by Anthony Kershaw
[All prices are in USD unless noted - Ed]
More Audiophilia 2006 CES photographs can be found here
I
was a little perturbed by the thick fog while driving to Toronto’s
Pearson Airport. The visibility was down to a couple of hundred feet,
the rain was steady, and there was only two hours until my America West
flight was supposed to depart. Happily, the fog dissipated and schedules
were maintained. This year, I splurged, and booked a direct flight; no
more four or five hour layovers in the pleasant confines of St. Louis,
Cleveland or Cincinnati airports.
Hotel rooms were very scant
as I booked late (always) -- a $500.00 a night suite at the new Wynn Hotel
was available! The local Audiophilia moneylenders were not too happy with
that choice. I was lucky enough to snag a suite at the Alexis Park Resort
at the very last minute, the site of the high-end section of the 2006
Consumer Electronics Show.
By the time I arrived on
Wednesday night, the hotel was deserted; the exhibitioners had long split
to the strip for a dinner and show after long hours unpacking and setting
up. I decided to get some early shut eye in preparation for the rigors
ahead. I’m glad I did.
The sound on Day 1 was pretty
awful. Suck outs and bloom galore! The rooms by and large were quite good,
if a bit small for full time listening. Near field listening was the style
of choice. I decided to mix and mingle the first day, take a ton of photos
and hook up with the other Audiophilia writers attending, New York City’s
Martin Appel and Roy Harris.
The
mixing was fun, the photography enjoyable, and by the end of the day,
the sound was getting a little more stable. Or, was it my ears? In any
case, Marty and I decided to give the Las Vegas Convention Center the
once over – yes, we like TV, too. The LCDs and plasmas were stunning
and equally stunning models helped in selling the wares. For some reason,
CES didn’t have any models helping to sell high end!
Day 2 was a different animal
altogether. Electronics were stabilized, rooms were given acoustical attention
to detail -- suck outs were less and bass humps negligible. There were
many familiar faces, but lots of manufacturers were showing off new and
exciting gear. Sadly, many rooms had Led Zep or Elvis pounding down the
doors. Not my idea of a fun time. As the crowds were not too large, many
hosts offered to put on a CD of my choice.
Day 3 was the most enjoyable.
Crowds were tolerable, the rooms sounded good, and exhibitors very relaxed.
The nerd brigade was out all three days I attended – you know the
type; all rapid fire questions, quizzical glances, condescending tone,
followed by the hurrumph as they walk out of the room with nary a thank
you! Oh man! Thankfully, I witnessed only a few, but I did hear many passionate
tales by designers and manufacturers still in love with our avocation.
Nice.
Rooms
Musical
Surroundings and Michael Yee Audio hosted one
of the more musical rooms. Yee is a very pleasant chap who has designed
a cool-looking and splendid sounding phono stage. The SuperNova Phonostage
retails for $2800 and was smooth as silk playing an old Karajan/ RCA Tosca.
The sound was helped in part by the wonderful Clearaudio
Anniversary ‘table, Graham Phantom tonearm and Benz
Micro Ebony cart. The speakers were Vivids.
They seemed to be in many rooms. The shapely South Africans, did, however
sound best in Yee’s room..
It was great to see and hear so much analog -- turntables galore, both prototype and in stock. This was the domain of the Euros, though, with the Brits and Germans stealing the show. However, one US ‘table was a knockout, but more of that later. The manufacturer’s design tenet of building an entry level, mid, a circular platform and a benchmark ‘table was alive and well with most companies.
Clearaudio had a room full
of its goodies; ‘tables, accessories and arms, with The Statement
turntable showing pride of place. I did not hear this gargantuan system,
but it looked amazing. At $100,000, it had better sound great, too!
Very intriguing was the huge prototype ‘table from van den Hul and the very sexy products from Germany’s Acoustic Signature. Some of the Acoustic line spouts ‘Silencers’, small brass pucks embedded with rubber rings in the platter to dampen it. The line was on static display, but I may be contacting US importer Musical Sounds for a review copy soon.
