Naim's boundary-designed
monitor loudspeakers are designed to use the nearby walls insure proper music
reproduction. Model n-sat ($1,350, stand add $350) and n-sub (2,800) are Naim's continuation to simplicity and
the ability to have a single manufacture complete system. We have reviewed
three Nasim products including their Audio Nait 5 integrated amplifier (click
here), CDSII CD player (click
here), and Stageline phonostage and Flat-Cap 2 power supply (click
here).
Continuum Audio's innovative Caliburn turntable ($55,400 with
Cobra tonearm) has a huge outboard power supply for the motor and for the
price it does include installation/calibration within the customer's home. The tonearm has a foam core with fiber wrapped around it (like a surfboard, dude). The end result is lightweight and
said to have very low resonance.
Aural Acoustic is a new company that debuted their new Aural Model B loudspeaker
($4,500, seen here with designer Spencer Clark). The loudspeaker is harmonic time alignment and has a phase coherent crossover network and phase coherent driver arrangement. The handcrafted enclosures are available in a choice of real woods. Frequency response is from 33Hz to 20kHz.
Their new patent pending technology called AccuRange that is said to absorb the rear wave response of a driver to eliminate cabinet colorations.
Each driver arrangement has isolated free-floating driver baffles.
Silverline Audio Technology was playing their Bolero 3-way, 3-driver floorstanding loudspeaker ($8,500). Tube guys will like the 92dB/W/m sensitivity and it is true full frequency response from 28Hz to 32kHz.
Yes, yes, yes this is indeed the sexy, sensuous, oh so lovely Shanling T-300 ($6,995). Tube amplified fully balanced analog output, digital output, oversampling, and eight Burr-Brown PCM1740K D/A chips... Though what matters is the music. The system with Music Hall gear sounded very nice and... review coming soon!
Also in the Music Hall room, besides the excellent single malt scotch, is their new mmf-2.1 turntable. Yes you can sense from the pic above my next comment. i even love the special Ferrari red color ($399, or $349 in black ash veneer). This belt drive turntable has a wood plinth, isolated synchronous motor, Music Hall Tracker or Magic MM cartridge, alloy platter, and felt mat. Not pictured here is Music Hall's dynamic $600 duo with a25.2 integrated 50-watt stereo amplifier and $600 Cd25.2 CD player. So for a mere $1,200 you have a complete digital-based front end and amplification. Sweet!
mbl 116 ($17,900 on up depending on finish) are the same midrange and tweeter as the company's model 101E, though it adds a
pair of 5.5-inch bass drivers and a pair of 8-inch subwoofers. You'll need lots of power, as the sensitivity is a very low 81dB/W/m loudspeaker.
Tired of your turntable's warn needle, pops and click from old records, etc? The
ELP Laser Turntable ($15,000 for base model) allows for a laser to precisely read the vinyl record's groove plus you can remote control track selection. See our review by Bill Gaw
by clicking here.
Hyperion, known for their HPS-938 loudspeaker, has just released their HT88 ($2,800) 18 watts monoblock tubed amplifier using a pair of KT-88 tubes. And yes, the 18 watts is more than enough to drive
the company's very efficient loudspeakers. See Enjoy the Music.com™'s
review of their HPS-938 loudspeaker by clicking
here.
Almarro, makers of my personal Budget Beater award
winning A318 integrated tube amplifier (reviewed
here), is now offering their new A507A 6550-based 70-watt stereo integrated amplifier ($2,250) and M2A two-way loudspeakers ($2,200 in pine, up to $3,000 in mono black). The new integrated unit operates in push-pull and
amplifies a wide frequency response from 10Hz to 70kHz. The new M2A loudspeakers offer an 88dB/W/m sensitivity and feature a NEO-6 6-inch midrange woofer mated with a Focal 1-inch inverted dome tweeter. The cabinet is rear ported with the port flanged to virtually eliminate port noise.
Click here for Sunday's coverage.
High-Performance Audio Reviews
