Yamaha shows off ultra-thin cloth speaker

The signs in the photo above aren't just signs. They're actually Yamaha speakers, made from a millimeter-thick layer of cloth. The company showed them off at CEATAC JAPAN 2009, demonstrating the prototypes as part of its booth.

There aren't many details about commercialization of the cloth speakers, but Engadget shot an interesting video of the prototypes in action at Yamaha's CEATAC booth (the source of the picture). We can't know how effective these speakers might be for very discreet home theater installations, but the technological potential is at least there. Maybe in a few years, we'll have posters of speakers that actually work like speakers, and utterly confound our friends.

— Will Greenwald

Yamaha announces newest A/V receiver

Yamaha announced today a new A/V receiver with an impressive feature set and a price tag just shy of a grand. The RX-V1065 is a slightly more powerful version of the RX-V665 receiver. It retains all the features of its little brother, including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support, 1080p video upscaling, and 4 HDMI inputs. with a few small upgrades. It can play HD radio, a first for the X65 line of receivers, and can put out 105W over 7 channels, compared to the V665's 95W.

While it lacks the RS232 integration and 3-zone support of Yamaha's X900 receivers, it still offers plenty of flexibility for home theaters. It can handle 2 zones, and supports iPods, iPhones, and Bluetooth audio devices with Yamaha's optional YDS-11 dock and YBA-10 Bluetooth receiver. The Yamaha RX-V1065 retails for $999.95.

— Will Greenwald

Yamaha's New DVX-700 HTiB

Yamaha is just releasing a new home-theater-in-a-box, the DVX-700. It's a small system - 2.1-channel with an upconverting DVD player.

This elegant system features two front speakers with a 2.125-inch woofer and a 1-inch tweeter. The separate subwoofer features a 6.5-inch driver. The amplifier powers a total of 210-watts into the system.

Seems odd these days to introduce a two-channel system, and one without Blu-ray, at that.  Could it be the success that Yamaha has had with their soundbars might carry over into this stereo system to create an acceptable surround image?

How much would you pay for an upscaling 2.1 system?

CEDIA: Yamaha's New Blu

The CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association) expo in Denver is hot and heavy with new Blu-ray players, just in time for the upcoming holiday season.

Perhaps one of the most anticipated players is from Yamaha. Yamaha is going Blu with the high-end BD-S2900 player. It is a Profile 1.0 version 1.1 player, featuring 192-kHz/24-bit DACs, BonusView multimedia capabilities, Direct HD audio bitstream output: Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio (lossless); Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD High Resolution, 1080p/24fps-compatible HDMI video output, and 12-bit Deep Color. The 1080p output can run at 50 or 60 fps, as well as the native 24 fps, the same frame rate at which movies are shot. The BD-S2900 with match the company's high-end receiver line, such as the RX-V1900 receiver (as pictured). Price? Take a deep breath.

Light of My Life

Listening to music is boring, right? I mean, it's just sound. There's nothing to look at or anything. That's why you'll gladly spend $2,000 on a TV, but balk at paying $200 for speakers. Right?

Well, maybe. Clearly, flat screens are all the rage, and have pushed audio playback into the more remote corners of our credit cards. The advent of HDTV is actually pretty cool, and deserves all the attention it's getting. After all, audio had its share of headlines when the CD came along. So, equal time for TV. I'm cool with that.

I'm even cool with the idea that speakers must stylistically match TVs. The fact that speakers must now be flat and thin, to match the flatness and thinness of the screens they stand beside, is a given. To their credit, speaker designers are doing a pretty good job of responding to the challenge.

But now Yamaha has given me something else to wrap my head around. Speakers that are accessories to TVs. In particular, Yamaha's YST-001 speakers have built-in ambient lighting.

Yamaha Turning Blue in the Tooth

Yamaha is making a big splash to bring Bluetooth convenience and ease to a whole new line of products. Some of them are quite exciting, and include receivers, home-theater-in-a-box systems, and perhaps the most interesting, a portable speaker, especially if you carry your music collection on your cellphone. Yahama is using Bluetooth in five of their new digital A/V receivers according to a new release from Dealerscope. The prices for these receivers will range from $229.95 up to $995.95. Four new home-theater-in-a-box systems will also incorporate Bluetooth capabilities. Those will be priced from $399.95 to $849.95. More details on another product if you keep reading...