European Custom Installer

Seymour Screen Excellence brings to market the first tunable white bias lighting kit in the CEDIA channel-- an offering one can adjust from 3000 to 20000K to achieve a true 6500K colour temperature.

Properly calibrated backlighting (aka hue) behind and around the film screen improves contrast and reduces eye strain, making it especially useful when combining a high-brightness projector with an ambient light rejecting (ALR) film screen in a darkened room setting.

Séura starts shipping the 86-inch Storm Ultra Bright-- an outdoor display offering 950-nit brightness as well as Adaptive Picture Technology, a proprietary means to automatically adjust backlight, contrast and other image variables.

The 86-inch display features an aesthetic revamp, with a redesigned bezel and reflective edge. The Ultra Bright line is integrated with HDBaseT certification and internal IP control, together with readily accessible waterproof compartments with inputs, outputs and internal power outlet.

Aqipa GmbH takes acquires Onkyo and Pioneer Europe in a €140 million deal that sees the distributor taking over all activities involving the Pioneer, Onkyo, Integra, Teac and Esoteric brands in Europe.

The transfer takes effect from 1 October 2018, and sees the transfer of all  business activities relating to sales, marketing, after sales service, customer care, finance, spare parts and distribution for the brands Pioneer, Onkyo, Integra, Teac and Esoteric in Europe to Aqipa.

“We are really excited that Pioneer & Onkyo Europe and all its related brands, including Integra, Teac and Esoteric, as well as all their European employees, will be joining the Aqipa family," the distributor says. "The brands will will continue to bring great products to market  while we will deliver heightened brand awareness, together with first-class value-added distribution, sales intelligence and market-leading IT systems."

US-based audio maker Krell announces the K-300i-- a next-generation integrated stereo amplifier incorporating a newly developed amplifier circuit design featuring Krell iBias technology.

The K-300i is sequel to the KAV-300i, an integrated amplifier Krell launched back in 1999. It is rated at 150W per channel into 8 Ohms, or 300W into 4 Ohms, and promises the performance of a Class A amplifier without the high heat and power consumption of traditional Class A designs. Further characteristics include an extended frequency curve with smooth highs and dynamic bass delivery.

The amplifier comes in 2 configurations, analogue and analogue/digital. The digital option adds an ESS Sabre Pro DAC for digital to analogue signal conversion, and handles digital music formats up to 192kHz/24-bit. It supports UPnP music servers and NAS devices, includes the Spotify, vTuner, Tidal, Deezer and QoBuz streaming services, and is Roon Ready and MQA compatible.

Covid announces an addition to the AOC cable product line-- the Shielded Active Optical HDMI cable, with many of the same benefits as other AOC cable products, such as use in longer distance applications and a plenum rating.

What makes AOC cables different is HDMI 2.0 support, in addition to overall shielding and a durable metal connector shell. The overall shell helps make the cable suitable for sensitive installations, including some medical applications.

While AOC cables offer many benefits compared to full copper cables, one potential downfall is most cannot be used outside of point-to-point applications. The shielded AOC cable is not bound by the point-to-point restriction, and can be used in a range of applications, depending on resolution and source/display devices in use.