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 March 1, 2008
I love the Venetian. The resort hotel’s "beauty and grace" provide an elegant setting for high-end audio. The carpeted hallways are healthily indoors. The demonstration rooms are large and airy, the common areas first-class. Perfumed restrooms, none of which I passed without using, are plentiful. The last time I attended a Consumer Electronics Show, in 2006, the modest open-air surroundings of the aging Alexis Park hotel made me feel down-at-heels, and flu-ridden afterward. My report at the time reflected an attitude of discontent that carried over to the high-priced audio jewelry on display. Not this time. Touring the halls of the Venetian, I felt rich, and thus fell under the spell of some unusually expensive audio equipment. In the battle of environment vs. tight-fisted genetics, the Venetian’s charm carried the day. Eye candy In the first hour of the show, my heartstrings were plucked by an enormous pair of transparent glass loudspeakers. I never learned their exact price -- when the exhibitor conspiratorially confessed that they anchored a system that sold for $275,000, I skedaddled. Later that day I saw another pair of glass loudspeakers that not only looked sexy but met my price expectations. Waterfall Audio, a French firm, has sought "aesthetic integration" since 1996. Although they call their Victoria Evo ($5400/pair) an "acoustic design tubing," it resembles a traditional floorstanding box -- except that you can see right through it. The drivers hover in space, creating an aura of magic that would reward backlighting. Moreover, the sound, via ADA electronics, was not brittle but relaxing. A passive 6" radiator hidden in the bottom of the tower’s pedestal handles the low frequencies down to 40Hz -- more than enough for lifestyle listening. Newlyweds on a home-decoration binge should look for Waterfall speakers, and bachelors and other lonely guys will like their significant-other acceptance factor. For the category of Speaker that Hints of Romance and Fine Wines, I bestow the first Jimmy Award of 2008 on Waterfall’s Victoria Evo.
Digital wireless Significant others despise the sight of cables cluttering up their living space. Consequently, at least half the world demands wireless communication for home entertainment systems. Thiel Audio, an influential and long-established speaker maker, demoed a multichannel array of wireless models that should eventually shift the loudspeaker paradigm. However, the message that wireless doesn’t mean cordless was pronounced in the Neosonik room, where the thick black power cords snaking from the wall sockets to powered speakers ruined the otherwise pristine presentation. Until technology permits the use of airborne wattage, AC cables will continue to diminish the appeal of "wireless" systems.
Nevertheless, Neosonik earns a Jimmy Award for advancing the state of the wireless and digital arts. The cutting-edge system I heard in their room consisted of the Wireless A/V Controller ($2500) and Digital Wireless Series 6 Tower powered speakers ($4000/pair); the source was a laptop computer. Scott Rust, formerly of MSB Technology, demoed the imaging capabilities of the Series 6, whose crossover forgoes analog components in favor of DSP control of all driver parameters. At the receiving end of the waveforms, a separate, 100W amplifier is attached to each of the three drivers per side. To prevent the subtle timing miscues that can slew the center focus hard askew, Rust told me, the Wireless A/V controller synchronizes the signal for all six monoblocks to within six nanoseconds -- that’s six billionths of a second. I listened to only one track, but even so was unable to discern imaging anomalies or digital etch. In fact, the only objection I have to owning the Series 6 and the Wireless A/V controller is that they hurt cable sellers. One cannot live on power cords alone. Digital voicing In the Accuphase room I was greeted by two distinguished Men in Black, hi-fiers of the old school. The presentation, however, was of anything but old and sterile solid-state. When asked the secret of the lush, inviting sound coming from the Avalon Eidolon loudspeakers ($33,000/pair), one of the well-dressed men handed me a brochure for the Accuphase DG-48 Digital Voicing Equalizer ($15,000). This wondrous device could champion a paradise system. By means of warble tones and a microphone, one can not only equalize a room’s frequency-response dips and peaks, but can also "voice" a system to taste by using a special pen to draw a response curve on the DG-48’s display screen, thus