Gefen to SHow New Surround Sound Audio Processor at the CEDIA Expo
Gefen, known for making high quality digital audio and video switching and transceiver equipment, has announced they will be showing their new surround sound audio processor at the upcoming Atlanta CEDIA Expo.
Made for connecting to a TV or cable box to decode the digital surround, Gefen's processor includes a single HDMI and single (S/PDIF coax or Toslink) digital audio input. It mirrors those for outputs, enabling the HDMI to be routed on to a display device.
It includes built-in 20w RMS amplifiers and RCA audio outputs for connecting external amplification and powered subwoofers. The unit supports 5.1 channels for both the powered and line level outputs. It has an RS-232 port for serial control.
Their feature set for the new processor includes:
- Splits one HDMI input source to 2 mirrored HDMI outputs with HDCP pass-through
- Extracts digital audio from an HDMI or S/PDIF source to 5.1 channels of analog and digital audio
- Outputs digital audio to S/PDIF and TOSLINK connectors at up to 5.1 channels
- Outputs analog audio at 5.1 channels of Surround Sound on L/R RCA jacks
- Outputs amplified analog audio at 20 Watts per channel RMS on external speaker terminals
- LCD display and IR remote control make operations friendly
- HDMI compliant; HDCP pass-through
Gefen is listing the retail price for these to be $899. While the unit is probably of the same high quality as other Gefen products, it seeks to fill a small, niche market; deriving surround sound by simply plugging in the surround from a cable box or built-in TV tuner. It will be competing against A/V receivers boasting many times the power, number of inputs, and a more robust feature set. The recveivers will include things such as acoustic room correction and video switching / transcoding at the same price point.
The Gefen's internal amplifiers do not deliver much power, but would be well matched to a small set of high quality, efficency speakers. At only 14"W x 2.8"h x 6.7"d, the unit is small enough to mount behind a flat panel on an tilt or articulating wall mount. It would also fit nicely in a small cabinet, along with a cable box and Blu-Ray player. Simply run your surround speaker wires to the TV location, plug in the digital audio cables, anbd you're off to the races, or maybe watching them, in full surround sound. If you're looking for something simple and of high quality, this may fit the bill.
Gefen also promises to show several more new products at CEDIA next month. Stay tuned.
