by Martin Appel and Roy Harris
[All prices are in USD unless noted - Ed]
More Audiophilia 2007 CES photos can be found here
Martin Appel reports:
The Consumer Electronics Show, for high end audio, was held in a new, upscale location, the Venetian Hotel on the strip. The rooms were much more conducive to high end audio and I think a great improvement over the old location, Alexis Park, which was nothing more than a glorified motel. Nothing like a touch of class, eh. Being one of only two writers from the magazine who covered the show made it extremely challenging. You soon realize that you’re only going to see and hear a small portion of what was available. So much eye candy was there to see. After all, this was Las Vegas.
One
of the most impressive sounds of the show was being produced in the HANSEN
room. Lars Hansen has upgraded his line with three new models: EMPEROR,
ELIXIR and the KNIGHT. Prices: Hansen Audio The Emperor (the big ones):
$49,000. Hansen Audio The Knight: (smaller floor standers): $20,000. Hansen
Audio The Elixir (single "bookshelf" model displayed in rear
of room): $15,000. All three speakers made their debut at CES 2007
They’ve all been built with what Lars calls V-2 technology, an improvement
in building derived from the KING, his top line speaker. The EMPEROR,
his less expensive speaker was making wonderful sounds playing through
CAT tube gear. Bravo, Lars.
In
the adjacent room, DEQX was also astonishing with their new equipment.
They had several new, upgraded processors, with and without built in amplification
and had a demo with modified NHT monitors with two diminutive 400 watt
digital amps attached to the backs of the little speakers. The processors
also controlled the subwoofers. The sound was amazing. Kudos to Kim Ryrie.
I
spent some time with SOUNDQUEST’s Gabby Amram in the AUDIOPHYSIC’s
room. The sound was delicious using Burmester gear. Next up were more
folks from Germany, ASW. They make various lines of speakers. Their GENIUS
line was on display and I understand why my publisher gave them such praise.
I
had an interesting time chatting with Scot Markwell and Franc Kuzma about
the Kuzma line of turntables and Franc’s design philosophy. Scot,
the former Absolute Sound reviewer, was singing the praises of Kuzma as
well as Plinius. Scot is now the General Manager of ELITE AUDIO VIDEO
DISTRIBUTION and I respect his take on audio. The sound I was hearing
was gorgeous.
Unfortunately,
when I visited at the BURMESTER room, two thirds of their equipment had
not arrived yet and as Udo Besser explained, only their entry level gear
had showed up. Well if everyone’s entry level gear sounded this good
we all could save a lot of money. It still wasn’t inexpensive but
compared to their top level it was amazingly good and affordable to a
much wider market.
I
wandered into a room where I knew nothing about the product and met ATLAS
cable’s John S. Carrick, a wonderful Scotsman who is the sales director
and designer of the One Crystal Copper cables. He claims his proprietary
methods of construction produces a wonderful product. I’m looking
forward to getting a chance at reviewing some cables. Stay tuned.
NUFORCE,
the digital amp folks, were showing off their wares and demoing their
new speaker, a stand mounted monitor with a beautiful wood finish that
made quite an impressive sound.
Acoustic
Zen’s Robert Lee had his ADAGIO speakers [review forthcoming
- Ed] on display and they were rockin’ with Red Dragon amps,
Modwright tube preamplification, a VPI SCOUT turntable and of course,
Robert’s superb cables. In the adjacent room, his stand mounted ADAGIO
jr’s were equally astounding and at $3,500US, a bargain. Way to go,
Robert.
One
of my personal missions at the show was to see how the growth in vinyl
playback was going. Well, it's exploding. BASIS was there in full force
with a slew of tables. CLEARAUDIO was equally and beautifully represented
in the Musical Surroundings suite. PROJECT and SME were there in spades
in the SUMIKO room with a plethora of models. Already spoke of KUZMA,
but I have not mentioned TRANSROTOR arriving with multiple gorgeous models.
