 |
THE ROLL OF HONOUR
Listed under: News
Published: Monday, September 22, 2008
When the editors-in-chief from five European photo magazines came together in 1982 to select 'The Camera of the Year', they could not have imagined that, seven years later, EISA would emerge.
Now totalling 50 specialist titles across 19 European countries, the Association is internationally known for the European EISA Awards.
Judged by a series of panels made up of the editors-in-chief from all EISA member magazines, awards are given to products on the basis of their feature sets, ergonomic standards, quality of design and value for money, and this year saw a large number of familiar names triumph in the categories of Audio, Video and Home Theatre...
Blu-ray Player – Panasonic DMP-BD50
The multifunctional DMP-BD50 Blu-ray player impressed with its ability to upscale DVDs to 1080p, decode Dolby and DTS HD audio and take advantage of profile 2.0 features such as BD-live.
Best Value Plasma TV – Panasonic VIERA TH-46PZ85
The 46-inch Full HD Viera was hailed by the judges as being “outstanding for its price,” with 100Hz ‘Double Scan’, 24fps cinema-style playback and three HDMI ports among its features.
DVD/HDD Recorder – Panasonic DIGA DMR-EH68/685
This 320GB HDD recorder comes equipped with an SD/SDHC card reader, a USB interface and a flexible DVD drive, complete with the ability to rip uncompressed CD audio and the option to come fitted with either a digital or analogue TV tuner.
High-End Audio – Marantz SC-11 S1/SM-11 S1
An advanced pre/power amp combination from the high-spec audio specialists, which won plaudits from the judging panel for being “capable of generating a fast, three-dimensional sound that is both smooth and finely detailed with almost any choice of speaker.”
Plasma TV – Pioneer Kuro PDP-LX6090
Praise was lavished upon Pioneer’s acclaimed plasma offering – “This set’s contrast ratio is sky-high,” remarked the panel. “The result is an impression of immense depth and crisp detailing, the likes of which have not been seen on a plasma TV before.”
Home Theatre Loudspeaker – KEF XQ Series
The SVI regulars triumphed with a range of floorstanding and bookshelf surround sound speakers that attracted praise from the judges for their “exacting sound quality and exceptional standards of construction and finish”.
Home Theatre – High-end – Denon AVC-A1HD
So impressed were the judges with Denon’s surround amplifier, that they were moved to describe it as, “Simply the home theatre perfectionist’s dream”.
Headphones – Sennheiser MX W1
These wireless stereo headphones were lauded by the panel for the way in which they seemed to provide “the luxury of audiophile-level sound quality in a wire-free format that permits complete freedom of movement”.
2-Channel Amplifier – NAD C315BEE
NAD’s outwardly unassuming stereo integrated amp managed to win the judges over with its 2x 40W output, six line level inputs and convenient, front-mounted auxiliary input for portable devices.
2-Channel System – Yamaha CD-S1000/A-S1000
In the eyes of the judges, Yamaha’s tag-team of the CD-S1000 SACD-player and A-S1000 90W integrated amplifier performed together well enough to “restore Yamaha's position at the forefront of music reproduction in the modern era”.
Audio Compact System – Philips MCi500H
The MCi500H’s combination of Internet Radio and CD playback with a 160GB hard disk, Gracenote connectivity and the ability to record MP3s at up to 320kbps, all topped off by a 2x 50W Class D amplifier, proved sufficient to win out over its rivals.
Audio Source – Linn Majik DS
This self-proclaimed ‘Digital Stream Player’, designed to sit between a PC or music server and an amp/speaker set-up, impressed with its flexibility, versatile remote control options and, above all, “consistently excellent audio performance…from any streaming audio format”.
Best Value LCD TV – Samsung LE40A557/577
Not only was Samsung’s entry-level option able to offer Full HD at what’s generally considered an ‘HD-Ready’ price point, it was seen to punch even higher above its weight due to its inclusion of three HDMI ports and a ‘24p Real Movie Mode’.
Green TV – JVC LT-42DS9
The no doubt eco-conscious European panel found much to admire with JVC’s super-slim set – particularly its low power consumption in dark and light surroundings, minimal use of components and materials, and modest size, allowing a greater number to be carried in a standard shipping container.
