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ls35a

Having throughly enjoyed Stereophile's coverage of this year's CES, I think there were two interesting trends that were not necessarily contradictory. The quite extraordinary number of new high-end products at not quite so astronomical prices and a clear move to extract better sound from music servers/computers, etc. The future is starting to look much more interesting.

The new Audio Research high-value hybrid amp looks very interesting. I'll be talking with Gary about that one for sure.

The Thiel 3.7. The market for under $10,000 speakers is very exciting right now. Vandersteen, Quad, and a few others have speakers that reviewers are comparing to models costing two or three times more. I'm not sure there is any reason other than looks to spend more on a speaker any more.

Manley Labs. They get it! If we're not having fun, what's the point?

Audio Research's HD220 power amplifier.

Anthony Gallo's new state-of-the-art Reference 5LS speaker. Is there a man with more integrity in the audio world than Anthony Gallo? 'Philes ought to read the tribute to Gallo and his new speaker in the October '06 online issue of "Six Moons."

Amps and speakers from Pathos and Talon.

All the hard drives—and wherther Music Giants will get it together. That will give you the answer to the format wars. At least they now have enough TBs in the hard drives to store uncompressed files, which is the only time-accurate digital way to produce usable harmonic microphonics. Of course, you will need a good DAC to hear real music. Most of these guys are tech guys and have limited music experience. But this and analog are the future of audio storage, depending how much of a musical instrument lover you are. I thought the On Track Audio Speakers where interesting. Anything in level 3 or 4 of the Ventian was unlistenable for any real evaluation.

Excellent show coverage. So much interesting new equipment. The new Revel Ultima Salons look like contenders, as will the Studios be when they are reviewed. (Soon, please....)

Nightingale Gala Amplifier in two units (power supply and power amplifier). Very good sound and very good looking.

Escalante Design speakers. Highly efficient, lively, and surpassingly good box speakers should be the way forward, in my opinion. There seems to be a coorelation between unstressed amplifiers and satisfying sound. Also, I'd rather choose an amplifier based on its sound than on its ability to drive an electrical short.

MSB Technology introduced an iPod cradle that directly accesses the digital output through a modified iPod. Isn't that a violation of the DMCA copyright act in that it circumvents the DRM enforced in the iPod? Maybe they think that, since the audiophile market is so tiny, the RIAA won't care?

Samsung wireless 58" plasma....

Lyngdorf system. The idea of using DSP technology to eliminate the room from the equation intrigues me. In a perfect world, a reviewer would audition the entire system. In a less perfect world, the DSP module, with microphone, would get a complete workout.

De vinyl, what else?

Mantion of the Tape Project—newly released reel-to-reel tapes? Refurbished Technics tape decks for $8500? They can't be serious. Someone must be smoking something, somewhere....

I am waiting to buy until I can find a system having individual components each costing no less than $1000.

JBl Everest II and Deqx PDC3.

Hansen Audio Emperors. Those speakers look very impressive!

The new ARC amp. I love their products.

The tape project reel to reel 1/2 track master tapes.

All the ones that you didn't cover.

I was interested to read about the forthcoming Dynaudio MC15. The convergence of PCs with high-end sound continues!

Onix's Strata Mini a very unique looking speaker with by all accounts fabulous sound at a price just about everyone can afford.

The Goldmund Reference Mk 2 Turntable. I'll probably never be able to afford one, but given the impact the original Goldmund Reference had all those years ago, I think the Mk 2 will be breathtaking.

The report of the PrimaLuna Prologue 8 CD Player.

A couple of high-end, reasonably priced monitors impressed me enough to return for a second visit. The first was TBI’s Majestic Diamond II loudspeakers at T.H.E Show for less than $1K/pair. Their sound is neutral. Whereas almost all ported loudspeakers mess-up the sound in some manner, these don’t. One can be in front of, or even off to the side of, one speaker and easily hear the other speaker. There is a very wide sweet spot so you can walk around the room and get great sound coming from these little 2-way loudspeakers. They also don’t suffer from compression. Designer Jan Plumber has employed his unique ETL ( E??? Transmission Line) technology, also used in TBI bass modules, to eliminate cone breakup and maintain a constant acoustic impedance. The second was Usher’s new addition to their Dancer series, the BE-718 for a projected price of $2500/pair. They feature Usher’s clean and fast beryllium dome tweeter. According to Paul Chen, they will go into production in a couple of months. Little more information was available on them but they sure sounded great on a wide variety of music.

Scaena loudspeaker. It was art making art.

Mark Levinson No. 53. I have a pair of 33Hs driving a pair of Wilson Audio MAXX IIs. A higher powered amp from Levinson is just what I want!!!!