International CES 2009 & THE Show Report
   
Consumer Electronics Show & THE Show 2009 Preview

  Weiss will be showing their newly introduced MINERVA FireWire D/A Converter ($3790) and VESTA FireWire - AES/EBU Interface. The MINERVA is a high performance stereo digital to analog converter for usage in conjunction with a sound file playback device such as a PC, MAC or a Network Player. In high-end audio circles there is a trend towards high resolution file downloads from dedicated websites. Such downloads need a D/A Converter which can convert the high resolution files, e.g. uncompressed 24-bit/192kHz audio, to analog. Note that the VESTA has the same features as the MINERVA except it does not have any analog outputs. The MINERVA accepts digital audio in FireWire or AES/EBU and S/PDIF formats at rates of up to 192kHz at a 24 Bit wordlength. Features for the MINERVA include:

— Inputs: Digital Audio inputs on FireWire (two connectors), XLR, RCA and Toslink (optical). (FireWire 800 via an appropriate adapter cable).
— Outputs: Stereo analog output on XLR and RCA. Digital Audio output on FireWire, XLR and RCA. (FireWire 800 via an appropriate adapter cable).
— Sampling Rates, Wordlength: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz at up to 24 Bits.
— Volume Control
— "Insert" mode where any digital audio equipment (e.g. a equalizer) can be inserted into the playback path via AES/EBU
— Recording path from AES/EBU or S/PDIF to FireWire

The Lotus Group will be introducing the Tunami GPX-R power cable ($475) from Oyaide, a shielded PCOCC-A copper design with Beryllium / Copper contacts. They will be demonstrating the Makoto loudspeaker ($67,500) from Feastrex with the Feastrex D5e Type III - a 5-inch field coil driver with hand made washi paper cones and an all Permendur magnet structure. The cabinet features 20 hand rubbed coasts of traditional Japanese Urushi lacquer. Also on display and in action will be a full compliment of gear from Acoustic Revive, including the RD-3 demagnetizer, the RIO-5 Negative Ion Generator, the RTP-ultimate power distribution bars and the REM-8 EMF cancellation device ($440, $650, $1500 to $3150, and $595 respectively).

T.H.E. Show today announced the complete take over of the Alexis Park Hotel in Las Vegas for its 11th year of exhibits of high-end audio and home theater equipment. "The formal announcement is the result of several weeks of negotiations with our Las Vegas hotels and suppliers", says Richard Beers, President of T.H.E. Show. "The Las Vegas market has finally been hit by the realities of the current economy and corporate officials are beginning to think of ways to cope with the current situation for as long as it lasts. This realization gave us the opportunity to upgrade the exposure, convenience and services we can supply our Exhibitors, but, amazingly at lower rates". 

"Two things are rather ironic" says Beers. "One, is that fact that we end up controlling Alexis Park, long time home of CES high-end Exhibits, and two, that last year there was a lot of discussion about how Las Vegas and the big CES convention were accused of gouging both exhibitors and attendees. We have never fit that judgment call because we have a defined cadre of both exhibitors and attendees but also because we operate under a much more flexible business plan. As conditions change", continued Beers, "we are able to adapt and change unlike some of the larger, over-leveraged organizations and companies. We have been in the process of notifying our exhibitors of the move and, so far we have had no complaints. Most of our people are excited about the change... A couple years ago, when we first negotiated with Alexis Park and the economy seemed to demand expansion, we were projecting so many exhibitors we would need both hotels... At the same time, we still wanted to create our usual event characteristics such as a relaxed atmosphere, all exhibits on one level, T.H.E. Lunch, improved Shuttle Services and generally a great spot to not only do substantial business, but to network and meet with industry friends."

Tanngent Audio will have their Prestige loudspeakers at the upcoming Las Vegas show. Many people are first your are amazed by the looks, then the sound quality. The sound quality is possibly by due to the usage of high-end loudspeaker drivers. Specifically, ScanSpeak's Illuminator D3004 tweeter, recognized as one of the best soft dome tweeters available and uses powerful neodymium magnets plus a copper ring in the magnetic field for a very low distortion and high efficiency. The uniquely-designed rear chamber on the Illuminator tweeter gives an open and transparent sound reproduction when compared to a normal rear chamber according to Tangent Audio. This 2.5-wway bass reflex design has a frequency response from 29Hz to 33 kHz (+-3dB) and a rated sensitivity if 89dB/W/m at 8 Ohms. The company will also have their Lounge loudspeaker which is close to the Prestige, yet housed in a more traditional squared cabinet plus their slender floorstanding EVO E45 with it's four driver units plus tweeter.