Home Theatre Blu-ray System – Samsung HT-BD2
Samsung’s forward-thinking 7.1 surround set-up was duly noted for its “hefty subwoofer, capable of driving large rooms” and for being the first to fully incorporate a Blu-ray drive – ideal for showing off its Dolby Digital TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding talents to the full.
Home Theatre Digital Media Player – Harman Kardon DMC1000
Getting the nod in this category was a particularly multi-talented box of tricks featuring 250GB of storage with the option to add a terabyte more, comprehensive CD-ripping and playback, four-zone audio streaming and even a 1080p upscaling DVD-player.
Home Theatre Receiver – Sony STR-DA5400ES
“Built and specified to a fabulously high standard,” is how Sony’s HD AV receiver was described. Acknowledged for its versatility and affordability, seven-channel power amplification, auto set-up/room correction, TrueHD/DTS HD decoding and HDMI blending are just some of the included features that earned it top marks.
Home Theatre Subwoofer – Yamaha NS-SW700
The unique ‘QD-Bass’ base this deep offering from Yamaha sits upon garnered a special mention, one of several features that contributed to what the judges saw as its “superb and robust bass performance”.
Home Theatre System – LG HT953TV
It was the lavish aesthetics of this LG system that seemed to ultimately carry the judges’ favour, who praised the Korean giants for making “great strides in styling”.
LCD-TV – Philips 42PFL9803
Those perennial Achilles’ heels of LCD TVs – lacklustre black levels and motion blur – were seen by the judges to have been circumvented by Philips’ flat-panel screen in style, courtesy of its LED backlight, 2D dimming control and ‘Clear LCD 100Hz technology’.
Loudspeaker – JBL LS80
This substantial floorstanding speaker, loaded with a ‘supertweeter’, two bass drivers and a proprietary ‘horn-loaded compression driver’ seemed to hit all the right notes as far as the judges were concerned.
Sound Station – B&W Zeppelin
B&W's uniquely-styled iPod dock’s winning mixture of looks and highly regarded speaker prowess certainly won it a fair few fans among the panel.
Video Projector – JVC DLA-HD100
It wasn’t just this projector’s impressive contrast ratio that caught the judges’ attention, but also its ‘flawless’ 1080p/24p performance and anamorphic stretch function, making it definitely one for the cinephiles.
For further information contact: +351 21 319 0654 http://www.eisa.eu
Judged by a series of panels made up of the editors-in-chief from all EISA member magazines, awards are given to products on the basis of their feature sets, ergonomic standards, quality of design and value for money, and this year saw a large number of familiar names triumph in the categories of Audio, Video and Home Theatre...
Blu-ray Player – Panasonic DMP-BD50
The multifunctional DMP-BD50 Blu-ray player impressed with its ability to upscale DVDs to 1080p, decode Dolby and DTS HD audio and take advantage of profile 2.0 features such as BD-live.
Best Value Plasma TV – Panasonic VIERA TH-46PZ85
The 46-inch Full HD Viera was hailed by the judges as being “outstanding for its price,” with 100Hz ‘Double Scan’, 24fps cinema-style playback and three HDMI ports among its features.
DVD/HDD Recorder – Panasonic DIGA DMR-EH68/685
This 320GB HDD recorder comes equipped with an SD/SDHC card reader, a USB interface and a flexible DVD drive, complete with the ability to rip uncompressed CD audio and the option to come fitted with either a digital or analogue TV tuner.
High-End Audio – Marantz SC-11 S1/SM-11 S1
An advanced pre/power amp combination from the high-spec audio specialists, which won plaudits from the judging panel for being “capable of generating a fast, three-dimensional sound that is both smooth and finely detailed with almost any choice of speaker.”
Plasma TV – Pioneer Kuro PDP-LX6090
Praise was lavished upon Pioneer’s acclaimed plasma offering – “This set’s contrast ratio is sky-high,” remarked the panel. “The result is an impression of immense depth and crisp detailing, the likes of which have not been seen on a plasma TV before.”
Home Theatre Loudspeaker – KEF XQ Series
The SVI regulars triumphed with a range of floorstanding and bookshelf surround sound speakers that attracted praise from the judges for their “exacting sound quality and exceptional standards of construction and finish”.
Home Theatre – High-end – Denon AVC-A1HD
So impressed were the judges with Denon’s surround amplifier, that they were moved to describe it as, “Simply the home theatre perfectionist’s dream”.
