Pass Laboratories will introduce the XA.5 Series Power Amplifiers at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show, next month in Las Vegas. Designed for audiophiles by lifelong audiophiles, the new amplifiers represent a peak in the evolution of Pass Labs amplifiers toward ever higher performance.

The XA.5 Series of power amplifiers consists of five models, the XA200.5, the XA160.5, the XA100.5, the XA60.5 and the XA30.5. All embody significant improvements on their classic Pass Labs predecessors, and all deliver the warmth, sweetness, depth and space that are the hallmarks of outstanding audio products. Working in a pure Class-A operation, the XA.5 amplifiers achieve their superb performance by incorporating all the refinements Pass Labs quietly introduced into its earlier models over the past several years.

All five XA.5 power amplifiers are available now from authorized Pass Labs dealers at the following suggested prices:
XA200.5 $31,000/pair (mono block)
XA160.5 $20,000/pair (mono block)
XA100.5 $15,000/pair (mono block)
XA60.5 $10,000/pair (mono block)
XA30.5 $5,000 each

The recently introduced Radius noise canceling ear-plug type earphones RadHeadphones HP-NLF11 are available in white and black colors. This earphones feature a built-in lithium ion rechargeable battery lasts up to 33 hours of continuous playback once fully charged. The battery is charged via USB and it takes approximately 2 hours for a full charge.

The Radius RadHeadphones HP-NLF11 not only give you an optimal isolation and comfort, but also protects your ears from the damaged caused by turing up the volume in a noisy environment. The noise canceling circuitry reduces up to 82% of the ambient noise within 80 - 1500Hz. Also you can use them as ordinary earphones without the noise canceling function that you can disconnect from the headphones. The battery measures about 30x22x60mm and weighs 34g.

The Radius noise canceling earphones RadHeadphones HP-NLF11 come with three ear tips, a stereo mini plug, a converter for airplane and are available in Japan for approximately $80 USD.

Intempo launched the industry's first iPod docking station and speaker system, with built-in dual band DAB digital and FM radio. Compatible with the iPod family - excluding the iPod shuffle - and MP3 players the RDI will play, sync and charge them via the dock drawer.

The RDI features in a glossy "piano" finish a nice looking station with a 30W output, including a 15W subwoofer for a powerful bass response and the two tweeters provide crystal-clear treble. Also it has a built-in dual band DAB digital and FM radio, a LCD, a clock with alarm function. All functionality, including the bass and treble, can be controlled either manually or with the 23-key remote control.

The RDI retails at £129.99 (about $265) from Amazon, Comet and John Lewis.

Victor Japan aka JVC is going to introduce its first wooden earphones dubbed HP-FX500. JVC claims to enhance the audio quality by using a wooden body. These fancy earphones offer a sensitivity of 100dB/1mW, a frequency response of 8Hz to 25kHz and each earphone weighs 7.5g.

Scheduled to release in February 2008 and priced at approximately $110 the HP-FX500 comes with three different sized eartips and a carrying case.

Originally designed to match KURO TVs with its black glossy finish, the Pioneer LX01 is a 250GB hard disk drive DVD recorder with integrated digital DVB-T tuner, HDMI with 1080p scaling and a 400W digital power amplifier.

The LX01 has 2 combined front/center speakers and 2 rear speakers that features the omni-directional speaker design which consists of a distinctive 3-dimensional shape, "The effect is very similar to musical instruments being played in a live performance." says Pioneer. And for the subwoofer, it loads a couple of drivers which enable more powerful handling of lower frequencies. The receiver doubles as a DVD recorder with a 250GB HDD with record, rip and store functionalities. The system is compatible with almost all the latest HD audio formats and includes HDMI connectivity but unfortunately it doesn't play Blu-ray or HD-DVD discs, priced at 2990€ it's a shame.

The new HT-AS720ST, 5.1-channel home theater speaker system from Samsung is equipped with all the surround sound modes and connections you need to add stunning audio to your home theater and its sleek and shiny design will match very well with today's flat panel displays as well as Samsung's Blu-ray players.

