LATEST ADDITIONS

I went into the Pass Labs room to check out the company's new amps. But what caught my eye was the SR-1 loudspeaker ($25,000/pair). SR-1 stands for "First Son of Rushmore," the Rushmore being Nelson Pass's original assault on the state of the speaker art. A conventional deign compared with the active quad-amplified Rushmore, the four-way SR-1 uses four top-line SEAS drive-units, including a 29mm Hexadym soft-dome tweeter,

Bel Canto's designer, John Stronczer, proudly showed off the the Minnesotan company's e.One s300 integrated amplifier ($2495), that was <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/bel_canto_eone_s300iu_integra… reviewed</A> by Wes Phillips. A dual-mono design with a class-D output stage, it outputs 300Wpc into 4 ohms and 150Wpc into 8 ohms, the diminutive integrated amp features Bel Canto's single button control for inputs and volume, as well as a remote control.

Miguel Alvareaz of Point St. Lucie, Florida, is a defector for the cause. A self-confessed former marketing rep for Bose who always had a passion for audiophile products, he eventually left the company to develop the Tripoint Troy power product ($8000). Based on a new concept, the device uses passive filtration in the form of magnetism and layers of different materials (brass, copper, and proprietary products) to eliminate and reduce EMI and RFI. Rather than a line conditioner per se&#151;one is in the works&#151;the Troy is a grounding device to which you attach ground wires from the various components in your system. (If a component lacks a ground wire, Miguel can explain how to determine the right place to affix one).

Go forth and find ye cables, tweaks, power products, and low-cost amplification, saith the Lord of Atkinson. Little did I realize how much fun my assignment would be. While I didn't run across any low-cost amplification on my first day at CES, there were cables and tweaks galore.

Sonneteer <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/he2006/060306bard/">first popped up</A> on our radar at the 2006 Home Entertainment Show with their Bardone TX wireless audio transmitter. Three years later they've produced some real eye and ear candy with the Morpheus "music centre" which functions as an integrated amp and control center for all manner of digital media.

McCormack rolled out a complete line overhaul down to the cosmetics. About the only thing the company retained was its distributed node architecture (DNA) technology for its amplifiers. There are two new amps: the 250Wpc DBA-250 ($3995) and a 750W monoblock, the DNA-750 ($4750/each). Both amplifiers feature completely re-engineered voltage gain and driver circuits.

A different take on an integrated is the two-chassis 1000Wpc Uniwave Tek Digital Anaco 2 stereo amplifiers ($6800). The switch-mode power supply is in a separate chassis from the signal-carrying elements. That 1000Wpc rating, by the way, is at 4 ohms. Bandwidth is claimed to be 250kHz.