Headphones – Sennheiser MX W1
These wireless stereo headphones were lauded by the panel for the way in which they seemed to provide “the luxury of audiophile-level sound quality in a wire-free format that permits complete freedom of movement”.
2-Channel Amplifier – NAD C315BEE
NAD’s outwardly unassuming stereo integrated amp managed to win the judges over with its 2x 40W output, six line level inputs and convenient, front-mounted auxiliary input for portable devices.
2-Channel System – Yamaha CD-S1000/A-S1000
In the eyes of the judges, Yamaha’s tag-team of the CD-S1000 SACD-player and A-S1000 90W integrated amplifier performed together well enough to “restore Yamaha's position at the forefront of music reproduction in the modern era”.
Audio Compact System – Philips MCi500H
The MCi500H’s combination of Internet Radio and CD playback with a 160GB hard disk, Gracenote connectivity and the ability to record MP3s at up to 320kbps, all topped off by a 2x 50W Class D amplifier, proved sufficient to win out over its rivals.
Audio Source – Linn Majik DS
This self-proclaimed ‘Digital Stream Player’, designed to sit between a PC or music server and an amp/speaker set-up, impressed with its flexibility, versatile remote control options and, above all, “consistently excellent audio performance…from any streaming audio format”.
Best Value LCD TV – Samsung LE40A557/577
Not only was Samsung’s entry-level option able to offer Full HD at what’s generally considered an ‘HD-Ready’ price point, it was seen to punch even higher above its weight due to its inclusion of three HDMI ports and a ‘24p Real Movie Mode’.
Green TV – JVC LT-42DS9
The no doubt eco-conscious European panel found much to admire with JVC’s super-slim set – particularly its low power consumption in dark and light surroundings, minimal use of components and materials, and modest size, allowing a greater number to be carried in a standard shipping container.
Home Theatre Blu-ray System – Samsung HT-BD2
Samsung’s forward-thinking 7.1 surround set-up was duly noted for its “hefty subwoofer, capable of driving large rooms” and for being the first to fully incorporate a Blu-ray drive – ideal for showing off its Dolby Digital TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding talents to the full.
Home Theatre Digital Media Player – Harman Kardon DMC1000
Getting the nod in this category was a particularly multi-talented box of tricks featuring 250GB of storage with the option to add a terabyte more, comprehensive CD-ripping and playback, four-zone audio streaming and even a 1080p upscaling DVD-player.
Home Theatre Receiver – Sony STR-DA5400ES
“Built and specified to a fabulously high standard,” is how Sony’s HD AV receiver was described. Acknowledged for its versatility and affordability, seven-channel power amplification, auto set-up/room correction, TrueHD/DTS HD decoding and HDMI blending are just some of the included features that earned it top marks.
Home Theatre Subwoofer – Yamaha NS-SW700
The unique ‘QD-Bass’ base this deep offering from Yamaha sits upon garnered a special mention, one of several features that contributed to what the judges saw as its “superb and robust bass performance”.
Home Theatre System – LG HT953TV
It was the lavish aesthetics of this LG system that seemed to ultimately carry the judges’ favour, who praised the Korean giants for making “great strides in styling”.
LCD-TV – Philips 42PFL9803
Those perennial Achilles’ heels of LCD TVs – lacklustre black levels and motion blur – were seen by the judges to have been circumvented by Philips’ flat-panel screen in style, courtesy of its LED backlight, 2D dimming control and ‘Clear LCD 100Hz technology’.
Loudspeaker – JBL LS80
This substantial floorstanding speaker, loaded with a ‘supertweeter’, two bass drivers and a proprietary ‘horn-loaded compression driver’ seemed to hit all the right notes as far as the judges were concerned.
Sound Station – B&W Zeppelin
B&W's uniquely-styled iPod dock’s winning mixture of looks and highly regarded speaker prowess certainly won it a fair few fans among the panel.
Video Projector – JVC DLA-HD100
It wasn’t just this projector’s impressive contrast ratio that caught the judges’ attention, but also its ‘flawless’ 1080p/24p performance and anamorphic stretch function, making it definitely one for the cinephiles.
For further information contact: +351 21 319 0654 http://www.eisa.eu
There are currently 0 comments - Have Your Say Today