Robert Deutsch

What does this photo of the bar in the Sheraton illustrate? Well, I could say that it provides further confirmation of the fact that it snowed in Montreal. But the real reason is that I just like this shot, taken with the Sigma 15mm fisheye on the Canon 5D, and thought that audiophiles that are also into photography (and there are many such in my acquaintance) might enjoy seeing it.

Made in Germany, the Ceratec Xeno ($7000/pair) is a "lifestyle" speaker that also functions as room lighting, the back of the speaker having top-to-bottom LED lights whose hue and brightness can be varied with remote control. Combined with the Vita II subwoofer ($6000; less expensive options are available), the Xenos had a nice, open sound.

One of the unofficial highlights of this year's SSI was the by-invitation-only party given by Montreal dealer Coup de Foudre. The genial hosts were Jennifer Cytrynbaum (Store Manager) and Graeme Humfrey (Product Specialist, Store Owner, jazz guitarist, and a recording engineer of 20 years' experience). They had great food and drinks, and they did their utmost to make sure that everyone has a good time. The picture shows Jennifer in her element, along with Wilson’s Peter McGrath (left), Wavelength’s Gordon Rankin (center) and Graeme Humfrey (far right).

Component supports take a variety of forms: squishy, rubbery things; hard, pointed things; ball bearings (loose or constrained); air or liquid bladders, etc. The Spike component supports, imported by Divergent Technologies, were a new one for me: they use magnetic levitation. Now, I'm familiar with platforms using this principle, but these are individual component feet, each with opposed magnetic components. A box of these "Spikes" contains four such feet, and the price for the total is CN$200. I was surprised that magnets could be made strong enough in this small size to be able to support equipment of substantial weight—hich they apparently can.