Audio Briefs

ORANGE, CONN. — Krell has begun shipping its first SACD player and an integrated two-channel amp that delivers SACD's full bandwidth. The $4,000 SACD player plays two-channel and multichannel discs. The $2,500 KAV-400xi integrated amp is rated at 2 by 200 watts into 8 ohms.

LEXINGTON, KY. — Elan Home System plans a July 1 launch of its online installation-training program, promoted as a less costly and more efficient alternative to traveling to Elan's training center. For $100, an installer gains access to the site for a year of training at his own pace on such topics as basic system design, programming, trim-out and integration of third-party products. The site offers audio narration, on-screen diagrams, pictures and text to explain product features, applications and installation techniques. The cost of five days of training for one person at Elan's training center, in contrast, costs an average $800 for hotel rooms and transportation. Dealers also lose income when installers are attending off-site training.

ONTARIO, CANADA — Paradigm expanded upward its selection of architectural speakers with the launch of the SA series, designed to sonically match its high-end Reference cabinet speakers. The two SA models are the $1,320/pair SA-35 and $500/pair SA-10R. The SA-35, the largest in the series, is a three-driver, 2.5-way design features 12-inch tweeter, 8-inch bass/midrange driver, and 8-inch bass driver. The 10R features 1-inch tweeter and 8-inch woofer.

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Linn has begun shipping its $11,000-suggested universal disc player, which plays DVD-Audio, DVD-Video, multichannel SACD, VCD, SVCD, MP3, and MPEG discs. Outputs include progressive, component, DVI with HDCP copy protection, SPDIF, and optical digital audio. AN RS-232 interface integrates the device with Linn's Knekt multiroom system.

ROCKLEIGH, N.J. — Crestron upgraded the video capabilities of its Isys touch panels and expanded its selection of handheld wireless touch panels. New video-card options for 12 active-matrix Isys color touch screens feature Gamma Correction technology to enhance the clarity of composite and S-Video sources. Applications include security-camera monitoring and videoconferencing. Depending on the touch screen, two to three screens can be displayed simultaneously. Previous cards allowed for only two screens per display. The cards also feature the Synapse image-rendering algorithm to deliver sharper images and new on-screen text styles, such as embossed, raised and shadow. Crestron's latest handheld wireless touch panel, the STX-1700CXP, is the company's first RF touch screen to use spread spectrum technology, increasing the device's ability to overcome interference from 2.4GHz wireless home networks. Range is up to 150 feet, and it features a 5.7-inch active matrix display, five programmable and engravable push buttons on each side, and NiMH batteries.