Sumiko
had the best room by presentation. There were always lots of ‘suits’
hanging about this room, many with designated ‘VIP’ status proudly
emblazoned on their CES badges. The room was slick, well lit, and had
lots of colour. The Rel subs and Project
turntables were all under lit on expensive-looking platforms or stands.
Very beautiful.
The Hansen Audio room was setup by Angie Lisi and Lars Hansen of Hansen Audio and Peter Clark of Redpoint Audio Design. This room had superb, smooth, unfatiguing sound. The American Redpoint Model A turntable and the Canadian Hansen Audio The Prince speakers (both products $28,000 each) were driven by a knockout prototype tube amplifier from Kevin Hayes of VAC. The turntable came with a Tri-Planar MK VII arm and a Phase-Tech cartridge ($1800). Digital was courtesy of dCS and cabling was Transparent.
Some very enjoyable, inexpensive digital was heard in the Soaring Audio room. Roy Harris very much enjoyed this room last year. Now I know why. Featured were the SLC-A300 amp ($2000) and the splendid Soaring Audio Falcon Media Center ($6000) – no need for a separate CD/DVD player or preamp. The superb Magnepan MG.3.6 loudspeakers and Cardas cabling completed the aural picture.
Canadian Distributor Justice Audio (Just May Audio in the US) had five rooms, ranging from CD and accessory sales to cables and speakers to high end analog from Roksan and speakers from Germany's ASW. Interviewing Roksan’s charming and energetic founder Touraj Moghaddam proved enlightening and entertaining. He was very happy how to tell me to get the most out of the new Radius 5 turntable (my review is forthcoming) and to discuss the history of his company and future products. A proud man. Rightly so.
Other
English speakers were on show; Spendor, Epos
and Audio Acoustics. Distributor Roy Hall’s room
had his Epos floor standers sounding smooth with new-look Shanling
electronics. Stunning visuals, good sound, and priced affordably. Audio
Acoustics is new to me. The room was filled with gorgeous speakers. The
owner/designer Shabir Bhatti was on hand to discuss in great detail his
philosophy of sound and how he developed his beautifully made and very
expensive speakers. His ideas were complicated technically but he offered
them with passion and singular style. Bhatti’s charming wife was
also on hand to aid in the discussion. The speakers sounded very good,
detailed and very ‘tight’, with the top model Sapphire coming
in for about 50Gs. Lots of money yes, but lots of speaker, too.
I spent a fair bit of time in the Wasatch Acoustics room. Sharing with Wasatch was DEQX, the Australian calibration software company that was creating some buzz at last year’s show. In fact, Wasatch, a cable company, has delved into loudspeakers and licensed the DEQX software for use in its complete Musina Music system. Included are the wonderful Wasatch interconnects and speaker cables, the Mike Levy-designed Musina 2.0 full range monitor and its .2 subwoofer (attached below for an integrated look) and the Uintah 2.2 Ampx preamp processor amplifier (including calibration software with external crossover). This complete system is available for $39,000. The sound was echt digital in that domain’s purest form. Sleek and very smooth. Kim Ryrie of DEQX used a jack-of-all-trades Denon CD player to show his listeners what can be achieved with entry level high-end electronics. Very impressive!
Kubala-Sosna Research, maker of high-end cables, was connecting fine gear in a couple of good rooms. Canadian distributor Bluebird Music had them hooked up to Chord electronics driving superb Neat monitors. The Ultimatums ($6995, incl. stands) were detailed, had lots of bass, gave the great soundstage we expect from fine monitors, but also threw large and realistic images, the downfall of some small speakers. The expensive Chord Blue CD Transport and DAC 64 ($13,000) looked as good as they sounded. The Kubala-Sosna cables were also pride of place in its main room. The featured Kharma Mini-Exquisite loudspeakers ($45,000) sounded lovely, with detailed and very refined sound driven by Kharma amps and interpreted via monstrously large mbl electronics (about 60Gs worth!). While some drool over the aesthetics of mbl gear, I do not count myself among them. Great sound, though.
