Panasonicís Plans For DVD-Audio Player Shipments Announced
Panasonic has announced delivery plans for its new models of DVD-Audio players, the Panasonic DVD-A7 and the Technics DVD-A10. Both units, expected to ship in October, will accept and play CDs as well as DVD-Audio and DVD-Video discs. At the same time, Panasonic's players will conform to the DVD-Audio specification and incorporate a new digital-to-analog converter based on multistage noise shaping technology, a technology refined by Matsushita for 192kHz/24-bit DVD-Audio use. ""DVD-Audio not only far exceeds the audio quality of conventional CD reproduction, but provides new enhancements that can combine listening with a truly interactive experience,"" said Gene Kelsey, Vice President and General Manager of Panasonic's audio group. He predicts a major role for the new players. ""A DVD-Audio/Video player will be the cornerstone component of all home entertainment systems of the near future,"" he said. ""DVD-Audio is about to unleash an entirely new revolution in what we now simply call home audio,"" Kelsey said. ""It will be an attack on both our aural and visual senses, taking the performer yet another giant step closer into our living rooms."" The DVD-A7 provides high quality audio and video, but, according to the company, the A10 has been designed with audiophiles in mind. Its power supply incorporates a system called Advanced Virtual Battery Operation. Using a capacitor to supply its charged power to the audio reproduction circuitry, the technique simulates a battery (a pure source of DC current) to ""virtually eliminate"" power supply noise for faithful reproduction of even the smallest signal information. Also, an R-Core transformer, which has a rounded shape to help minimize leakage flux and noise, replaces the conventional transformers with their squared-off corners and uneven flux patterns. And TA-KE II electrolytic capacitors are used throughout for better mid-high frequency response with lower distortion. The Panasonic DVD-A7 will be available for a suggested retail price of $995.95 and the Technics DVD-A10 will sell for $1,199.95. For more information, contact Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company at 201 348 7000 or visit their Web site at www.mei.co.jp.