True High-End Home Entertainment
True High-End Home Entertainment for Microsoft’s ZuneTM
and a simple vision for the future.
Acclaimed Australian speaker manufacturer VAF Research launches a category
leading digital home entertainment system for Zune, and a revolutionary
modular SoundWallTM .
Built to VAF’s highest of High-End audio pedigree, the new VAF Octavio 1TM plays directly from
Microsoft’s new Zune player and can also connect to a TV, DVD player, Game Console or
other source.
“The uptake of personal and home digital entertainment is exciting. While others may see
these as two categories, VAF does not”, said VAFs Founder and CEO, Philip Vafiadis.
“I was taught that the lowest risk path to market was to sell to existing demand, and it seems
like almost everyone in this industry has forgotten this”, Vafiadis said. “People are being
bombarded by successive releases of incomplete digital entertainment products, and now
greater and greater numbers of these products clutter our homes and our lives”.
He went on to say “Why complicate things? It’s really simple, people want to watch stuff and
listen to stuff, and they want it to look and sound good. The dream of a digital source to
sensesTM solution has technical advantages; however it makes no sense for industry
participants to push incomplete or poorly conceived products, and then ask people to change
the way they live to adapt to these products. It should be the other way around, products
should be designed to meet peoples needs. This lack of commitment to solutions which
directly relate to the way people already live is ultimately slowing participation in a fully digital,
connected and portable future”.
Vafiadis continued, “We are among the first of Microsoft’s global Zune partners. The new VAF
Octavio company and products, as well as exciting new products from VAF Research like our
new SoundWall, are no accidents. A lot of intellectual property has been created around our
vision for the future. I’m please to announce that at CES in Las Vegas we’ll be releasing two
useful tangible product platforms that are genuinely relevant to the way people live today, and
which will act as a bridge to the way we might live in a few years”.
Octavio 1
Internal VAF polling showed two things. People appreciate the benefit of higher quality
portable digital media players like Microsoft’s Zune, (over competitors) if they experience it in a
way that is relevant to them. Secondly, people who load all their music, photos and videos
onto their portable media device also want to experience these in places they already use;
their living rooms, bedrooms, study’s and college dorms. For many, this means on home
entertainment systems which simply consist of a TV, a DVD player or game console.
To meet these clear objectives, Octavio 1 has been designed to play directly from a Zune
player and can also connect to a TV, DVD player, game console or other source. It replaces
conventional amplifiers and speakers and removes a lot of clutter from the average room.
It can play loud and deep enough for music to be felt as well as heard and VAF say that for
use as a stereo home theatre, “if there is bass in the recording, things in the room will shake
with no subwoofer required”. Solidly constructed in first grade MDF and uniquely clad in a
leather style finish, it doesn’t just look cool it also damps unwanted cabinet resonances. At
over 11Kg (23lb) Octavio 1 is built like a true high-end home entertainment component and is
intended to last for many years. It features two powerful long throw 130mm (5 ¼”) woofers, a
huge 200mm (8”) bass radiator and two high end fabric dome tweeters. With plenty of inbuilt
digital amplification, it also incorporates sophisticated response correction to deliver low
distortion full range sound flat from under 38Hz to over 20,000 Hz.
In typical VAF style, form and control are also unique, simple and efficient. At just 110mm (4
¼”) deep, it’s a perfect match for modern plasma or LCD TV’s, and one simple control knob
can adjust volume level as well as switch between all input sources. Shipped with every
Octavio 1 are three patented acoustic skinsTM. Users can choose a minimalist sleek black,
white or pink look, or the very tough powerful leather style ‘naked’ finish. If that’s not enough,
the firmware is also upgradeable via a computer interface in the back panel.
In production and at just US$499, Octavio 1 can be bought through Amazon.com now. It will
soon also be available from major specialist consumer electronic retailers.
SoundWall
Also being shown at CES is VAF’s revolutionary new SoundWall. Every VAF SoundWall
installation is made from a collection of just two visually identical modular tiles. Used together
in an almost infinite variety of combinations, one delivers perfect music and movie sound, the
other improves a room’s fundamental acoustics. For a unique artistic, architectural or interior
design statement the fabric face of each VAF SoundWall module, or groups of modules, can
also be customized with any color or picture. Powerful and flexible inbuilt amplification and
response correction and both Balanced and RCA line level inputs make it compatible with
almost all high quality Hi-Fi or Home Theatre equipment from almost all brands.
Contact: Philip Vafiadis +61 8 8363 9996 philip@vaf.com.au
VAF Research Pty Ltd, 52-54 North Terrace, Kent Town 5067 South Australia