Jaton will launch the new REAL A&V-803 ($6000 per pair), a real-wood cabinet high performance 3-way floorstanding design. The REAL A&V-803 speaker is the company's our newest speaker that is said to produce a much wider soundfield than Jaton's previous version. It also keeps the 'sweeten' of mid and high range but, at the same time, the new ribbon tweeter and dual 8-inch low bass woofers round out this design. The A&V-803 speaker will retail for US$ 6000.00 each pair and ready to deliver after CES 2009.

The A&V-803 speaker will pair with Jaton's Operetta AP2300A stereo amplifier, which is designed to produce 300 wpc. A Jaton representative says, "We implemented the designing from a class "AB" to a class "A" in the AP2300A, which will present a much wider range in the higher tone and lower bass than the AP2140A/AP5140A. The AP2300A will retail for less than $5000 and it will be delivered around April-2009 after the final design with XLR balance input." Lastly, they will also have their new RC2000P stereo and RC8000P 7.2 surround sound preamplifiers to CES 2009. Both new preamplifiers have XLR input/output with gain control, which will gives users added flexibility.

Koetsu USA, the U.S. distribution arm of the world-renowned Japanese cartridge manufacturer, introduces into the U.S. market the Koetsu Onyx Platinum Phono Cartridge, Chario Academy Sovran Speaker, Black Note DSS 30 D-to-A Converter, and Montegiro Lusso Turntable, four exceptional audiophile products, at the CES 2009 (International Consumer Electronics Show). The Onyx Platinum Phono Cartridge by Koetsu, a company whose turntable cartridges set the standard for analog sound reproduction, is an exquisite achievement designed to delight phono aficionados for its uncanny ability to bring listeners closer to their music. Weighing just 12.5 grams, its hand-carved, oblong onyx body houses 10 turns of silver-plated, hand-wound copper coil wire, a platinum magnet, and a boron rod cantilever. The Onyx Platinum Phono Cartridge is available now at a suggested price of $8,000.

The Academy Sovran speaker by Chario Loudspeakers, Italy’s largest manufacturer of high-performance speakers, is a handsome floorstanding three-way speaker system that delivers an astonishingly full and accurate soundstage. Designed using advanced acoustic studies of binaural hearing in small rooms, the Sovran decreases the harmful masking effect of low frequency standing waves, and enhances tonal components of the stereophonic signal so they are more easily detected.

The Sovran is rated for 180 Watts into 4 Ohms. It’s housed in an elegant, two-part, furniture-grade cabinet — beautifully constructed of solid walnut, mahogany or blond oak — in which the lower section contains two eight-inch subwoofers and the upper section contain one midrange and one tweeter. Four proprietary and cylindrical elastomer puffers that dampen vibrations by dissipating mechanical energy separate the sections. The Sovran Speaker is available now at a suggested price of $16,000/pair.

The DSS 30 Digital Static Source by Black Note, a supplier of innovative, high-quality digital audio products, is a powerful high-performance Digital-to-Analog converter and Solid State memory player capable of processing any kind of audio format through any kind of external device connected via a USB cable. This unique multi-format Player is compatible with Wav, Flac, AAC, OGG, DFF, WMA, MP3, MP4, M4O files — and many more. A built in directory program organizes custom playlists in a variety of ways, and a large display shows key information about individual tracks, including, titles, times, and formats. The DSS can be operated in a wireless mode and also features a RS232 computer port, and an Ethernet port allowing use in a LAN network. Using its coax input and output, the DSS can also be used as a traditional high-end D/A Converter for CD transports. The Black Note DSS 30 is available now for a suggested price of $2,876. During 2009, Black Note will introduce three additional models — the DSS 15, DSS 50 and DSS 70, with suggested retail prices of $1,500, $7,200 and $12,800, respectively.

The Lusso Turntable by Montegiro, a company exemplifying German engineering at its best, is a spectacular example of audiophile art and performance. Its four striated acrylic and aluminum towers rely on an innovative, advanced bearing system characterized by a highly precise milled shaft polished at the end to minimize friction with the bearing balls, which are made of a special ceramic designed for compatibility with the bearing mirror. The mirror is made of sapphire and supplied by a company that fabricates precision parts for Swiss watchmakers. The outer part of the bearing is made of stainless steel, the inner part of a special, customized bronze. The bearing plate is also stainless steel and matched to the bearing shaft. Plate and shaft are attached by first heating the plate then inserting the cold shaft. After cooling, the fit is so tight there’s no need for screws or other fasteners. As a result, the system operates very very smoothly with very little friction. The Lusso Turntable is available now for a suggested price of $31,527.

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