CES Preview & T.H.E. Show Preview 2011
   
Consumer Electronics Show & T.H.E. Show 2011 Preview / Pre-Show Report

Procella Audio, manufacturer of high-performance high-output speaker systems for home audio and professional cinema, just announced today thy will be with co-exhibitor SIM2 and DNP in Suite 2110 at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. On active display will be the Procella P8 and P6 loudspeakers, as well as the P15 and P10 active subwoofers. The P8 measures 16.125 x 18.5 x 7.875(HxWxD in inches), presents an impedance is 8 Ohms with a handling capacity of 250 Watt continuous yet has a highish sensitivity if 92dB/W/m. Frequency response is from 80 Hz to 20 kHz via this two-way's 1.7" tweeter with a polyester diaphragm on elliptical constant directivity wave guide. The midrange driver is an 8" neodymium magnet with 50mm voice coil in 15 liter sealed box. Connectivity is via a pair of gold plated binding posts and overall weight is 34.2 lbs. The P6 two-way monitor uses a 1" tweeter with a polyester diaphragm on elliptical constant directivity wave guide and 6.5" midrange driver with 40mm voice coil in 9 liter enclosure. Sensitivity is 90dB/W/m. The frequency response is from 70 Hz to 20 kHz and overall weight is 19 lbs.

 

Morel's new SoundSpot Music Theatre Ultra systems MT-2 Ultra and MT-1 Ultra ($1899 and $1299 respectively) will be at the CES. For the last 10 years Morel has received international acclaim for its SoundSpot sub/sat systems with its first model, SA-2, winning the 2001 CES innovations award. The Soundspot Music Theatre 1 Ultra system incorporates the SP-1 half-sphere satellite, while the Music Theater 2 Ultra system uses the SP-2 spherical designed satellite. Both satellites enclosures are remarkably thin at only 1mm, thus preserving valuable internal volume for substantial mid-bass response. In addition, the thin walled design of the spherical enclosures stores less energy allowing the speaker to reproduce remarkably clear sound. The result is "big" speaker performance from a small satellite speaker. This year Morel is expanding upon the Music Theater lineup with the introduction of its new SoundSub PSW10 with new 10" high-power woofer driven by an internal 200-Watt amplifier. The SoundSpots are available in Piano White, Piano Black and Champagne finishes.

 

Krell Industries and ZenSati cables will be showing together at the 2011 CES. Krell will be unveiling the latest additions to the Evolution series of electronics coupled to the award winning CAST interconnects and speaker cables. Krell CAST is a proprietary distortions created from the use of multiple voltage gain stages and voltage connections between components. By maintaining the musical signal in the current domain from beginning to end, an entire is one component. ZenSati's new Gold will also be there. With over forty years experience in the fields of audio and music, a world patient and protracted development process has resulted in cables with excellent signal transmission.

 

High End Audio Electronics and KR Audio Electronics will be exhibiting in room 4031of the Hotel Flamingo, during the CES. Their exhibit will highlight KR's remarkable development effort. Included in the show will be the world premier of the KR Audio Electronics' model Kronzilla DX MKII single ended monoblocks at 100Watts RMS using the double triode as output power device tubes called the KR T-1610 ( amplifier not pictured) featuring substantially more speed, definition and notable increases in imaging over the original ingenious design. The Kronzilla DX MK II is made both in the USA and Prague, Czech Republic. Driving the Kronzilla DX MK II will be the debut of the KR P-130 Stereo (pictured) all glass Hi-Fi Pre-amplifier. The P-130 features a bandwidth of 10 Hz. to 100 Hz, four inputs, remote control, optional phono-stage and 1Vrms sensitivity. The P-130 is the perfect front end to demonstrate the enhanced Kronzilla DX MKI II. Marek GENCEV, KR's Chief Tube Engineer, led the KR team's re-design of the KR10 to significantly reduce its inherent microphonics. The resulting high gain KR05 allows the P-130 to extend Dr. Kron's desire to further the state of audio art by creating a non-colored, sonically 'approaching theoretical perfection' as an audio amplification system. The MSRP of the Kronzilla DX MKII is $32,000 and the price of the P-130 stereo preamplifier is $4500. Specs of the P-130 are below:

Power Tubes: Two KR5 triodes
Line Inputs: Four via RCA (Cinch) , two via XLR
Line Input Sensitivity: 1.0VRMS / 47k 
Phono Input: Two via RCA (Cinch) , RIAA-MC 
Phono Input Sensitivity: 0.5mVRMS / 100 @ 1kHz
Output Level: 1.5VRMS ( VIN =1VRMS , Rload 2k )
Balanced Output: Two 1.5VRMS ( VIN =1VRMS , Rload 4k )
Frequency Response: 10 Hz to 100 kHz (-3dB)
Weight: Approx. 6.5Kg
Dimensions: 36.5 x 8.5 x 26 in cm

 