REDPOINT also was not to be missed. Roy Hall, of MUSIC HALL was showing
his tables and hinted at some new designs down the road but since they
were in the development stage I can say no more. THORENS, brought to you
by MUSIC DIRECT, was overflowing with models including a prototype of
an updated and reworked version of the classic 160 with new technologically
advanced materials and incorporating new design techniques. Can’t
wait. Last but not least, CALIBURN’s Continuum with the Cobra arm,
(The Wonder from Down Under), was showing their products. In addition,
a new arm called the Copperhead was introduced. Analogue can take your
breath away.
On
the opposite end of the audio spectrum LYNGDORF, from Denmark. Peter Lyngdorf,
the original designer of TACT equipment, has formed his own company and
has produced a growing array of equipment and room treatment correction
systems with speakers and subwoofers to go along with his electronics.
Quite impressive.
Additionally,
a wide variety of cartridges, phono preamps and accessories were also
on hand. CLEARAUDIO, SHELTER, SUMIKO, DYNAVECTOR among others, were all
showing new models. Saw a new, less expensive, phono preamp by Michael
Yee that he is very high on. I asked to review it and await its arrival
in the near future.
I
saw some interesting equipment from a German company called ACOUSTIC PLAN.
They were making some beautiful music with hybrid electronics and dynamic
dipole speaker called the VEENA that looked like a planar design but wasn’t.
A
resurrected company, ESS was back with their AMT Connoisseur-Series loudspeakers.
With the brief listening time I had they seemed very promising. Another
unusual looking, but wonderful sounding speaker was shown by GERMAN PHYSICS.
LANSCHE
AUDIO, another German company had a very interesting sounding and beautifully
finished speaker called the 4.1. The technologically advanced design used
an ion plasma tweeter. The sound was captivating and at 45k US per pair
it would fit right into the luxury market. One drawback is the smell of
ozone created by the speaker.
My
final moments at the CES were spent at the KRELL suite listening to the
new KRELL gear. A tour de force for sure. His new speaker design no longer
has a D’appolito arrangement and it’s an improvement. It is
a stunning achievement, Dan D’agostino.
On the other extreme, SANSUI had on display (at the Convention center)
some very beautifully finished miniature tube gear. These mini systems
were designed for desk top listening or dorm rooms with mp3 players. The
equipment looked absolutely charming.
While
wandering the halls I came across Norm Ginsburg, the marketing director
of NORVINZ. Along with Vinh Vu of GINGKO AUDIO he showed tube gear imported
from Viet Nam! The fit and finish was exquisite with hand carved wood
from Laos. The sound was equally beautiful, playing through Warferdale
floorstanders.
Not
to be outdone in the beauty department, PATHOS, was showing their new
gear. Talk about design. Beauty and function united. I love Italians.
Last
but not least, beautiful sound was being made by Ms. Chaffee’s DeHavilland
tube gear driving NOLA speakers. The music flowed sweetly from this system.
In
conclusion, I experienced good sound being produced, from both digital
and analogue systems, employing both tube and solid state equipment. The
remarkable fact is that there were enough flavors to satisfy all appetites.
To say one approach is more valid then another is like saying apples have
more intrinsic value then bananas. We all perceive sound differently and
as human beings, lucky enough to have a choice in reaching our sonic goals,
we should learn to be open to other’s choices even though we might
disagree with them. Tolerance is a good thing.
Another
fact that becomes more apparent each year is the growth in quality products
coming from all four corners of the globe. This explosion of choice only
benefits the listener in the end. Having a turntable from Germany, an
amplifier from China, a cd player from England, a cartridge from Japan,
speakers from New Zealand, a preamplifier from Canada and a processor
from Australia brings us all closer together and possibly greater understanding
and awareness that we’re all in this together.
Keep listening
Martin Appel
Roy Harris reports:
They came
from many places, having many different faces, inhabiting different spaces.
