CES 2016

"Our goal is to build a reference monitor, rather than to produce the new flavor of the day," Westlake Audio's Glenn R. Phoenix told Stereophile. "Rather than boosting the bass or using multiple tweeters, we strive for reference neutrality." Hence the LC8.1 speaker system, which includes two top modules ($8000/pair) and two Lc8.1sw subwoofers with polypropylene drivers ($12,699/pair).

Raidho principals Lars Kristensen, whose surname, thanks to his business card, I've finally spelled correctly after all these years; Mikkel Simonsen, who specializes in digital circuits, software, and PCB work; and Michael Børresen, the speaker designer/chief engineer who is responsible for overall concepts, visual and functional design, and analog circuitry; showed off the great, full-range sound of Raidho's new D-3.1 loudspeakers ($65,500/pair). Not the least bit shy at frequency extremes, the D-3.1 loudspeaker topped off a system that was equally at ease with fast, slamming percussion and naturally zingy piccolo.

Although the Valve Amplification Company (VAC) system at CES 2016 was virtually identical to the one I blogged at RMAF last October, save for the shrouded TV or mirror, there was a world of difference in the sound. VAC's Kevin Hayes attributed the improvement to a change in tubes in the VAC Phi 170 IQ master preamplifiers ($9900). While the tubes at the earlier show were Russian Gold Lion KT-88, here they were Chinese Shuguang KT-88SC. The sound on the Mahler 9 SACD I played at CES was very, very beautiful.

Accuphase's head of engineering, Masaomi Suzuki, introduced the company's new P-7300 flagship class-A/B stereo power amplifier ($32,000). The amp claims ultra-low noise and a super-high damping factor—the clipping power is higher than before, and the amp is 50% quieter than its predecessor—and outputs 125Wpc into 8 ohms. Its versatility extends to outputting 800Wpc into 1 ohm, which means that loudspeakers with challenging, amp-wilting impedance curves should not present insurmountable problems.

I was out of audio, teaching and making art, for almost 12 years (2003–2014). During that time, on-line retailer Music Direct acquired the rights and relit the ancient Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab torch. Now both brands are burning more brightly than ever. I picked up the new ½"-thick Music Direct Catalog at CES and it reminded me ever so much of an audiophile version of the soft-porn Bruce Weber created for the Abercrombie & Fitch catalog. The Music Direct catalog (#16) has Grace Slick and Janis Joplin on the cover and tons of crazy (almost-naked) gear inside! I can't stop looking.

ELAC America introduced a new 100Wpc, class-A/B integrated amplifier with a switching power supply, the "Debut Series DA101EQ" ($499), which looked so Walter Gropius' Bauhaus: Moderne. I was deeply impressed by its industrial design quotient. Hidden inside its elegant 2.1-channel skin, the ELAC integrated includes an "Auto Blend" control feature that measures the nearfield response of your main speakers and subwoofer and then corrects phrase and adjusts crossover frequency to suit the listener's room.