I
have reviewed two amplifiers from the Czech Republic’s KR
Audio Electronics. The late, founding engineer Ricardo Kron’s
wife, Eunice, now runs the company. She was holding court and was as effervescent
as I had been told -- she spoke passionately about her amplifiers. She
was preaching to the choir – I love the gear. Hooked up to the monster
Kronzilla DXs ($19,000) was the On Track Audio Ruby large
floorstanders. The Bessel Array design sounded intriguing and was very
efficient at 94dB.
The Murata Manufacturing Company was demonstrating its spherical super tweeters. They were sitting atop the fab audio Model 1s, my reference speaker of choice ($10,000). I was drawn to the room by Murata chief Takayuki Kaneko’s mix of music. Floating very musically out of the room into the crisp morning air was Tchaikovsky ballet music. When I sat down, the music was dramatic and had solid musical imagery. Even though the room was confining (the Model 1s prefer larger rooms), the fabs and Murata made beautiful music together.
I stopped in for a quick listen to the Burmester room. Its ‘Art for the Ear’ ID was clearly evident. Presentation was first class and the Reference Line electronics and speakers were making a joyful sound and looking spectacular. Power in spades and detail aplenty for about $200,000! I noticed in the Burmester slick brochure that the company (Dieter) is designing the sound system for the new million dollar plus Bugatti Veyron ultimate super car and also offers ‘Yacht Audio’, specializing in ‘furnishing modern megayachts’! Okee dokee. Dieter Burmester was center stage enjoying the adulation (rightfully) his gear was receiving and schmoozing it up with Harry Pearson. I was pleased to see Dieter throughout the show enjoying other rooms and inquiring into other design models and styles. A terrific guy and great designer. In fact, his 911 Mk. II power amplifier is still one of the top three high-end pieces I have reviewed.
The Lamm rooms are always the essence of musicality. This time, the main setup included Wilson Audio Maxx 2 powered by Lamm Reference pre and power amplifiers. The cool-looking Metronome Kalista transport and C2 DAC were on digital duty. Good sound, here. Very detailed and musical. Not an ideal room for such large speakers, I would suggest, but some of the best sound I’ve heard out of these speakers. I never thought Lamm and Wilson a perfect match, but they sounded musically friendly at CES.
Gershman
Acoustics (yet another Canadian speaker manufacturer) was showing
off its new Black Swan loudspeaker ($30,000). My notes on this room are
lost! My apologies that I cannot relay the ancillary equipment. A shame,
as the room sounded lovely. The speakers are beautifully finished and
threw a very wide and deep soundstage. Imaging was fine, too. The slow
movement of Mozart’s 21st Piano Concerto is stunning and
sounded so on the Black Swans. The separation of the famous flute and
violin unison imitation of the piano’s descending scale was terrific.
I very much enjoyed the music and sound in Gershman’s room.
Germany and Japan co-existed magically in the Accuphase and Isophon Loudspeakers room. The speakers are new to me, but I have admired Accuphase for years. Isophon’s Cassiano loudspeakers ($10,000) looked slick and sounded that way. Clean and clear, with very powerful sound and given lots of energy by the Accuphase electronics. The Germany/Japan entente cordiale continued in the Odeon Loudspeakers and Air Tight room. US distributor Axiss set up both rooms. They have great products. All winners!
Best of Show
Very often annointing a 'Best of Show' is well nigh impossible; room effects, rushed setups, Murphy's Law, crappy juice, jetlag, etc. all are detrimental to giving of one's best. Also, my 'best' may not be yours. That I understand. It is clear that aural memory and perception can be fleeting depending on mood or attentiveness. I'll admit to mine being spot on for this show. It was very enjoyable. I had plenty of time to sit and listen in most rooms and got plenty of sleep. That said, here are my top three.
Honourable
Mention: Soaring Audio/Magnepan I came upon this room quite by
accident on the last day. I must have missed it and was so happy the quote
from an Audiophilia review stuck on the door caught my eye on my final
afternoon's walkabout. For reference, I played a CD on which I'm involved.
