Rega has updated their compact DAC with a new remote control and three user selectable digital filters. A pair of Wolfson DAC chips inside handle digital files up to 24/192 via USB, SPDIF or optical digital inputs. There are also unbalanced analog, SPDIF and optical digital outputs on the back. Retail price is $1,195 and the DAC-R is available now.
Michael Lavorgna reviewed the X30 (above) earlier this year after spotting it at CES last year. ML details all the spex in his report, so I'll stick to the basics: the X30 retails for $1,695 which includes the remote you see to the right of the box, and also includes a 50 wpc amp and on-screen graphics when hooked up to a display.
Naim has updated both the highly touted SuperUniti and UnitiQute this year adding Bluetooth and Spotify as well as other tweaks. The SuperUniti (above) is a just-add-speakers product that includes UPnP networking, wireless streaming, and digital and analog inputs for $6,495. The smaller 30 wpc UnitiQute is below and retails for $2,395
Lamm Audio used two ML3 Signature amplifiers ($139,490) and two ML2.2 amplifiers ($37,290) to power a pair of Verity Audio Lohengrin IIS loudspeakers ($120,000) in one of the Venetian's largest exhibit rooms.
T+A's lively and energetic Jochen Fabricius was eager to fill me in on the new, 3-way, 183 lb, $55,000/pair T+A CWT 1000-8 SE floorstander. This speaker uses a 25" by 2" electrostatic line tweeter that covers the frequency range from 2kHz to 40kHz.
Abbey Masciarotte, Tannoy's representative at CES 2015, showed me the company's floorstanding Canterbury loudspeaker. The Canterbury has a striking retro look and uses a dual-concentric 15" drive unit that mounts a high-frequency compression driver inside the throat of a 15" woofer.
YG Acoustics introduced the second edition of their original 2-way Carmel loudspeaker, the Carmel 2. It is said to bring the sound of the more expensive $72,800/pair Sonja 1.2 at a more reasonable price, $24,500/pair.
Wilson Audio’s Peter McGrath and John Giolas walked me through the design of the new $15,000/pair Sabrina. The loudspeaker has same general form factor and is slightly taller than their original WATT-Puppy, which was also a $15,000/pair speaker when it was first produced more than 20 years ago.
GoldenEar’s Sandy Gross emailed before the show about Golden Ear’s new compact, sealed, self-powered Supersub XXL subwoofer ($1999), which would be premiered at CES 2015. The subwoofer has two inertially-balanced, long-throw 12" woofers in the horizontal plane and two fully inertially-balanced 12.75" by 14.5" passive radiators in the vertical plane.
See that picture of a well-suited handsome man? That's Keith Martin of Washington-State firm, Vana Ltd. Vana distributes cool stuff like Vienna Acoustic loudspeakers, IsoTek AC line voltage products, Dr. Feikert Analogue (maker of one of the finest alignment protractors), and Acoustical Systems (makers of the Axiom tonearm, Archon cartridge, the Arché headshell, and the $799, SMARTractor cartridge alignment tool). What Keith is holding is the new Blue Horizons ProFono MM/MC phono stage ($1249).
I am a sucker for the new breed of desktop "wireless" loudspeakerswhen they look and sound as natural and dynamic as the new Audioengine B2 Premium Bluetooth loudspeaker, I can dance around, sing, dream on Bartok, or play air guitar while streaming Tidal or WFMU. You are invited!