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CES 2006 Spotlight: Empower Technologies

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It?s fairly sleek. It makes heads turn as people walk by. It shakes your butt a lot as you play video games and watch movies. What am I talking about? Empower Technologies? new PowerPlay Pro-Media Chair.

As explained by Empower Vice President of Sales and Marketing Alex Romanov at CES 2006, the PowerPlay Pro-Media Chair has been drawing a lot of interest because of its design and how it incorporates a true 5.1 surround sound system to create an enjoyable audio experience.

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?The design of the chair had to do with leading edge media technologies today,? said Romanov. ?The chair is designed to accept 5.1 surround sound from a variety of sources. The chair is a true 5.1 experience?there isn?t a real competitor.?

The PowerPlay Pro-Media Chair incorporates the Logitech Z-5500 Digital THX-certified, 500-watt 5.1 surround sound system into its European looking, leather upholstered frame. Two rear speakers are built into the headrest, a center speaker is built into the front, center portion of the chair, two satellite speakers are attached to moveable arms on either side of the chair and the subwoofer is positioned underneath.

Joining this incorporated technology parade is a digital control device which is mounted next to the left arm rest, a separate bass amplifier on the rear of the chair with an adjustable dial on the right side and a wireless remote which can be used to control the chair and make it into a standalone 5.1 stereo entertainment system.

?It is desiggned to turn the smallest possible area into a full 5.1 surround sound system,? said Romanov. ?It is encoded with DTS and Dolby Digital. What you have here is a device which will accept various surround sound sources.?

Other features of the chair, added Romanov, include adjustable wheel castors which allow it to move forward or backwards and an optional four way digital splitter that allows up to four chairs to be linked at the same time so everyone can equally share in the 5.1 surround sound experience.

And what would make someone purchase this chair, which retails for around $1,000? Romanov had an answer for that.

?We did a little comparison,? he said. ?If you were to buy a home theatre chair and a good quality 5.1 surround sound system, it would cost you about $2,400. Our chair offers all that for $1,000.?

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