audyssey Labs chief science officer Tom Holman, of all the additional speakers you can add with DSX, the width speakers are the most important, because human hearing is most attuned to hearing differences in horizontal placement of sounds toward the front. You can use the height speakers instead of or in combination with the width speaker. And you can add one or two rear surround speakers in addition to the side surrounds.

Atlantic Technology gets high with new satellites

Good news for audiophiles interested in this new-fangled height channel business. Atlantic Technology has announced its first satellite speaker designed specifically to deliver height in a Dolby ProLogic IIz set-up. The 1400 SR-z's are dipole/bipole surround speakers intended to be placed above the main LR speakers in a home theater, adding more spacial detail to surround sound.

The 1400 SR-z speakers use dual 3 1/2-inch polymer-treated cone drivers with Atlantic Technology's High Frequency Assistive Radiator (HFAR) technology, which the company claims expands the speakers' range while keeping the physical size small. Indeed, the speakers are quite small; each satellite measures just 12 1/4" by 8" by 5 3/8", and weighs only 7 pounds.

The speakers will be available by the end of May, with a suggested retail price of $425 per pair.

— Will Greenwald

Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson: Superstar!

. . . or so you might surmise from the high-profile placements he's been getting in the press lately. As you know, we here at Sound & Vision have been longtime supporters of Steven Wilson and his modern progressive-rock band Porcupine Tree, especially owing to their interest in high-resolution reproduction and surround sound. (For a list of interviews, articles, and reviews, simply enter Porcupine Tree in our search window.) So it's especially gratifying to see Wilson popping up prominently in other magazines these days.

First, he's on the cover of the current issue (March 2009) of EM: Electronic Musician. Inside is a substantial interview focusing on Wilson's new solo album, Insurgentes. You can read the interview here. And after you finish the final screen, be sure to click on the "Extended Interview" link.

What's more, the current issue (April 4, 2009) of Billboard has Wilson's byline on an "Opinion" article called "The Album Is Alive." Subtitle: "Technology Doesn't Mean the End for Extended Work — or Artistic Packaging." You can read the editorial here.

Meanwhile, this year — like every year  — will continue to be a busy one for Wilson. First up: the initial pair of King Crimson reissues, Lizard and Red, which he has remixed in surround (more details to come). Next up: a new Porcupine Tree studio album, expected this fall, supported by a tour.

— Ken Richardson

Boxed Set of the Month: Pearl Jam's "Ten"

Let's see now . . . two CDs, one DVD, four LPs, a buncha other stuff, and a cassette! What, no 8-track? Despite that, the Collector's Edition of Pearl Jam's 1991 debut, Ten (Epic/Legacy), truly goes to Eleven — and as such, it's without question our Boxed Set of the Month for March.

In an increasingly non-physical-product Entertainment Age, this box, subtitled Pearl Jam 1990-1992, is the epitome of how record companies — when they do get physical — are pulling out all the stops for certain projects. I mean, just look at that thing above.

List price for the Collector's Edition: $199.98. Amazon.com is selling it here at $134.99.

Another thing that the box doesn't have, however, is — hello? HELLO?! — a surround mix of the album itself. Sigh.

Some details:

First 308.5 Iosono Surround System Installed In the US

That's right.  The Peltz Theater, part of the Museum of Tolerance/Simon Weisenthal Center in Los Angeles, was just completely renovated. The multi-million dollar improvements include a 308-channel audio system. Plus five subwoofers. Nice.

Because the theater was designed with this system in mind and stripped down to the struts for the renovation, all of the speakers are hidden from view. "The system utilizes waveform synthesis allowing for effects and movement of sound that have never been reproduced before now. Because of the way the sound is distributed, every seat in the house is a good one."

This is the first theater in the country with an Iosono 308-channel system. Because this theater is used for special events and fundraisers, it can take advantage of this custom configuration. There really isn't a lot of material out there mixed for 308.5. I'm comfortable mixing for 5.1 - I wouldn't know what to do with 308 discrete channels!

