Two-tonne stereo among delights at Berlin electronic fair

Berlin, Aug 24: THE world’s most expensive and probably heaviest hi-fi and personal stereo that fits inside one’s ears are among the delights on offer to visitors with deep pockets at Europe’s largest consumer electronics fair. There is little sign that Europe’s economy is grinding to a halt as consumer electronics giants unveil a fabulous array of cutting edge wares in an effort to persuade their customers to ditch the old and embrace the new.

Largest, smallest, flattest, thinnest, the IFA fair, held every two years in the German capital and which opens to the public on Saturday, offers the industry’s version of a freak show amid the many mainstream items on the stands. Weighing in at two tonne and costing a cool 3 million marks ($1.5 million), a hi-fi system put together by German audio experts will aim to show the industry the limit of its capabilities. Over 40 separate components, a range of the finest amplifiers and cables will power five speakers. Ironically though, for a trade fair focusing on the latest technology, the system will be playing old vinyl records. For those with visual pleasure in mind, the range is enormous, from tiny screens to a 70 centimetre LCD display, produced by LG Electronics, and a classic tube screen with a one metre span made by Germany’s Loewe.

Home movie fanatics can also buy a camcorder from Japan’s JVC which its makers claim is the world’s smallest — it is little larger than a clenched fist. Elsewhere, an oscillating print will combine art and sound to create a ‘picture loudspeaker’.

At IFA 2001, digital technology is at the forefront with the long-awaited arrival of a wave of DVD recorders, albeit with three competing standards. One on offer already allows users to play and record simultaneously.

(Reuters).