altering the pitch. A pushbutton activates the DG-48’s frequency-compensation software, et voilà: earsplitting violins and soggy bass are history. The DG-48 can manipulate signals in both the digital and analog domains, and can be inserted before the power amp or into a preamp’s auxiliary input. It can even be used between an integrated amplifier’s outputs and inputs, although it’s hard to imagine the owner of an integrated shelling out 15 large. Other Accuphase products on demo included the C-2410 stereo control center ($13,500), DP-700 CD player ($22,000), and A-45 class-A, 45Wpc stereo power amplifier ($14,500). All units contributed to the fine sound, but the Accuphase DG-48 wins a statuette for giving the user a "voice" in the matter. China manufacture done right Through hard experience, I have learned that electronics made in mainland China are not always as reviewers claim. First, they occasionally trade low cost for high distortion. Second, they often break right out of the box. Third, technical support usually consists of apologies and lip-service promises of help but no schematics. Nevertheless, the real possibility of economies of scale (read: cheap labor) keeps fresh and inviting the notion of bargain-priced equipment built in China. Enter PrimaLuna, a hi-fi company that builds in China under the watchful eye of a Dutch manager aided by an American merchant’s marketing expertise. The PrimaLuna room suggested that such an arrangement might be the best of all possible worlds. Their electronics drove Focal’s 1037 Be loudspeakers ($11,995/pair) to new heights of Gallic tonal accuracy. Few of the home systems I’ve had that included Chinese gear have ever sounded as precise and convincing -- as much a tribute to proper manufacturing techniques as to design merit. After traveling the China trade route without proper guidance, I would gladly pay the small premium entailed in buying PrimaLuna gear. Their ProLogue 3 preamplifier ($1599, no remote control), ProLogue 8 CD player ($2499 with tube-based data-clocking device and tube output stage), and Dialogue 4 stereo amplifier (35Wpc with autobias, $2199) are Jimmy-winners for realizing a manufacturing dream.
Techno-pods I do not own an iPod. To my ear, data-compressed digital playback sounds off-pitch and bleached of timbre. Millions of happy iPod owners disagree. Nevertheless, were a small proportion of such victims willing to pay for better sound from their MacGadgets, there’d be money to earn. Several manufacturers at CES were gambling that a sizable aftermarket for iPod enhancement devices exists. A former risk-taker, I like their chances of success. Among the high rollers are Bel Canto Design, MSB Technology, and Wadia Digital. Bel Canto Design’s Ultra-Dock ($1995) stuffs high-quality digital hardware from Analog Devices into BC’s trademark half-chassis, which accounts for much of the retail price. More important, the Ultra-Dock exploits the Adaptive Dynamics technology developed by Sonic Focus. This newly patented design claims not only to decompress MP3 content but also to "restore" the subtle nuances lost in compression. It also performs the neat trick of converting a stereo signal into either 7.1 multichannel or two-channel virtual surround-sound. Although I have yet to hear a convincing demonstration of virtual surround sound, I admire the idea, and give Bel Canto and Sonic Focus the benefit of the doubt. Besides, most purchasers of Bel Canto’s new rack-friendly half-chassis components will be loath to say no to this handsomely matching device. Thus, as a cagey investment against the day I buy an iPod, here’s a Jimmy Award for the Bel Canto Ultra-Dock. MSB Technology’s iLink ($2349 with RF link and 80MB iPod Video upgrade) is a docking station that provides "true" low-jitter digital output from a 30MB or 80MB iPod that MSB first must modify. After receiving a digital signal from the modified iPod, the iLink then sends "bit-perfect" digital audio to any digital processor via the usual outputs, including AES/EBU. The iLink also comes with a receiver that allows the iPod user to roam the listening room, iPod in hand. I don’t understand the need for such convenience, but iPod owners would know better. Over the years, MSB has produced many substantial improvements to digital playback, and I have no doubt they’re up to something good here. However, my main reason for liking the MSB iLink is from of the product’s promotional blurbs: Q: "What can I do to organize all my CDs?" A: "Simple. The iLink system will hold 3600 songs and play them back as well as your CD player or your money back." Thus, MSB Technology’s