The sound was as I remembered from the original sessions -- generous,
rich, but very natural. The Magnaplanar 3.6 loudspeakers are justly famous.
And they need lots of quality power if they are to sound their considerable
best. They represented the Soaring Audio components tremendously well;
very faithful to the original performance. This was a very pleasant room
in which to spend a couple of hours.
Sadly, my time was short, but in that time, the synergy and musicality of the gear bumped some more famous names from top three to a little lower down the pecking order. Congratulations to Dr. Bill Avery and the rest of the Soaring Audio team.
Runner
Up for Best of Show: Wasatch Acoustics/DEQX Calibrated Unlike
my brief stint in the Soaring room, I got to enjoy extended periods over
three days in the Wasatch/DEQX room. Pride of place was the Musina Music
System, conceived and designed by Michael Levy, and for the show ably
assisted by Kim Ryrie, CEO of DEQX (and the charming Australian who invented
the seminal Fairlight CMI -- the first digital sampling synthesizer).
Ryrie's calibration software has been licensed for use with the Wasatch
system. It aligns the the timing, output level and phase, and can calibrate
for room anomalies. The crossoverless Musina 2.0 and its .2 sub must be
used with the Uintah 2.2 AMPX Preamp Processor-Amplifier and the calibrated
software. In concert with high-end Wasatch cables, this technology makes
for an incredible listening experience.
If not for the generic Denon CD player used as source, this $39,000 system may have just nosed out the below for Best of Show. The sound is incredibly dynamic, and retains the excellence in timbre, soundstage and imaging that audiophiles covet. I listened to lots of varied CDs and many sounded impactful and had lots of character. The software can accommodate surround sound, and although the SACDs I heard courtesy of Sterophile's Kal Rubinson sounded superb, I admired the system best when in plain old two channel. For an old Luddite like me, a computer controlling the sound, room problems, let alone crossovers would be tantamount to heresy, but there it was, and in Technicolor sound. Find a dealer and have a listen.
Best
of Show: Hansen Audio/Redpoint Audio Design/VAC This was a very
special room where all the equipment, including dCS digital gear and Transparent
cables, blended to make a very satisfying whole. The new Hansen Audio
The Prince loudspeaker was making its debut and being sung to the rafters
by the fantastic Redpoint Audio Design Model A 'table with Tri-Planar
MK VII arm and the relatively inexpensive Phase-Tech cartridge. It is
enough to say for me that this combination played exquisitely satisfying
music; light and dark, and all the multitude shades of grey in between.
Power and energy were there when required -- even when played at tremendous
volume in a small space, the soundstage and imaging never suffered. The
vocal and instrumental timbre were absolutely top notch.
I got to sit in the sweet spot for extended periods. A real treat. Sometime on the last day, an older gentleman dropped in (the room was always full with eager listeners) -- I asked if he would care to sit in the center stage armchair. He said an appreciative 'yes thank you' and sat down with a plastic bag of old LSCs. He asked if he could listen to Poulenc's Organ Concerto, a fantastic recording in Boston's Symphony Hall -- the LP was original and mint! After the crushing chords of the Introduction, a more gentle and melodious section begins. It was during this time that a sound so beautiful caused the gentleman to quietly remove his glasses and wipe away a tear. The greatness of the performance and all its concomitant emotion was heard so clearly via the Hansen Audio speakers. A great room filled with great gear. Congratulations!
So, a wonderful show with many fine rooms filled with superb equipment. I apologize for not including more -- there are many good pieces not photographed or written about. Yes, there were some dire rooms -- poorly setup equipment or just plain God awful sound. They were few. What was evident is the continued popularity of analogue, its superior sound, the improvement of digital gear (even surround sound), and the slow demise of DVD-A and SACD (both will continue in a niche market, much like LPs). High-end is most definitely not where the money is, save a few incredibly well-vested companies. No, most of the high-end manufacturers continue to do missionary work of the first order. And our ears and souls are the better for it.