Keep reading for the video specs of this theater.

PTree in action, Crimson in surround!

I just got word from Porcupine Tree's manager, Andy Leff, that the band has the following release dates scheduled for 2008:

March: acoustic album
May: Lightbulb Sun (shown above left) in surround
September: live album
November: Steven Wilson's "sprawling" first solo album

Busy, busy, busy! The customary proviso: Whereas those dates are pretty solid, they're not locked-in 100%.

Meanwhile, as if that weren't news enough, Leff also tells me that he's now handling King Crimson and "working on getting the entire catalog reissued in 5.1," hopefully with mixes done by . . . Steven Wilson! Currently, Leff and Wilson are "waiting on Robert Fripp [who guested on PT's Fear of a Blank Planet and Nil Recurring] to hear Steven's work on some of the older KC stuff before he gives us the green light to proceed."

Just imagine the likes of Larks' Tongues in Aspic (above right), Red, and Discipline in surround. Oh, baby. —Ken Richardson

More Gabriel, more surround

For those of you who enjoyed my piece on Peter Gabriel (and other folks at the AES Convention) in the January 2008 issue (Random Play, page 16), the quotes had to be severely trimmed for the print edition. (What else is new?)

Want more? Here ya go!

First up: Gabriel.

On surround in general: "I like 5.1. From back in the old quad era to today, the idea of being able to immerse people in sound is still an attractive thing for me. In stereo, it really does feel that, sometimes, you haven't quite got the space in which to place everything — especially if you're working on a texture-rich piece. Suddenly, in 5.1, you've got this much wider, bigger space."

Beck's "Odelay" in surround. NOT!

Yes, my friends, the Surround-Sound NOTwatch continues!

Next up: Beck's 1996 album, Odelay. Seems that Geffen is releasing a Deluxe Edition on January 29. CD+DVD-A? No. CD+DVD-V? Sorry. SACD? Nope. DualDisc? Ha! MVI? That's only from Warner, brother.

The answer is: 2 regular ol' CDs. To be sure, there will be 3 bonus tracks on the first disc and a whopping 16 extras on the second disc — with more than a dozen of these recordings making their U.S. debut. But nothing in surround. This despite the fact that Beck has been a genuine fan of multichannel mixes in the past, releasing Sea Change on both DVD-A and SACD and Guero in a Deluxe Edition that did include surround, on DVD-A. Yet another missed opportunity . . .

The Surround-Sound NOTwatch so far:

Beck: Odelay
Michael Jackson: Thriller (see my post below)
Pink Floyd: Oh by the Way (complete boxed set)
U2: The Joshua Tree
Radiohead: Radiohead (boxed set of Capitol albums)
     (for info on those three, see my post below)

Keep the Faith, Multichannel-Music Mavens! —Ken Richardson

"Thriller" in surround. NOT!

Here we don't go again: According to a report on Billboard.com, Epic/Legacy will release a 25th-anniversary edition of Michael Jackson's Thriller on February 12. (Actually, last year was the 25th birthday of this 1982 album, although it did make its mark in 1983. But I digress . . .)

It will include a remix of "Billie Jean" by Kanye West, remixes of "The Girl Is Mine" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" by will.i.am, and a remix of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' " by will.i.am and Akon.

It will not include a surround-sound remix of the entire album by anyone! I've said it once (see my post below on Pink Floyd, U2, and Radiohead), and I'll say it again: missed opportunity!

Not only that — this is actually the second missed opportunity for Thriller. The album appeared on SACD way back in 1999, but that was a stereo-only, non-hybrid disc.

Other goodies on the 25th edition: the "Billie Jean" demo, the rare tracks "Carousel" and "Someone in the Dark," the unreleased track "For All Time," and a bonus DVD with the "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and "Thriller" videos plus the Motown 25 TV performance of "Billie Jean." But no multichannel goodie? That's just bad.

And the surround-sound NOTwatch continues . . . —Ken Richardson