Jimmy Award comes with a Jimmy-back guarantee. The blue-light special among iPod enhancers is Wadia Digital’s iTransport, whose low price of $349 makes one wonder how it differs from the Bel Canto and MSB offerings. The iTransport doesn’t switch stereo to multichannel, which differentiates it from Bel Canto’s Ultra-Dock. Nor does it use the iPod’s own DAC. If those are the main differences, then the iTransport would appear to be a huge bargain, assuming you already own a D/A converter. If not, then a CD player with a digital input would suffice. Wadia claims that the iTransport converts an iPod into a "digital music source equal to some of the finest-sounding transports in the high-end audio market." Given that a high-end transport using a Philips CD Pro 2 CD drive would sell for well over $2000, this statement supports the notion that the Wadia iTransport is a paragon of price/performance ’Pod perfection. Minimonitor Silverline Audio’s loudspeakers, amplifiers, and cables are all built and/or designed by one obsessed individual, Alan Yun. The permutations of mixing and matching Yun’s products would challenge a chess master’s imagination. I had to visit his suite twice. The Silverline system I liked best comprised a Pass Labs XA30.5 amplifier (30Wpc, $5000), Silverline’s CD/preamp ($12,000, tubes in both CD and preamplifier output), and Silverline Audio Conductor power cords and cables (priceless). This pricey combination was used to motivate a pair of tiny speakers, the Minuets ($600/pair). From 5’ away, the Minuets produced good bass, a huge soundstage, and a midrange free of honk or thinness. I was so taken with the Minuets’ possibilities for a receiver-based office system that I brought a pair home from CES. Unfortunately, the Minuets do not like receivers. Consequently, I award the Silverline Audio Minuets a Jimmy Award for their sound at the Show, which after all is the subject of this exercise. But be forewarned: your mileage may vary. Minisystem Jason and Casey of NuForce unveiled a surprise at CES. Despite having a raft of audio/video products in the works, the NuForce team still found time to design and build a modem-sized integrated amplifier, the Icon-1 (10Wpc) and a miniature loudspeaker with a single 4" driver, the S-1 ($399 for the amp and stereo speakers). The rest of the system included an Oppo DV-980H DVD/CD player ($169), generic cables, an Italian-made BlackNoise AC filter and surge protector ($1095), and a BlackNoise Goldwire power cord ($550). The S-1 has the same waveguide as used in NuForce’s wonderful S-9 speaker ($5000/pair). Although I couldn’t assess the BlackNoises’ contributions, the combo of NuForce Icon-1 and S-1 was stunning at the price, and deserves a Jimmy Award for sheer impudence. Since returning from CES, I’ve learned that the production-model Icon-1 will include a line output for connecting a future NuForce subwoofer.
Symposium SoundStage! colleague Vade Forrester recommended that I hear the speakers in the Symposium Acoustics room. The German-made FJ Dude 2 loudspeakers ($5795/pair), driven by Emotive Audio’s G-Linear integrated tube amp (30 or 45Wpc, depending on tubes; $6000 with remote control), did portray a robust tonality that belied their cost. However, Fred Volz of Emotive was quick to point out that the results were largely dependent on the careful matching of Audiopath silver cables (interconnects $549, speaker cables $795), Essential Sound Products The Essence Reference AC cords ($799), Symposium Acoustics’ own Isis equipment rack ($3500), and other isolation accessories. The total cost, including an out-of-production Philips SACD player, was under $25,000 -- quite reasonable by 2008 standards. However, I can’t help but wonder how the FJ Dude 2s or the G-Linear would sound in a system including my own humble cables, power cords, and equipment rack. "Just add speakers" Resolution Audio’s slogan (above) signifies the company’s entry into full-range electronics manufacturing. In this case, the speakers added were the Epos M-16 ($1600/pair), which must be one of the best-kept secrets in hi-fi. The sound was big, bold, and well-paced, taking a back seat to very few of the six-figure monster exhibits inhabiting the Venetian’s top floors. Of course, much credit goes to the handsome stack of Resolution’s Opus 21 components, which included the cd and ps CD player and Power Centre with volume control, XS tuner-preamp-computer interface, and s30 integrated amplifier (30Wpc). The total retail cost of the four pieces is a breathtaking $8000, which qualifies Resolution Audio for a special Jimmy Award: Best Value in Show.
