Home Entertainment 2002 Hi-Fi and Home Theater Event

The Big Carrot Review
By Rick Becker
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Upsampling Digital

 

While the Cairn Fog may be the outstanding value in digital upsampling CD players, they are not the only game in town.
Electrocompaniet offers their ECD1 DAC with fully balanced, symmetrical analog circuits for $2,000, as well as their EMC1 Mk II CD player with 24-bit/192kHz for $5,000. These were in the big buck room with EgglestonWorks speakers, CAT amps, and the VPI TNT HR-X turntable that I'm sure others will cover.

Musical Fidelity presented their new CD-PRE24 CD player with upsampling and preamp all in one unit in combination with their M250 monoblocks at $1,195 each. These drove the new the new Thiel 1.6 speakers exceptionally well--the most inviting music I've ever heard from Thiels, in fact. This room topped out at about $9,000 and seemed a good value. I especially liked the wood amp stands and wood shelves on the equipment rack in this room, but I couldn't find a label.

Bel Canto presented with Martin Logan Odyssey speakers and were presumably using their new DAC2 which upsamples to 24-bit/192kHz. This is a modest looking little box finished in black crackle paint, unlike the sleek contemporary look of their eVo series electronics that also includes the handsome eVo 2i integrated amp that puts out 120 wpc. The dac should be very well priced.

 

Power Amplifiers
(And other associated equipment)

Viola, the company that has metamorphosed from Cello has had some provocative ads in magazines this year, but this was my first exposure to the actual product. Their amps, with their chromed plated three curved fronts are stunningly beautiful and exude a level of quality that is not belied by the sound they put out. Their preamp is built with an architecture that will allow multiple configurations as well as adapt to future formats. The system totaled about $70,000 and had a look and a sound that will make perfect jewelry for the expensive homes of people who can afford it.

Van den Hul is known for more for cartridges and cables, but premiered a series of amps. They had both an active and a passive preamp, each controlled solely by a remote control, and each with single ended (unbalanced) outputs. These worked in conjunction with their similarly styled Full Power Balanced monoblocks with balanced inputs. Ok. I guess there are some questions to be asked here, but I didn't have time. I did note the very handsome faceplates with the VDH logo engraved in large interlocking letters. I overheard a price of $4,000 each, but I'm not sure which pieces were being referred to.

Art Audio was showing their new Adagio SET monoblocks that put out either 44 or 60 wpc depending on whether you use KR Audio 52BX or the new T-100 output tubes. This amp is available with optional digital readout and remote volume control(s)--one for each? ($20,000/pr, plus options). My biggest problem with these amps was how they "borrowed" the design concept from the Hovland Sapphire of using a plastic cylinder, lit from below with a blue light, to protect the output tubes. Maybe somebody with greater knowledge of tube amp history can tell me if this is a commonplace design simply being revived, but it looks a little copycat to me. One might expect that from the Chinese, but not from the company that gave us the beautiful Diavolo.

Thor, on the other hand, took the concept of blue lighting from below, and advanced the design a step further to light up a piece of flat plastic (glass?) with their name in logo type engraved on it. Their TPA-60 monoblocks put out 60 wpc but are claimed to have a power supply built for 100 watts. These amps were driving another familiar speaker playing a familiar song--Hugh Masekela's Stimela. The speakers were the very finely finished amphion xenons I auditioned twice at the Montreal show back in March. The price was about $3,600/pr, which is very reasonable for such physical and acoustic beauty. This three-year-old Finnish company 
deserves some more reviews to get them rolling on this side of the pond.

Another replay from Montreal, Audes, was driving their Audes Blues speaker with their new $4,000/pr NS 1.1 tube monoblocks, or in this case--monocircles. Using push-pull, pure class A in a triode circuit, these put out only 7 watts each, but drove the Blues quite nicely.

