SSI 2013

In a very different financial world than the Wilson/VTL and Magico/Constellation offerings below—and a world that, frankly, I'm much more comfortable in—were the Cambridge range of electronics and speakers. The small Minx speakers in the foreground of the picture above are $200/pair, $599 in a 2.1 setup that includes a subwoofer.

Kudos Audio is a line of British speakers designed by Derek Gilligan, formerly of NEAT, which uses custom drivers made for them by SEAS. The one demoed at SSI 2013 was the X2 ($2900/pair), a modestly-sized floorstander, in a system that included a Mimetism 15.2 integrated ($6690). The source was a CD in a laptop—not conforming to audiophile ideals, but the sound did not seem to suffer from it.

The English translation of the French word image in Salon Son & Image is "picture," or, well, "image." But it's been an open secret for some time that the show is much stronger on the son (sound) than on the image. I saw just one projection video setup at SSI 2013, and there were a few LCD/LED monitors, but no one seemed to pay much attention to them. However, SSI managed to enlist as an exhibitor Photo Service, a major camera store, which offers a wide range of products related to photography. This worked out extremely well for all concerned.

Here’s a closer look at the Line Magnetic 218 integrated amplifier, which uses one single-ended 845 triode per side for approximately 22Wpc. At SSI the LM amp drove DeVore O/93 loudspeakers using Auditorium 23 loudspeaker cable ($980 for a 2.5m pair): the same great, green stuff I’ve used at home for the past 8 years.

Despite its unfortunate physical resemblance to an electric shoe-shine machine, the Leedh E loudspeaker sounded open and airy during my visit to the room sponsored by Conceptas Sound and Engineering. I was prevented, by the language barrier, from learning anything about the E or its companion Lua brand electronics, including prices; one of two people running the room handed me some information sheets, but the other person snatched them away. I requested and was given more, but my moment of triumph was dashed when I saw that all of the literature was in French. All I have deciphered from it so far is that the Leedh E weighs less than “a dozen kilos” (I think), and one of its drivers is 17cm in diameter.

SSI 2013 also marked the Canadian premiere of MBL's Corona monoblock amplifier ($25,000/pair), seen here in white, on black satin.

Another very listenable sub-$5000 system consisted of a pair of Bob Reina's favorite Monitor Audio RX-6s ($1600/pair), NAD X356 integrated amp ($800), NAD C515EE CD player ($400), and $340's worth of cables, at a total price of $3140.