Car stereo for the home The second best value at CES 2008 came from Sweden. DLS, a longtime maker of car stereos, recently entered the home-entertainment market and hired a special person to head their R&D effort. Young older man Mats Andersen has designed successful loudspeakers since the 1970s. His primary design for DLS, the M66 ($4000/pair), was uncommonly accurate in its portrayal of musical events. Using their own electronics, the CD One ($3300) and Amplifier One (100Wpc, $3300), DLS could have done Resolution Audio one better with the slogan "Just add cables" (in this case, from Transparent Audio). Assuming the DLS array works well with most cables, I would highly recommend this one-brand approach to anyone looking to move up from a receiver-based system. For a music lover of limited means, a DLS system could be the Holy Grail -- a final purchase. Salsa on steroids The best surprise at CES was the Renaissance Audio Group room, where they were playing salsa music. I never expected to feel the pulse of Latin America in the Venetian’s calm setting. Having spent New Year’s Eve listening to a Cuban jazz band, I was stunned by how sharply Renaissance’s two-way Prelude speakers ($2195/pair) reproduced the starts and stops of Latin rhythms. There were two reasons for the incredibly lively sound. First, the Prelude’s drivers are among the best in class. Until three years ago, Renaissance was part of Morel Acoustics USA, which has over three decades of experience in the manufacturing of speaker drivers. The Prelude’s transmission-line enclosure is tuned to derive tight bass from a 6.5" paper-cone midbass driver with a double magnet. The triple-magnet tweeter sounded as extended as most of the rare-metal drivers presently in vogue, yet sweeter. The second ingredient was unique amplification from a company called Heavenly Sound. Their E-100 amplifier (400Wpc, $1195) is an "internal active crossover biamping (IACB)" device that enables the user to biamp a system without bypassing the speakers’ internal crossovers. My experience with active crossovers has been mixed. Thrilling dynamics are offset by a slight veiling from added electronics in the signal path. However, connecting an amplifier straight to a driver’s input should allay any vestiges of veiling. Certainly, the lyrics of "Bésame Mama" were clearer than I have ever heard them in my own home. The Muse Audio Polyhymnia CD player ($6000) no doubt contributed to the clarity, as must have the $480 worth of cables. For allowing me a moment of foot-tapping glee, the Heavenly Sound E-100 wins a special Jimmy Award for Most Exciting Amplifier Design in Show, and the Renaissance Audio Group’s Prelude for Best "Active" Loudspeaker in Show. Dopamine on a budget Nudging out the Renaissance Audio Group room for most involving system under $25,000 (a vanishing category!) was the presentation by Micropure, Triode Corporation, and Zonotone, a revelation in three stages. First, I noticed fine details within a musical context instead of as separate sonic parts. Second, I felt a CES-induced tightness leave my neck and shoulders -- an eerie sensation. Finally, I forgot where I was, emotionally subsumed into a performer’s world of poetry and pathos. Wow -- all that from a hi-fi system! I pictured myself in a silk robe listening to Micropure’s Kotaro speakers ($3000/pair) while writing my memoirs on parchment. Unfortunately, I would also have to write checks for the Triode Corporation’s TRV-CD4SE CD player ($2000), TRV-4SE preamplifier ($2750, no remote control), and TRV-M88PP monoblock (200W pentode, 100W triode, $12,500/pair). The real pain would be indulging in the Zonotone 7NAC Grandio 10 interconnects ($1500/pair) and 7NSP Grandio 10 speaker cables ($2500/pair). Nevertheless, I would stifle my curmudgeonly inner piker in the quest for such synaptic stimulation. For rendering me momentarily speechless, I hereby award a Jimmy to each of the participants in the Micropure Experience.
