Top Audio & Video 2005 Milan, Italy

Friday

  Skyline Electronica had a vast variety of Furutech connectors and cabling, Mundorf drivers and parts, plus Emission Labs tubes. DIY lovers were flocking to their booth!

 

Italy's Audio Engineering Society (AES) had a great booth with many incredibly informative books. Audiophiles looking to further educate themselves should purchase various titles. The next chance you get, after reading this report of course, is go to the AES website and buy some books!

 

South African company Vivid Audio had their stylish loudspeaker designs on display with their B1 (€12,000) three-way and K1 ($16,000) larger four-way. They are a bipolar (perhaps like your ex-lover ;)  )  with bass drivers also/appearing on the rear. The designer of these loudspeakers is the same gentleman who did B&W designs.

 

Tannoy gets stylish in Italy with their hefty yet small monitors called the Arena and matching self-powered matching subwoofer. Alas, i could find little information at the show yet upon holding the small monitor with 5-inch dual-concentric driver it was substantial! One would assume these are available in many colors.

 

Putting the report into reverse gear (see yesterday's show coverage), here we have a Nissan all blinged out with various audio components. Some would call it Ricer Heaven, but any true racer would...

 

Attends, and the occasional reviewer, can get tired from experiencing so many goodies and walking down the seemingly endless hotel hallways. Take a break and enjoy a free message in the computer media section of the show. Just a little to the right, a little more, now down a bit.  Ooooh yeah, that's the spot!

 

This section at the show venue appeared to tout many ways to use Microsoft's Window Media Center. From stand-alone pieces to complete home-wide distribution. Microsoft also was showcasing their HD video scheme.

 

In an adjoining section is the Top Award winners that included Diffusore Audio's Metis Racing F1 Red monitors, Clearaudio Statement turntable, and the Nightingale Gala tube amplifier. Others winners included the Vincent KHV-1 preamplifier/headphone amplifier, B&W PV-1, Amstrom Research's Reference 2 preamplifier, and the Naim NAP 500 amplifier.

 

The new Quad has a rear brace and is offered in smaller 1-meter high and 1.5-meter high size (approximately). There has been some online grumbling about where the new models are manufactured; yet a Quad with true-to-legacy design is a Quad in my book.

 

In my previous life (back in the 1980s to be exact) i was a paid DJ for a nigh club and also party duties but never in my life did i foresee the staggering array of possibilities provided today by such companies as Vestax, Technics, etc. Still, i miss the old days, called Old School, where you simply had a pair of turntable, a microphone, and a mix board where it took real talent to beat match and mix music. Modern day computers and technology has killed much of that today.

 

Filed under the "How do you fit over 150 jacks on a rear panel," Denon's new AVC-A1XV (€6500) receivers handles pretty much everything under the sun.

 

Click here for Saturday's coverage.