They travel once a year to hear the current and avant-garde gear, expending
some capital and lots of time to experience the mundane and sublime in
audio reproduction. At times their ears may be in pain and the sound may
drive them insane, but something impels them to visit CES again and again.
What is it? I can only speculate and consider my own motivations. It’s
the diamond-in-the-rough hypothesis. After attending a number of these
events, one anticipates a lot of bad sound and at the same time the hope
of finding a few gems. I have no idea where I will experience sonic excellence,
but I have confidence that several exhibits will surprise me with a memorable
presentation. It is quite possible that others share my sentiments. Is
CES an audio odyssey in search of audio bliss? Go to CES and decide for
yourself.
From
what I recall from CES expositions of the past, this year provided more
new product entries than usual. Here are some of the introductions:
VMPS
introduced the RM V60 ($8900), hybrid ribbon speaker system, whose frequency
response from 70 Hz on up was paired with the VSS 15 inch woofer ($1650)
in a separate enclosure.
Parasound
presented the JC-2 preamp ($4000), with a special transformer designed
by John Curl and was featured with the Parasound JC-1 mono amps ($7000),
the D-3 universal player ($2500) and the PMC BB5 speaker system.
Eggleston
works showed the Model 9, a 3 way speaker with 2 rear ports ($12,900).
Balanced
Audio Technology presented the BAT REX balanced preamp ($18,000), having
140 steps of 5db resolution. The user has a choice of tube type in the
gain stage, namely 6c19, 6h30 or 5881. Each tube has its own sonic characteristics.
Lamm
introduced a new single ended amp, the ML3 ($126,290/pair), a 32 watt
design with separate power supply, pure class A and no feedback.
Upscale Audio showed Prima Luna’s first CD player, the Prologue 8,
expected retail price between $2000 and $2500. The player uses 2 pair
of 12ax7 and 12au7 tubes. It has a tube rectification stage and it is
the world’s first tube-based digital clock.
Plastoform
exhibited a floor standing line array, the VLA, price to be determined,
consisting of 48 HI-X aluminum drivers augmented by a separate woofer,
a dual 8 inch sub, designed for ultra-wide dispersion.
CAT
introduced the Legend preamp ($15,995), with “company” including
the CAT JL2 amp ($16,995), Ayre 5 CD player ($3500), CAT supplied cables
and an Ascendo speaker system ($2500).
Thiel
introduced a prototype of its new speaker, the 3.7 ($9900), using corrugated
aluminum drivers.
Zanden
showed a prototype CD player ($15,000 - $20,000) and a prototype amp ($42,000
- $45,000).
Vandersteen
introduced the latest version of its model 2 speaker, the 2CE Signature
($1999), coupled with Ayre electronics and Ayre cable. The tweeter and
midrange drivers are those of the model 3A.
Divergent
Technologies showed the latest version of the Reference 3A, the Grand
Veena ($7500), a 2 way floor stander.
Devore
Fidelity showed its latest entry, the Nines ($6500), a 3 way design with
side firing woofer.
Empirical
Audio introduced a USB DAC, the Spoiler (approximately $2500), using 2
6922 tubes, having no op amps.
Siltech
introduced its first speaker, a hybrid 3 way prototype, the SC-1 Signature
($100,000 +), incorporating two 16 inch woofers, a 7 inch midrange and
a 72 square inch electrostatic tweeter array, covering frequencies above
2000 Hz.
Symposium
showed a prototype of its Panorama speaker ($60,000), a hybrid, featuring
separate ribbon and woofer enclosures, 93-94 db efficient. The bass enclosure
houses a transmission line design with twin drivers.
Eminent
Technology demonstrated a unique design for a subwoofer, the Rotary Subwoofer
($12,900), producing frequencies from 4 Hz on up. The presentation included
generated frequencies, an earthquake and DVDs.
