LATEST ADDITIONS

Bang & Olufsen celebrated its 90 years of existence by releasing a $75,000/pair loudspeaker that had been 12 years in design. Geoff Martin, Bang and Olufsen's Tonmeister and Technology Specialist in Sound Design, played an instrumental role in bringing the Beolab 90 from its origin as a blue-sky project...

I made my way from the main 2016 High-End audio exhibits at the Venetian Hotel over to the Harman exhibit at the Hard Rock Café. I was immediately captivated by a JBL Everest horn-loaded floorstanding speaker, its enclosure finished in an almost neon lipstick red, and its front baffle in brilliant silver.

Thiel's new Intellisub was the highest-tech new subwoofer I encountered at CES 2016. It uses wireless control with convenient SmartSub app, which allows the user to control its digitally-processed, Auto-Room correction software. Rory Buszka, Thiel's engineer, explained that the built-in SmartSubXT system automatically adjusts its output based on measurements from 1–40 locations in the room.

Because the total 6-pack sets one back $24,000, I asked REL Acoustics' David Schultz if there might be a "Six-Pack light" version. Yes, he replied, we have the "poor man's six-pack," the REL Acoustics 212SE. Wireless-capable, the almost-70 lb, 212-SE sealed-cabinet enclosure stands 20" tall and uses two active 12" and two passive 12" drivers, all powered by the 1000W RMS class-D internal amplifier with a new low-noise 3-stage input circuit.

REL Acoustics was displaying their new S/5 SHO 12" subwoofer at CES. Like other S-Series subwoofers that came before, the S/5 has a forward-facing, 12" active driver and a 12" passive downward-firing passive driver. The S/5 can be driven wirelessly, and employs the 3-stage, low-noise "limitless" electronics for a wide-dynamic range and increased power output.

Paradigm exhibited its new Prestige 1000SW, 12" Subwoofer. Priced at $2999, the subwoofer uses a single 12" brushed-aluminum, high-excursion X-PAL driver in a sealed enclosure which is driven by a class-D, 1000W RMS (1700W peak) amplifier.

Jeff Rowland's Model 725 S2 monoblocks ($34,000/pair) have been out maybe four years, but now include new error-correction circuitry originally developed for the Jeff Rowland 625 S2. Also of import are ceramic circuit boards, 4-pole Jensen capacitors, and virtually immeasurable distortion from 20Hz–20kHz. The class-A/B amps deliver 330Wpc into 8 ohms, and have fully balanced transformer coupled inputs as well as switch-mode power supplies with power-factor correction. The display was passive, with Rowland's active system, complete with Nordost cabling, showcasing other products.