The home theater system comes with 4 satellite speakers, 1 center-channel speaker and 1 active subwoofer for a total output power of 650W RMS, furthermore the system is expandable up to 7.1 channels. The AV Receiver (AV-R720) is a pure digital AV receiver that performs digital signal processing to minimize signal distortion and loss with built-in decoders compatible Dolby Digital, Dolby ProLogic II, Dolby ProLogic IIx, DTS, Dolby Digital EX, DTS ES Discrete 6.1, DTS 96/24 and DTS Neo:6.

Other features include a FM tuner with 30 presets, 2x HDMI inputs, 1x HDMI output and an universal remote. The HT-AS720ST is now available through all Samsung's retailers at $600 USD.

The new Thomson's CS607VD features in a small sized hifi a 5 CD or DVD changer that allows you to carry your music with you, anywhere. Simply insert up to five CDs and its "Rip, Play and Go" function automatically encodes the CD tracks and the PLL RDS radio program in mp3 format to the digital reader that you will have already connected through the USB port.

The CS607VD can read CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD as well as MP3, WMA and DivX files. This stereo delivers a powerful sound up to 2x 60W RMS to a pair a 2-way speakers, also the CS607VD features a blue LCD with ID3TAG function, a RDS digital PLL tuner with presets, a remote control and it comes for 179.00€

The S-101 is available for a special price $799.00 instead of $999.00 on the official Denon online store. "The S-101 is one of the most innovative and stylish home theater systems that merges the latest technology for dynamic sound, vivid picture quality, the simplest connectivity and operation available, and elegant design to integrate into any room décor" claims Denon.

The S-101 incorporates the Dolby Virtual Speaker technology to produce the most accurate virtualized surround sound listening experience achieved with only two speakers. In addition the innovative AL24 processing technology built into the S-101 provides the most natural sound reproduction from any audio source such as DVDs, CDs or music from portable players including connectivity for iPod. The system delivers a total of 200W, 50W for each satellite speaker and 100W for the powered subwoofer. Each satellite features a single 4" mid-bass driver and a 3/4" polymide tweeter while the subwoofer has a 8" driver.

The newest A/V systems from Onkyo is out. The LS-V501, a 2.1-channel home theater system is compatible with the latest HD standards with HDMI connectivity for the plasma and LCD displays. Available in silver or black color the whole system is priced at £599.99 in UK.

The DR-S501 DVD receiver features the playback of DVD-Audio and Video, Video CD, Super Audio CD, PCM Audio CD, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-R/RW, DivX, WMA, JPEG and MP3 encoded discs, includes a FM/AM Radio with 40 presets and it supports DTS Digital Surround, DTS 96/24 and Dolby Digital. The system is also iPod compatible with an optional docking station (RI Dock). Rated at 50W per channel at 6 Ohm the DR-S501 powers a pair of 2-way bass reflex front speakers (magnetically shielded) with wall-mounting capability. And The bass reflex powered subwoofer SKW-501 employs two 20cm cone woofers that deliver 100W and it features an auto standby/On circuitry.

Passive Technologies present the LifeStation HD, a stylish combination of a Blu-ray and a HD-DVD drive in a sleek case offering an immersive audiophile quality experience for all your Standard and High Definition media.

Adopting the third generation of their DynaChill fanless cooling system, Passive has chosen one of the world's finest manufactures & finishers for the production of the LifeStation HD enclosure made up of aluminium. The lifeStation's easy to use embedded Windows Vista interface seamlessly integrates a music movie, photo server, TV hard disk recorder, internet and access to future on demand media services. Also The LifeStation HD features a RAID 1 to ensure your precious media from disk failure up to 1.5Tb of storage and can be extended up to 9Tb of additional storage with the optional LifeServer.

The LifeStation systems utilizes the latest generation of video processing technologies delivering PVR, HDTV and next-generation HD disc capabilities up to 1080P resolution as well as custom designed power supplies, unique mCrystal DAC boards and T-class amplifiers that delivers class leading music playback and cinema quality ambience.