While on the subject of Blues, I was really fascinated with Blue Circle Audio's Pump (high-heel shoe) monoblocks and correlate Purse preamp. I stood there listening to them play the Silverline Model 60 speakers...drifting off, remembering all the kinky shoes I've seen on my garage sale forays looking for LP records. This was actually the perfect rig for my master bedroom...maybe drape some nylons over them, very casually...think of all the fantasy they might inspire!!! I could even get another pair and bi-amp the speakers!!! They're cheap---no 1/2" thick anodized faceplates on these babies! Just naked musical truth wrapped in fetish!

DarTZeel came over from Switzerland with their NHB-108 Model One power amp filled with some minimalist novel circuitry and machine work that borders on the obsessive compulsive. This 100 wpc amplifier goes for $10,000 and it had no trouble driving a pair of Montana SP speakers. At the source end he had a Sony SACD player and a 20-year-old Goldmund Studietto turntable that was probably state of the art back then. Being Swiss, he had a Nagra preamp, too. But what really intrigued me was a little red plastic prototype 50ohm converter that allowed him to run the signal from the amp through 100 meters of cheap coax cable wound up on a spool behind the Montanas. I suggested that he lower the speakers out the window and rock the people on 53rd St down below us. Once again, it sure made me wonder about the value of expensive wire in this hobby. 

Legend Audio has become Von Gaylord Audio, but the sound has remained the same classic tube sound they've been honing over the years. I heard great soundstaging with a warm, liquid, clear sound that measured zero on my irritability meter. The $6,500/pr Nirvana monoblock that put out 100 watts in triode mode was in use when I passed through their room. This is practically a full system manufacturer, making everything except the CD transport, turntable, and phonostage. They do, however, offer their Chinchilla line of cables, which includes a tone arm cable for $995, presumably for people who can afford to wear chinchilla.

 

Loudspeakers
(And electronics that drove them)

Speakers are usually the first piece of equipment to grab my attention when I enter a room. Most times I visually identify them before I get a grip on what they sound like. The electronics, on the other hand, are off to the side or between and behind the speakers and usually more difficult to precisely pinpoint. It is awkward, if not downright rude, to step up to the rack while others are listening intently. And some rooms are so packed it is almost impossible to enter until a few people wander out. The New York show was considerably more crowded during most hours than the Montreal show is at its very peak hours. Late in the day I try to pick up the pace and cover more rooms. Granola bars and Mt. Dew keep me going.

The Rethm Speaker room is a good example. These very contemporary horn designs are an immediate eye catcher, looking like very expensive designs. Contrary to other reports, I thought I noticed that the wood on the "Third" Rethm was actually sculpted out of layers of plywood, not solid wood. Because this speaker is designed on the west coast, but manufactured in India, the price is only $3,600. It sounded pretty decent, too, using a two-box Resolution Audio CD player with a separate box for the power supply. So where's the amp? Hidden on the floor behind the stand was an EAR tube amplifier that would not fit on the rack.

Morel, a French company, showed a mirrored image speaker that reminded me of the "double Advent" speaker set-up that was popular back in the mid-'70s, where speakers were stacked tweeter to tweeter with the woofers on the top and bottom. The Morel speaker was available this way for $10,000, including the stand, or for $6,000 for just the single stereo pair with stand. The room featured a Myriad DVD player and a screen between the speakers, but still managed to sound very good. Morel also makes little ball-like speakers not unlike the Gallos for surround sound applications. A surround sound set goes for about $2,300-$2,400.

North Audio (aka North Creek Audio) made their debut with several complete two-way speakers including a large floorstander at $8,800 ($11,000 in exotic woods), a smaller floorstander, and a medium size stand mounted model. North Creek Audio is better known as importers of speaker drivers from Europe. Their speakers looked very well made and deserve a more critical audition from what I heard in conjunction with the new Van den Hul electronics. I hope to drop into their facility in the Adirondacks later this fall on one of my bicycling or hiking trips.

Kingcaid Acoustics imports the Kirksaeter Speaker Systems that includes the Kirksaeter Silverline series, which I mentioned in conjunction with the Blue Circle Pump and Purse amps above. I heard the Model 60 there. Coming this fall will be an in-wall model and a dipole to complete the surround sound system. Stay tuned.