Magnepan
introduced its first planar woofer, a prototype, for use with on-wall
speakers. Essentially, it is a 20.1 driver with adjustable crossover points,
capable of 40 Hz reproduction.
I
visited more than 200 exhibits. In general, I thought there was an improvement
in sound at T.H.E. SHOW and at the Venetian, compared to what I heard
last year at the St. Tropez and Alexis Park hotels. The meeting rooms
at the Venetian are most hospitable to stereo systems. The rooms are large,
with high ceilings and thick carpets. Room boundaries should have little
impact on the sound of audio systems. Unfortunately, access to the rooms
is somewhat challenging. The room layouts are not clear and there is a
long walk through the casino and the main floor of the hotel before one
can reach the meeting rooms or the elevators to the upper floors. By the
second visit, I was able to navigate my way to all exhibits without much
difficulty. There was some loss of time and convenience traveling back
and forth from the Venetian to the St. Tropez hotels.
This
year I paid special attention to full range panel speakers, CD players
and tube amplifiers—100 + watts, as I am considering the purchase
of another CD player, tube amp and pair of speakers. I was looking for
the “classic” sound of tubes and a warm sounding CD player—tube-based
or solid state. Read on to see what components were on my short list at
the end of the show.
Many
of the stereo systems I encountered were forgettable. There were very
expensive systems whose price exceeded their performance and other systems,
varying in price, whose flaws were obvious, including driver and cabinet
colorations, imbalances in frequency response and serious timbral inaccuracies.
I no longer accept the theory that the room is mainly responsible for
poor sound. I think that achieving good sound may not be a high priority
for some exhibitors, components may not be broken in prior to the show
and many components are mismatched.
Fortunately
there were some stereo systems which were fairly priced or exceeded my
expectations, and there were several surprises. I cite those of special
merit below for your consideration:
I
Speakers under $500
TBI Majestic Diamond ($400) was configured with Magellan prototype sub
($150), the Sonic T amp ($30), Consonance CD player ($1500), supplied
speaker cable, an Ipod Interconnect ($20) and stands ($100/pair). This
stereo system is entry-level high-end quality. It is very listenable without
the
usual objectionable attributes of solid state designs. Cymbal sounds were
easy on the ear and orchestral music was not lacking in dynamics. Do the
math - this system is an excellent value.
II
Speakers from $500 to $1000
A
Audio Space LS 3/5 A ($700) was part of an all Audio Space system consisting
of Galaxy integrated 300 amp, 21 watt tube design ($2790), prototype tube
CD player (around $1000), cables ($900) and line conditioner ($400). This
stereo system is another good value, providing sufficient detail and minimal
box colorations at its price point.
B
SV Sound SBS-01 with PB 10 Sub ($1000) was in mixed company with a Denon
receiver serving as a preamp, a PS Audio amp, a Panasonic CD player and
Better cable interconnect and speaker cable ($230). Extension from top
to bottom, resolution and a slight peak from 1 Khz to 6 Khz
are the salient characteristics of this stereo system.
III
Speakers from $1001 to $1500
A
American Digital Audio presented a speaker, the AD-1 ($1200), powered
bythe American Digital Audio 300 B integrated amp ($1199), and introduced
a prototype tube cd player using 2 6n1p tubes ($1100). Cables cost $200
and stands cost $160 per pair.The sound of the 300 B tube was evident,
especially in the treble region. There was a slight touch of box colorations.
A subwoofer is advised.
B
The Hsu Ultimate 1 (less 2 pair of satellites) ($1500) was demonstrated
using very inexpensive electronics, including an HK AVR 240 receiver ($320),
Sony dvd player ($69) and “no name” cables.The sound was clean,
detailed, open, with ample bass presence and some box
colorations.
IV
Speakers from $10,000 to $20,000
Navison Audio, designers of tube amplifiers and preamps, were using the
Tannoy Yorkminster ($14,000) and Classe CDP1 ($1400) to demonstrate its
MK 1 preamp priced at $4000 and the 211 SE, 20 watt amp, priced at $8000.