Spartan room I was thrilled to see at CES 2008 one of the most venerable names in hi-fi. In past years, the Audio Research Corporation exhibited at off-campus venues where they had room to stretch out. Showing for the first time at the Venetian, ARC took a conservative approach to small-room conditions. Instead of towers and monoblocks, they exhibited a modest (ha!) subwoofer-satellite system with midpriced (for them) electronics. The result was the most intimate, ingratiating ARC demonstration I have heard outside their listening room. Rolling the bass off the Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento minimonitors ($15,000/pair with stands) and into an REL Britannia B-1 powered subwoofer ($3000) precluded any low-frequency problems. With unerring ears, the ARC techs blended speaker positions with subwoofer frequency and volume settings to create a smooth response curve. Although hearing the ARC HD220 hybrid power amplifier (200Wpc, $9000) manhandle some big woofers would have been fun, I was impressed with the amp’s effortless midrange. Completing this Spartan system were ARC’s legendary Reference CD7 tube CD player ($9000) and new LS26 linestage preamplifier ($6000 with remote control, balanced). In an unprecedented move, I award the ARC system ($42,000 before cables) a Jimmy Award for Best Ultra-High End Price/Performance Ratio at CES. Have I lost my populist bearings?
Epicurean room Cary Audio Design’s award-winning components are less than lavishly priced. The loudspeakers they used at CES, the beguiling Proclaim Audioworks DMT 100 ($26,000/pair), are laboriously constructed globes whose form serves their function. To my ears, the music in the CAD room was an aural feast. However, the idea of paying an additional $23,000 for the cables gives me indigestion. Even if I won the lottery, I would still think such expenditure pure folly. Besides, I suspect the electronics and loudspeakers would sound scintillating even if they used Zonotone or other well-made cables. Therefore, I restrict this Jimmy Award to the ingredients I could ingest: CAD SLP 05 tube preamp ($7500 with remote control, balanced input), CD 306 SACD Professional Version SACD/CD player ($8000), CAD 120S stereo amplifier (120Wpc ultralinear, 60Wpc triode, $5000 each in biamp configuration), plus the excellent Proclaim speakers. After many years, Cary Audio Design has found transducers worthy of their electronics. Into the wild blue yonder -- a Bronze Jimmy Air Force Major Darren Censullo of Avatar Acoustics imports world-class components from Europe. Despite a sky-high sum of $110,000, Avatar’s assemblage of European wares at the Venetian defined Censullo as a hi-fi talent scout the equal of Victor Goldstein or Ricardo Franassovici. Choosing high-priced products is extremely risky, but Darren proves that, even in hi-fi, he’s a Top Gun. Although a $57,000 pair of monoblocks is beyond my grasp, executives who enjoy seven-figure bonuses should know that the Karan Acoustics KAM 1200 outputs 1500W into 8 ohms or 2500W into 4. While the price -- $27,000/pair -- of the Acoustic System Tango Platinum loudspeakers might relegate them to Gary Jeter’s bedroom system, they’re a magnificent outing from Franck Tchang, famed for his Feng Shui room-tuning devices. In daydreams, I can almost afford them.