In what looked (and sounded) like a replay of last year, Audio Physics had their Virgo III driven by Hovland's HP-100 preamp and Sapphire power amp. The front end was an Accuphase CD player and my notes mention an isolation transformer of some kind. I couldn't get a seat in this jammed room, but if someone told me it sounded pretty good, I'd be very inclined to believe them.

Chord and Wilson Benesch teamed up for second room in addition to the Arc model I raved about above. Using Chord separates they put together a very fine sounding system with the Discovery micro floor stander. The Discovery continues to use woofers mounted face to face like the larger Wilson Benesch speakers, and the bottom of one of these woofers protrudes out the bottom of the little monitor, requiring the use of the integrated stand (hence the name: micro floor stander). The design is extremely well integrated, but with the magnet of one woofer protruding through the bottom, it has a clinical laboratory look about it that may well appeal to physicians and scientists. And at $8,200/pr, they will probably be the ones to buy them. Nonetheless, it is a very sophisticated and meticulously crafted design. Team these black and silver speakers up with the black Gryphon integrated amp mentioned above, throw in an Oracle CD player at the front end and the Museum of Modern Art will be knocking at your door soliciting donations for their next show. If you are closer to the starving artist end of the social spectrum, or can't handle the low hung woofer, go for the Wilson Benesch Arc speaker I mentioned earlier.

And if you're really close to the starving artist on the social continuum, but still want a creative design, check out the new Meadowlark Swift at $995. This small contoured column has the cutest feet--a V-shaped wing like the tail of a swift. A small slotted port exits at the front near the floor. The wood was light natural oak, with the wing stained black, but ask them to stain the "wing" or even the whole body in a bright green or purple or red to maximize the design. The little bit I heard through these birds sounded pretty good. They were powered by Rogue electronics.

Nearfield Acoustics Pipedreams speakers appeared in two rooms. I only had a brief listen to them powered by a huge Gamut amp that looked like something in a science fiction movie. It was so large you will need the assistance of your local college football team to move it. I expect it was the S 300 at $30,000.

Much more interesting, visually and acoustically was the Pipedreams driven by Tenor monoblocks and an Audio Aero (?) CD player. It had much the same sound as last year when I heard them with the VAC amps. Numerous large subwoofers filled the space behind the towers. As much as I love these speakers, even if I substituted more pedestrian subs, they are still out of my league. The good news is: they are working on a smaller, more affordable model. They wanted to be sure they had the physics right with the big ones, before they attempted to scale them down. No timetable, no price, but a smaller model is one of their goals.

Wilson WATT/Puppy 7s driven by VTL with vinyl playing sounded very nice in a rather large conference room. At $22,400 they are way above my radar, but it was a treat to hear the newest version of this classic design. My video notes show a large subwoofer in the room, but is was unclear if this was on during the presentation.

The Merlin VSM is another classic that has evolved over the years and once again Bobby Palkovic treated us to two rooms, one solid state with Simaudio Moon electronics, and one with the OTL tubes of Joule Electra. Both rooms were excellent, and the difference seemed less than I remembered from last year. The cherry red, with slight metallic undertones on the pair in the Joule Electra room was a spectacular automotive finish. I asked about the Dynaudio Esotar drivers he used, and learned something important about the new Dynaudio Confidence speakers that I had yet to hear. The Merlins use a wide dispersion model of this tweeter--that is his intent and preference, and that is what he has optimized his speaker for. It's hard to argue with the sound he has achieved.

So, how do the Dynaudio Confidences differ? The new tweeter is optimized for a narrow dispersion pattern. I happened into the Dynaudio room when the larger C-4 model ($16,000) was playing Hugh Masekela's Stimela. This system was probably underpowered for the size of room it was in--think "large conference room"--and it was powered by Naim electronics, which, while musical, are not the highest resolution available. The guy next to me left and I moved over into the center of the row and things improved a little.

I was not terribly impressed.

 

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