Monitor Audio has launched a microsite for their new flagship Platinum Line of loudspeakers.

Launched in 1972, Monitor Audio is known in recent years for their outstanding Silver Line, which offers exceptional sonic performance that belies their modest price. Sparse details and images have been arising about their new flagship line of audiophile loudspeakers, and now Monitor Audio has made it official. The line consists of the PL300 floorstanders, PL100 bookshelf, PLC350 center channel and PLW15 subwoofer. Monitor's C-CAM (ceramic coated aluminum/magnesium alloy) drivers are used throughout the range. Even the ribbon tweeters shared by the line, which is a first for Monitor, utilize C-CAM design. Baffles and plinths are constructed of the same material, a polymer dubbed ARC, which stands for anti-resonance composite. The midrange driver housing in the floorstanding PL300 is also constructed of the new material. Ports in the series use a new design, Hive II, which adds a straight rifling to the port tubes that Monitor Audio claims increases velocity and decreases turbulence. The line is available in Rosewood, Ebony and Piano Black, all with leather-clad front baffles. The PL300 will retail at $8995, PL100 $4295, PLC350 $4295 and the PLW15 sub will not be available til Spring 2008.

If this new line from Monitor Audio sound half as good as they look, Monitor is about to make big waves in a second price tier. I look forward to seeing evaluations on these. If anyone from Monitor Audio reads this, I would be more than willing to provide my evaluation if you want to ship me a set. ;)

The passion that AV Enthusiast's have for their hobby is demonstrated by the members of the numerous and excellent AV web forums. It's not uncommon to find people from the AV press and AV industry contributing to the discussions. As a fan, I've always enjoyed reading and participating in discussions with the people responsible for creating the objects of my obsession.

I've always felt that there weren't enough instances of the AV press sitting down with people in the industry to provide a glimpse of who they are, what their background was, and giving them a chance to talk about their product in their own words.

In that spirit, AV Enthusiast is going to start publishing interviews with notable people in the industry. In this inaugural AV Enthusiast Interview, Jim Salk of Salk Sound was gracious enough to sit down and answer some questions for us:

Generally loudspeakers for your personal computer don't excite. One can only hope for something that will do justice to your mp3 collection, and serve the occasional movie without too much disappointment.

The Audio Insider has a new multimedia 2.1 system that will hopefully fit the bill at a price that doesn't break the bank. The Swan M10 active desktop loudspeaker system is a magnetically shielded 2.1 system comprised of a sub and two monitors. The monitors sport 3 inch aluminum alloy woofers mated with 25 mm soft dome tweeters. The subwoofer houses a 5 inch aluminum alloy driver. The system reproduces a frequency range of 42Hz-20kHz, which is respectable for a desktop system.

This lightweight 11 pound system will only set you back $109 direct from The Audio Insider. The M10 system comes with Audio Insider's 30 day in-home satisfaction guarantee, and is sure to provide greater sonic satisfaction than similarly priced chain store offerings.

Pioneer is releasing a new AV amplifier in Japan this December.

The Pioneer SC-LX90 is an HDMI 1.3a compliant device that eschews the FM/AM tuner section that would classify it as an AV receiver. Details are sparse, but the SC-LX90 will pump 200 watts into 7 channels, and supports 140 watts spread over ten channels. No pricing details are available, and at this time it isn't known what audio codecs the unit will have onboard support for, or what type of room equalization features it will possess.

Hopefully there will be an announcement from Pioneer soon regarding their intentions for a global release.