Odyssey Audio showcased their wall hanging
loudspeakers that can be ordered with a wide variety of artwork concealing the
drivers. Alternatively, you can submit your own digital art and they will
silkscreen it to fit the loudspeakers. (Echobusters please take note). While
the sound was of high quality, like most other wall mounted loudspeakers, the
soundstage was pretty much flattened to the wall in a stereo presentation. But
for a surround presentation, where the soundstage is created in the room,
this should be less of a problem. The advantage here is that the speakers can
be removed and taken with you when you decide to leave town or change
apartments — unlike loudspeakers that are permanently installed in the
wall.
In the Odyssey Audio room next to Klaus Bunge showcased
their affordable high-end equipment that I have raved about for years. On a
table, a row of anodized aluminum bars displayed the various colors in which
the faceplates can be ordered. A VPI Super Scoutmaster
financially overloaded the front end of the system, which you will have to
provide for yourself. Their new Candela preamplifier with its roof removed
showed off the quality construction inside, and a window cut in the faceplate
will show off the glowing tubes as you listen in the dark. This unit struck an
emotional chord reminding me of my vintage Musical Design SP-1 preamplifier.
And like the Musical Design piece, this one is also affordable.
Newform Research showed their new ribbon loudspeaker that I wrote
about a year or two ago. However, the small, curved housing for the bass
drivers has evolved into a more cost effective block shape from which the
ribbon protrudes upward. The cutaway here shows they put the money on the
inside rather than retain the expensive exterior shape. The Newforms were
driven by a Dolan line stage with a tube buffer for the CD input ($7500
CN) and a pair of Dolan monoblocks that are available with either Corian or
granite for $11,500/pr. CN. The curtains were drawn open to allow the back
wave of the ribbon to reflect off the front wall. Either I wasn't in the
perfect sweet spot of this room, or it needed some additional room treatment.
I remember being more impressed with the presentation years earlier, but that
doesn't mean this new loudspeaker cannot be properly dialed in. It would be
worth investigating if you are a fan of line source loudspeakers.
Fidelio Audio had another fine presentation this year showcasing
their recording expertise with playback of master tapes on their Nagra
recorder. Nagra's pyramid shaped amplifiers were driving Verity Audio
Parsifal loudspeakers, and a CD player allowed comparison of the finished
product with the master tapes. Michel Berard indulged me with a copy of their
new Nemisis CD (FACD017) with the music of Thiery Pilote that is
percussion based ambient music much like I frequently enjoy on Hearts of
Space on NPR on Sunday nights. I've been enjoying it from down the hall
as I write this report.
Next
up was a very nice pair of Canadian made Harmonie Audio two way
floorstanding loudspeakers in a beautiful natural cherry finish that will
undoubtedly darken to a rich medium finish with age. They go for $2500 to
$3000 depending on the finish. I thought they had a commendable sound. This
was in the FixAudio room that was populated with Jasmine, Naim,
Audio Analogue and Triangle, among others.
In the HiFi+ room, Usher's X-719 stand mounted 2-way was
the first Usher I've had an opportunity to listen to, I believe, and it made
a very favorable impression. With a frequency response (-3dB) of 38Hz to 28kHz
and retailing for $1175, this seemed like a real good value with its
combination of piano gloss black with wood side panels. They were powered by NuForce
Reverence 9 Class D switching monoblocks with 110 watts per channel at $3295
that included both rca and balanced inputs. Prominently displayed was a TAS
2005 Golden Ear award and Power Amplifier of the Year award. The NuForce P-8
preamplifier at $1450 drove the monoblocks. Also on the rack were a Shuguang
SG200-88 stereo tube power amplifier and an SG200B tube line stage ($925). The
system I heard (I'm not sure of exactly what was hooked up) was about $6500,
I was told, and sounded very, very good for the price. Shown here are the
SG845BS single ended triode monoblocks for $4120 CN.
The
GTT Room is a perennial favorite of mine and they did not disappoint
again this year. In fact, I was treated to the World Premier of the new Kharma
Ceramique CE 3.1c loudspeaker with the new ceramic tweeter. This is their
least expensive speaker that formerly sold for about $10K and now goes for
about $12K with the new tweeter and the original ceramic mid-woofer. It
sounded much better than my reference 2.2 models and the new tweeter must be
to blame. Bill Parish wisely left the Kharma subwoofer at home. The 3.1
didn't need one in this small room, and the bass was quite sufficient. It
was also nice to see this speaker in the rich looking aubergine finish rather
than the ubiquitous piano gloss black.
The
speakers were powered by the small (in size) Kharma MP-150se monoblocks with
analog switching technology that premiered last year. The monoblocks can be
ordered in a paint finish to match your Kharma loudspeakers, of course. The
front end was a CD player from the German MBL line, as was the
preamplifier. Cabling was by Kubala-Sosna, and I had the honor of
meeting Joe Kubala in this room. Bill has always been very gracious to Linda
and me — so much so that I forgot to take his photo again. A review of the
new CE 2.2c with the new ceramic tweeter has been arranged and will follow in
the near future. Fortunately, Linda had a back-up photo of this GTT room that
ranks among the Best Rooms at the show as it has in the past.
The Blue Note CD player in the next room had a fancy suspension and
a tube output stage, but it had an "over-designed" look about it. There
was also an analog front end. Electronics were by Korato, a Serbian
company that greatly impressed me last year. Their four-piece preamplifier
includes a line stage, phono stage and separate power supplies for the left
and right channels. The Korato tube Renaissance monoblocks have two pairs of
6CA7 wired in triode, Class A mode putting out 45 watts each. This was a very
good sounding room with Blue Note loudspeakers, but not quite as enthralling
as last year when Korato powered a different and very efficient loudspeaker.
Somewhere
in the neighborhood around here I spotted this German Elac FS 609 X-PI
loudspeaker on silent display with a 360 degree tweeter on top and a
concentric ribbon tweeter and midrange on front. This $17,500 CN model had an
aluminum skin, I was told, but it knocked like wood with my knuckles. From my
past experience listening to a couple of Elac models, I really wished this
pair had been hooked up.
Tri-Cell Enterprises presented Accustic Arts electronicsand a
Brinkman turntablefrom Germany in an excellent sounding room. Bedrock for
most of the electronics was a large, expandable component rack by HRS
(Harmonic Resolution Systems). The double wide custom MXR-1921-4v system
showed here goes for $14,950 US. Shelves are available to support different
weight components, and are adjustable for height.
The vertical supports were finished in a gorgeous gloss walnut burl, while
the horizontal elements were in a flat black. It incorporates dampening
technology in both the horizontal and vertical elements. A special shelf on
top was made specifically for the large Brinkman turntable that sported
the new Brinkman 12" Arm. (That's its name). Mike Latvis showed me a quote
from my review of the least expensive HRS product — the Record Clamp — in
his product literature, and said sales of it have been picking up since the
review came out. He was reassured to learn that I have yet to drop the clamp
by accident. The German Lithophon Miracle loudspeaker ($17K US) was
also making its first appearance in North America. Note the fine veneer on the
side and the ribbon tweeter. This was a very fine sounding room that ranks
among the Best Rooms at the show.
Also on display was an early prototype of the Brinkman tone arm that
has since undergone many modifications 8~)
High-Performance Audio Reviews