But one Avatar discovery I openly lust after: the Abbingdon Music Research CD-77 CD player ($8500). The CD-77 uses NOS tubes, a massively built Sony transport, and provides seven choices of digital filter contour to suit your taste. By my lights, the CD-77 deserves a listen even by even those who can afford to pay a lot more. As to the efficacy of Current Cable’s balanced interconnects ($2000/pair) and Acoustic System Resonators ($230-$2500), I submit the testimony of Major Censullo’s wife, Bonnie, herself a former Air Force officer: that they constitute easy-to-hear enhancements. I never argue with a beautiful woman who can put me on the ground. To Darren and Bonnie Censullo, warm greetings, and congratulations on a Bronze Jimmy Award. Silver Jimmy A fellow scribe has suggested that today’s hi-fi designers are like Renaissance artists, courting the favors of rich and powerful patrons. If so, Yoav Geva of YG Acoustics is the high-end-audio equivalent of Raphael or Titian. Despite a low-key personality, Yoav nurses a king-sized obsession: He wants to build the best loudspeakers a perfectionist mind can envision. One may well wonder how he keeps his costs down. At CES 2008, YGA displayed the Anat Reference II Professional ($107,000/pair), a modular loudspeaker sold in stages. The Main Module ($33,000/pair) houses a pair of over/under mid-woofers and a tweeter, the Studio powered subwoofer ($37,000/pair) plays the low notes, and the massive, front-sloping, powered Pro sub ($37,000/pair) provides a huge acoustic space and the famous YGA profile. The speaker cabinets are made of airplane aluminum: it’s stiff and lightweight, has EMI/RFI shielding properties, and is inordinately expensive. The speaker drivers are machined to the equivalent of modern art forms. Driven by relatively inexpensive Krell electronics (FPB 400cx stereo amplifiers, 400Wpc, $12,000 each; KCT preamplifier, $10,500), the sound of the Anat Reference II Pros was airy, forceful, and coolly cerebral, all at once. I was less in love with the music and more impressed with the low level of distortion. Perhaps my coolness derived in part from the dCS Verdi Encore/Elgar Plus/Verona SACD/CD system ($42,000). I can never understand why the data on a CD warrants so much processing. Perhaps dCS’s full-bore Scarlatti system ($68,000) would have lent a bit of artful dithering to the sound. While my conscience says that no hi-fi system is worth $200,000 -- not even with Kimber Select cables -- I would support the work of Yoav Geva had I the shekels. Playing Cesare Borgia to his Leonardo da Vinci would be an enticing way to improve the loudspeaker breed. Instead, the best I can do is to bestow a Silver Jimmy Award on YG Acoustics and wish them all the best for 2009. Gold Jimmy Two Consumer Electronics Shows ago, I was surprised at how easy it was to choose the winner of the Best Sound Jimmy. This year was no different. Within seconds of entering the Magico exhibit, I knew no other room had come close. The Magico V3 loudspeakers ($25,000/pair) captured the illusion of live music in a real space better than any other speakers I heard. Despite all the talkative suits lingering nearby, I was able to enjoy a brief moment of bliss in the V3s’ presence. Listening to an acoustic guitar trio render "Bohemian Rhapsody," I felt a sublime chemical rush. With apologies to Daniel J. Levitin, author of This Is Your Brain on Music (Penguin Books, 2006), my brain on music was like experiencing 1969 all over again. I was hearing colors.
Of course, the partnering electronics from Boulder Amplifiers -- the 2060 stereo amp, 600Wpc, and 2010 preamp, each $43,000 -- are among the world’s best. However, no Boulder-based system I recollect hearing was ever so round of timbre or as precisely pitched. Although the playback source was an X-factor (a proprietary music server from the Magico skunk works), Boulder’s new CD player or an Audio Research Reference CD7 would have performed well up to par, I’m sure. Such certainty leads me to consider the Magico V3 a minor miracle of today’s hi-fi world -- a fabulous loudspeaker that’s almost within financial reach of an old guy like me, and one I can use with my favorite electronics. Which is why I’ve begun saving up for a pair of used V3s. [Note to diary: Eat candy-bar lunches for next three years.] In anticipation of becoming a patron of Magico’s designer, Alon Wolf (Michelangelo!), I rejoice in Magico’s Jimmy Award for Best Sound at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. …Jim Saxon
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The Jimmy Awards for CES2008
