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Wireworld introduced two new cables at CES: its Helicon 16 speaker cables (available in two versions), and Category 8 Ethernet cables (three models)…

It's safe to say our experiment bringing Jake Shimabukuro to CES this year as a live music reference worked out pretty well. Response was overwhelmingly positive and we're sifting through the comments and will start filing reports on each of the seven rooms we visited over the next week or so.

NAD's new music server and network player features WiFi and ethernet networking, 2 USB inputs, Bluetooth AptX along with a CD slot on the front for either ripping or simply playing a disc. Inside are two 2TB hard drives--one for storing music and the other for automatic backup in case the first one fails. There is no DAC inside, so outputs include SPDIF, AES/EBU and optical along with HDMI.

But where things get interesting...

Classé was keeping information about their "in development" Delta Preamp/DAC close to their vest. But I was able to pry a few tidbits: price will be below $10,000, it will replace the CP-800, and it should appear sometime around May or June.

Who knows why somebody decided to put a mattress company between Aaudio Imports and AudioQuest. Their door was closed each time I passed by. Maybe they were napping.

SweetVinyl is a new company from Mountain View, California and was displaying their first two digital products: Sugarcube SC-1 and SC-2.

The SC-1 is a simple 24/192 ADC and DAC that removes clicks and pops from your records, and can be inserted between your phono stage and preamp (or through a monitor loop) and uses an "artificial intelligence" rule-based system to find and eliminate clicks. The company stresses that this is not simply some kind of digital filter, and the SC-1 will not alter the tonal characteristics of the recording.

Harmonic Resolution Systems (HRS) showed its new top-of-the-line VXR Audio Stand ($25,000-$31,000 for a four-shelf stand). The VXR, which sports a new frame system, lets the user adjust the amount of space between each component shelf…