Boulder Amplifiers, America's premiere manufacturer of home audio entertainment products since 1984, will debut their 3050 monoblock power amplifier in suite 34-203 of the Venetian Tower at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show. While Boulder's entry, mid and upper level products have always garnered awards as the best in their respective classes, the 3050 is the first true intended "Reference Level" product from Boulder and our largest and most powerful amplifier in over 25 years of audio design. The model 3050s will only be built to order and will not be stocked. Expected power output will be between 1200 and 1500 watts into an eight-ohm load (adequate to drive any known loudspeaker) and will weigh between 350 and 400 lbs. when shipping begins. All will be dedicated to 240V operation and will include a custom physical isolation system. Boulder's proven multi-stage design will be augmented with an unprecedented number of output devices, a new gain stage evolved from our own peerless 993, complete isolation and damping of individual circuit boards, a new chassis style and countless other technological advances. Full control via both Boulder Link and other external control systems will be supported. Retail prices for the 3050s have not yet been determined at the time of this writing.

 

VAC/Valve Amplification Company will be at CES 2011 in Venetian Tower 29-136 and 30-117 demonstrating the new Statement 450S stereo amplifier ($39,000). This is the second amplifier in the premium Statement Series, which is designed and manufactured with full devotion to music and no regard to manufacturing effort. VAC's "first principles" design features: increased precision of control over the drive/output circuit; architectural control over stray interactions within the amplifier; architectural control of mechanical resonances; and avoidance of electrically large, slow components via VAC's very high speed parallel (VHSP) process. The fully hand-wired system has an external power supply which provides 400+ joule source of dual mono energy to the 225 watt/channel beam power audio chassis. Both chassis are machined from 0.25" aircraft aluminum for a rigid basis, and carry 105 lbs. of custom-wound U.S. magnetics, and couple via a proprietary tripod that controls the flow of vertical energy inputs and dissipates lateral energy inputs. At CES, VAC will also display the new Phi 200i Integrated Amplifier (U.S. MSRP $19,900 including phono and true line stage) and Sigma 160i Integrated Amplifier ($9,990 including phono and true line stage). All VAC instruments are designed and manufactured in the U.S.A.

 

Simaudio, an award winning Canadian audio and video equipment manufacturer that has been in business for nearly 30 years designing and building high quality electronics, will be showcasing their MOON 850P Reference dual-mono preamplifier (pictured) and The 880M Reference monoblock amplifier. The MOON 850P Reference dual-mono preamplifier is a fully balanced differential design housed in two chassis'; both the power supply and controller circuitry are located in the upper chassis, while the lower chassis contains audio circuitry only. Key technologies found in the MOON 850P includes Simaudio's new M-Octave damping system which uses an 8-point floating suspension to decouple the main audio circuit board, as well as power supply voltage regulation using 40 stages of i2DCf. The MOON 880M Reference monoblock power amplifier produces 800 watts into 8 ohms (1600 watts @ 4 ohms). It features Simaudio's proprietary output devices and Lynx amplification circuit, the 880M remains grain-free, transparent and accurate, regardless of how hard it's driven. The proprietary MOON bipolar output transistors are said to have unprecedented gain linearity that results in improved bass response and more accurate sonic reproduction. Both units include 12V trigger input / output, as well as an RS-232 port for external control.

 

Oracle Audio, a longtime specialist in high-end audio analog replay, will introduce their new Paris turntable ($2750). Oracle Audio products have been handcrafted in Canada since 1979. The first generation of the Paris turntable was released in 1990 and the newest iteration will be on offer in Las Vegas. The outstanding sonic qualities of this turntable includes that is employs the exact same drive electronics as the top line Delphi MK VI, which re-established itself as one of the best available record player in the world. There is a semi floating suspension system, an acrylic platter and Delrin record clamp included in this design. The Paris has been very elegantly dressed in a low resonance medium density fiber to maximize the vibration rejection. The suspension system design has been developed to reproduce a similar result than the MK VI Micro Vibration Stabilizer System. Oracle Audio's Paris is available is a wide range of colors including white, grey, black and red.

 

Silicon Arts Design & Concert Fidelity's upcoming exhibition at T.H.E. Show in Las Vegas will include the company's Concert Fidelity SPA-4C phonostage ($14,000). Their international team will have a no-compromise, state-of-the-art, two-channel audio system that features the Concert Fidelity SPA-4C phonostage, CF-080LSX linestage, the ZL-200 monoblock amplifiers, Kaier Acoustics' Kawero loudspeakers and Fono Acustica's Armonico cables. A complete system listing and pricing is below.

Concert Fidelity SPA-4C phono equalizer ($14,000)
Concert Fidelity DAC-040 D/A converter ($10,000)
Concert Fidelity CF-080LSX line stage preamplifier ($20,000)
Silicon Arts Design ZL-200 monoblock power amplifiers ($40,000/pair)
Kaiser Kawero loudspeakers ($66,000/pair)
Fono Acustica Armonico cables
Harmonic Resolution Systems equipment racks and amp stands
Esoteric X-01D2 SACD/CD player used as transport ($19,500)
Denon DP-3000 turntable and Denon tonearm (modified), Shelter MC cartridge.

