Jon Iverson

Flat-screen TVs were clearly the winners at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES), but bubbling under the surface at the trade show were signs that creating home networks using media servers to manage both audio and video content libraries will also soon hit the big time.

Like it or not, audiophiles may find that it will be the computer industry, not the traditional consumer electronics manufacturers, that creates a successful platform for high resolution audio. As we reported last week from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Microsoft's latest Windows Media Audio (WMA) codec contains provisions for up to eight channels of 96kHz/24-bit lossy or lossless PCM audio—and Apple OSX fans have had an operating system that supports 96/24 for some time.

Yesterday, we talked with Microsoft about the high-resolution audio capabilities of Windows Media. Today, we met with one of their key competitors, Real, who also promised that, as the market matures, we will be seeing more options for audiophiles.

The show started slowly at the Alexis Park Hotel, since many exhibitors were still setting up and tuning systems as the gates opened at 10am. We ducked into the Gryphon room and discovered the company's new flagship speaker making its first public appearance. Called the "Project 30" until a more formal name is selected, the imposing four-way system consists of two mid/high-range towers and two powered woofer towers. Each woofer tower sports a built-in 600W amplifier and is reported to reach down to 16Hz. The system is claimed to have a 94dB efficiency rating and will be available before the summer at a projected price of around $120,000 in the US.