Speakers were biwired with Siltech LSAT ($1000) and Purist Audio Venustas.
Interconnect cables were Siltech SQAT 8 ($1600) and Purist Audio Venustas
($1000). Line cords were supplied by Navison Audio.I heard the “classic”
sound of tubes, beauty but not truth. Expect euphonic coloration, very
natural and robust midrange and treble timbre with some deficiency in
the bass. I suspect the amp may be responsible for the attenuation in
the bass.
V
Speakers from $50,000 to $100,000
Sunny
Cable Technology presented the H3W 18 speaker ($88,000) with Ayre Acoustics
electronics modified by Sunny Cable Technology, a Sonic Frontiers SF2
MK 2 transport and the Sunny Cable Technology Supreme cables with “the
box”. The cost of this stereo system exceeds $150,000. This is a
full range stereo system. Bass fundamentals were more realistically rendered
than by any other stereo system I heard at either venue. The frequency
response was balanced. Dynamics were not lacking and notes in the upper
midrange/lower treble region did not offend. The contrast between the
stereo systems represented by Navison audio and Sunny Cable Technology
made it difficult to select one over the other. Both were my top two favorites.
Each has its own virtues and I did not prefer one over the other.
My
search for CD players, amplifiers and speakers was partially successful.
I found 3 CD players of interest, no amplifiers and no speakers. The CD
players are listed below, along with the reasons for my interest:
1)
Melody Hifi CD player ($2500)
A tube complement of 2 6sn7 and 1 ar5 rectifier tube, 2 massive transformers,
a weight of 70 pounds and the natural shimmer of a cymbal caught my attention.
I intend to review this player and would consider purchasing it if it
provided a vintage tube sound.
2)
Arcana CD 1 ($1000)
One
of the few players offering user-selected sampling rates, accessed on
the remote control, was available at a reasonable price. The effect of
increasing the sampling rate to 352 Khz was a smoother treble presentation
than the default 96 Khz. I also have an interest to review this player
when it is available. There is a more expensive player in the line, the
CD 2, which increases the sampling rate to more than 700 Khz and is equipped
with tubes. I will inquire about this model as well.
3)
Prima Luna Prologue 8 ($2000 - $2500)
This
player will not be available until June of 2007. The fact that it uses
4 12 volt tubes with the possibility of altering the sound by means of
tube rolling is sufficient to peak my interest.
Further Thoughts
The
sound as a whole was “better” than last year, i.e., some of
the egregious frequency response errors, such as “boom” and
“sizzle” were largely absent. I observed a homogeneity of sound.
The differences between the sound of stereo systems from room to room
narrowed, compared to last year. Tube-based stereo systems sounded more
like solid state and solid state systems had less of the (negative) characteristics
associated with transistor designs. Thus, there was a convergence, to
some degree, between tube and transistor designs.
My
main source was a recording of a nylon string acoustic guitar played by
Earl Klugh, namely, “Two of a Kind”. I noticed that most stereo
systems had a dip in the lower midrange. Timbral inaccuracies in the sound
of the guitar were evident. The strings sounded thin, having a steely
quality and the wood body of the guitar was understated.
It
is my opinion that the emphasis upon neutrality, the stated design goal
of almost all manufacturers, has not been achieved. There is a gap between
intention and execution. While the goal of absolute neutrality will never
be realized, it is possible to reduce errors of timbral representation.
It is also likely that the flaws in recordings are now more noticeable
because of the resolving capabilities of cables, electronics, speakers
and noise reducing components, typical of many of today’s “high-end”
stereo systems. If
the hardware is less inaccurate than the software, continuing to reduce
coloration in components will only reveal the inadequacies of recordings
and possibly increase the frustration level of audiophiles. Must one suffer?
Designers, how about incorporating treble attenuation in the design of
a preamp?
Roy Harris
