Pioneer is releasing a new AV amplifier in Japan this December.

The Pioneer SC-LX90 is an HDMI 1.3a compliant device that eschews the FM/AM tuner section that would classify it as an AV receiver. Details are sparse, but the SC-LX90 will pump 200 watts into 7 channels, and supports 140 watts spread over ten channels. No pricing details are available, and at this time it isn't known what audio codecs the unit will have onboard support for, or what type of room equalization features it will possess.

Hopefully there will be an announcement from Pioneer soon regarding their intentions for a global release.

JL Audio is now shipping their flagship Gotham subwoofer.

The Gotham subwoofer uses two of JL Audio's 13.5" drivers, and is housed in an enclosure made of one inch thick, ultra stiff fiberglass. Every enclosure produced requires a brand new $200 CNC drill bit. The Gotham tips the scales at an incredible 360 pounds, so you'll need a friend to help find optimal room placement. The Gotham also features a DSP system with automated room equalization for that last bit of fine tuning it's integration into your system. The Gotham is flat to 19Hz, and is powered by a 3800 watt amplifier. All this can be yours for a mere $11000. JL Audio has a tradition of outstanding automotive audio products, and their home audio subwoofers have been received with unanimous approval.

If your home audio budget allows, you should stop by a JL Audio dealer to see what the critics are raving about.

Are you old enough to remember when VHS and Beta slugged it out in the 80's to see which format would become the standard for videotapes?

Right now, two high definition optical disc formats are waging a war in the marketplace and the media to see which will emerge victorious and eventually replace DVD. Will this format war more closely resemble the DVD-Audio vs. SACD battle that was silently fought and lost by both sides?

The consumer electronics industry is divided. The movie studios are divided. The media is divided. The end result of all this division is a confused consumer who is reluctant to buy into either side, and the only parties that are really happy with the way things are playing out are those that have an interest in high definition video-on-demand becoming the way we receive our high definition content in the future.

WesleyTech.com is reporting that Samsung has cancelled their new flagship Blu Ray player, the BDP-2400.

According to WesleyTech, there is no explanation for the cancellation. They also note that the forthcoming Samsung combo player, the BD-UP5000, has been postponed until December. Since Blu Ray specifications are in a state of flux, one can easily jump to the conclusion that Samsung was unable to release either unit within the time window necessary to include the Blu Ray Profile the units were designed to implement. We'll see if that ends up being the case, or whether Samsung is scaling back their Blu Ray support in favor of a combo player focus that eschews partisan players altogether.

A new speaker company has been established by former Scan Speak engineers.

Scandinavian Audio Research consists of Lars Goller, former Director of engineering, and designer of the revelator and SD series patents, Ulrik Schmidt, former senior engineer, Frank Neilsen, former senior mechanical engineer, Torben Sondergaard, former president of Scan Speak, Benny Frank Pedersen, Alan Hydel Jensen, and David Stephens, VP and director of Sales and marketing for VIFA and Scan Speak in North America from 1995-2003. The initial offering of drivers will be sold under the SB Acoustics brand, and will consist of a 1" soft dome tweeter, 5" Midwoofer, 6" Midwoofer, 10" Woofer, 12" woofer and 15" woofer. The new drivers are designed from scratch, and utilize a new, proprietary cone material, low distortion magnets and a new chassis design. A new driver manufacturer with such impressive credentials is certainly welcome.

We look forward with interest to see which manufacturers choose these drivers for their designs. Drivers by SB Acoustics will be available at Madisound and other retailers on December 7.

The Home Theater Specialists of America has made it's CEDIA announcement that it is backing Blu Ray over HD DVD official yesterday.

The HTSA says it's decision was based on an internal study that showed 92 percent of category sales by HTSA members were Blu Ray. However, that balance was comprised mostly of dual format combo players. Executive director Richard Glikes of the HTSA said disc capacity, larger manufacturer adoption, content availability and better resolution are all things that make the consumer want Blu Ray over HD DVD. (Someone needs to inform Mr. Glikes that HD DVD and Blu Ray have their content encoded at the exact same resolution)

One sort of questions the relevance of this announcement, especially when the people running the HTSA can't seem to get their facts straight before issuing a press release.