 

Cable Research Lab will introduce the company's Gold LP Reference Series cables at T.H.E. Show 2011. Following more than two years of research and development, Cable Research Lab will officially release the new Gold LP Reference Series cables, which is claimed to have innovative design that provides unsurpassed sonic quality in a more user friendly cable. Both Interconnects and Speaker Cables are a smaller, less cumbersome size than the previous Gold Series. The key to this achievement is utilizing solid core "occ" copper wires and terminated with silver and/or platinum plated copper Bocchino Audio connectors. Originally inspired by the company's founder Winston Ma, the Gold LP Reference Series designed and built by audio engineer Art Almstead, represents Cable Research Lab's finest work to date. Each Gold LP Reference cable is skillfully handmade in the United States. Cable Research Lab Gold LP Reference Series: Speaker Cables start at $5000 per 6 ft. pair, and Interconnects begin at $5000 per 1 meter pair.

 

Bel Canto Design, manufacturers of analog and digital source components and amplifiers, is happy to inform that the long-awaited FM1 Tuner ($1,499) will be at CES 2011 and is now widely available. The FM1 features patented analog FM receiver architecture and superior RF performance that rejects interference using digital IF processing. The FM1 includes advanced seek algorithms, adjustable soft mute, stereo blend, auto-calibrated digital tuning, and FM stereo processing. Digital signal processing (DSP) allows precise pilot rejection, selectivity, and unmatched audio quality as the digital IF section operates at 24-bits. Run the digital output into your favorite Bel Canto DAC or choose the FM1's analog outputs derived from our High Dynamic Range Bel Canto DAC architecture. The FM1 incorporates a digital processor for the European Radio Data System (RDS) and the North American Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS) for station identification and performance information that's displayed on the 8-digit alphanumeric display. The FM1 delivers unprecedented functionality and performance in a compact, easy to use package. It's a perfect system companion for a Bel Canto DAC Control Center or preamp-based system. There is an internal 24-bit/192kHz DAC with 122dB dynamic range, 24-bit/96kHz digital output plus both unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR analog outputs.

 

Kuzma, whose products share the same no compromise design philosophy in order to achieve reliable high quality analog playback, will be showcasing their Stogi S 12 VTA tonearm ($2400). This tonearm is similar to the Stogi S, yet being 12 inch long and using the same VTA tower as Kuzma's top tonearms. This gives flexibility in adjustments and use. It mounts on standard 9 inch position so there is no need to replace turntable to experience advantages of longer tonearms.

Mass: 1250 grams
Effective Length : 304.8 mm
Mounting Distance: 212 mm
Distance From Center Bearing: 291 mm
Offset Angle: 17.8 degrees
Effective Mass: 13 grams
Bearings: unipivot
VTA Adjustment: Yes ( scale 0.1mm)
Azimuth Adjustment: yes
Bias Adjustment: yes
Arm Mount: Kuzma 212 mm

 

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $165 billion Unite States consumer electronics industry from over 2,000 companies, has announced its 2011 CES Best of Innovations Design and Engineering Award Honorees. The International CES Innovations Awards honor outstanding advancements in design and engineering across 35 consumer electronics product categories. "This prestigious awards program gives consumer technology manufacturers and developers an opportunity to have their products judged by a distinguished panel of designers, engineers and press," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA. "The strength of this year's submissions demonstrates the vitality and innovation within the CE industry. We congratulate all finalists for their engineering creativity and design acumen." The Best of Innovations Awards are earned by the products with the highest judges' scores and will be featured in the Innovations 2011 Design and Engineering Showcase in the Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center at the 2011 International CES. The world's largest consumer technology tradeshow will run January 6 through 9, 2011. And the winners that concern the high-end audio industry are:

The Best of Innovations Honorees for 2011 are:
Audio Components
Classé Audio Inc.
Power Amplifier

Headphones
Sleek Audio LLC
SA7 Wireless Hybrid Earphones

Health and Wellness
Etymotic Research, Inc.
Electronic BlastPLG Earplugs

High Performance Audio
Magico LLC
High Performance Loudspeaker

 

Cayin Audio will launch their new line of products with new designs represented by M-5.2T tube amplifier, M-5.0CD CD player, C-3.0HD digital stream during 2011 T.H.E Show. The M-5.2T integrated tube amplifier has an elegant style and is designed with KT88 or EL34, which you can select according to your taste. It uses four pieces of tubes for per channel with 80 watts output ultralinear or 40 watts in triode mode. While the tubes are hidden from sight, many know that Cayin Audio is well known for its tube amplifiers. Cayin Audio will also debut its C-3.0HD Digital Stream Player for the first time on the show which can play digital music at the formats of FLAC, WAV, APE, WMV with up to 24-bit/192kHz native sampling rate. The C-3.0HD can also be used as a high performance DAC with coaxial and optical inputs supporting the full 24-bit/192kHz sampling rate. Besides the products pictured here, Cayin Audio will also debut a new CD player with new design styles just like M-5.0CD mentioned above.

 

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