The Krell Evolution 707 may represent the first truly high-end product designed to meet the technical demands of the dazzling new Blu-ray movie discs. The ,000 Evolution 707 surround-sound processor serves as the “brain” of an elite home theater audio system. It can decode all of Blu-ray’s advanced surround-sound formats, including Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio. It also upconverts all incoming video signals to 1080p resolution and outputs them through its HDMI 1.3 digital video circuitry to ensure that all of the movies, TV shows, and even home videos you watch will look their best. Although any audio amplifiers can be used with the Evolution 707, it is best mated with Krell’s own Evolution amps. The processor can be linked to the amps through Krell’s proprietary Current Audio Signal Transmission (CAST) technology, which the company says eliminates signal degradation caused by cabling. (203.298.4000, www.krellonline.com)
—Brent Butterworth