CES 2006- Top Picks

It may be strange to consider that some of the most anticipated and, well, sexiest products at CES were actually interfaces. But confronted with evolution of OE systems, specifically audio (and video) bus systems, and the difficulties of installing of your favorite electronic gear in a new car, truck or SUV, it's no wonder that our attention is properly focused on products such as JBL's Fix8, Rockford Fosgate's 3Sixty or Alpine's PXE-H650, all of which are designed to allow aftermarket audio gear to be implemented into any vehicle, even the most difficult, using an OE factory source unit. These interfaces go well beyond the simple line-level adapter of yesterday by incorporating some amazing and indispensable features.

That's not to say that interfaces were the only category to make an impact on us at the show. There were plenty of cool double-DIN head units, navigation products (portable and in-dash), new amplifiers and various gadgets that will make it difficult for consumers to decide what to buy. The following lists are our top picks from CES.

Casey Thorson
1. Alpine PXE-H650, JBL Fix8 processor, Rockford Fosgate 3Sixty processor
2. Audison LRx amplifiers
3. Pioneer AVIC-Z1 DVD/nav system
4. Alpine PDX amplifiers
5. Visteon Dockable Entertainment
6. Arc Audio Signature Edition by Robert Zeff
7. Diamond Audio D9 components
8. Alpine PLT-5 (LAT) powered subwoofer system
9. Clarion N.I.C.E. P200
10. Zapco Reference DCS Amplifiers

Bill Burton
1. JBL Fix8
2. Eclipse SW8200 12" sub-woofer & SW8000 10" subwoofer
3. Rockford Fosgate 3Sixty
4. Farenheit MPIC-10 universal multimedia digital recorder
5. Rockford Fosgate T15kW 15,000-watt amplifier
6. Audiovox XM Passport tuner
7. Alpine LAT
8. Icon-TV ICON-PC.1 car computer
9. Zapco 650.6 digital reference amplifier
10. American Bass AB20 20-inch monitor

Ben Oh
1. Eclipse AVN7000 HDD DVD/nav single-DIN head
2. Pioneer AVIC-Z1,br>3. Alpine Blackbird portable nav/music player
4. Arc Audio SignatureEdition by Robert Zeff
5. Pioneer Inno portable XM radio
6. Clarion MAX675VD
7. Alpine PDX amplifiers
8. Kenwood KOS-A200
9. Alpine LAT
10. Critical Mass subwoofer

Doug Newcomb
1. Alpine Blackbird
2. Alpine LAT
3. Eclipse AVN7000
4. JBL's Fix8
5. Kenwood DDX6019 double-DIN DVD head unit.
6. Pioneer AVIC-Z1
7. Pioneer Inno
8. Rockford 3Sixty
9. StreetDeck in-car computer
10. Sony's Nav-U portable nav

American Bass AB2020-Inch Monitor
Sometimes, bigger is better. If you have a big-screen TV in your home, you need one in your vehicle, and American Bass (famous for high-SPL competition vehicles) has a big screen for you. The price is also big, of course: $1,295.

Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD,br>With players for both formats being released this year in the U.S., we can't put off giving a brief rundown of Blu-Ray discs and HD DVDs any longer. Both are answers to how to get HD movies to fit on a DVD-sized disc. At 8GB for a typical two-hour movie, an HD film will fit on both formats, but Blu-Ray's larger storage capacity allows for more features (think interactive ones) and more content. Maybe that's why more Hollywood studios like 20th Century Fox and Disney are on Blu-Ray's bandwagon. Meanwhile, more IT companies, notably Microsoft and Intel, have taken up the HD DVD cause. Perhaps if one doesn't completely defeat the other, both will win out, HD DVD on the computer side and Blu-Ray on the movie side. Only time will tell.

Stinger XPRT (not pictured)
Stinger's new line of high-performance accessories was made specifically for installation professionals. XPRT power distribution systems are not only high performance, but they also have something we've never seen before-video enhancement! Tiny monitors let you "Hear Music in Color."

Best Of Innovations
Products in 30 categories were selected by 35 judges for an "Innovations 2006 Design And Engineering Award." Only 35 products were selected as "Best of Innovations" and these five were the only mobile-electronics products to be so honored.