We're stunned at how few exhibitors spend money for the larger rooms on the 35<SUP>th</SUP> floor of the Venetian, since they are so sonically impressive. Sumiko's room with the $28,000 SME 2012, $6000 Audio Research PH7, $10,000 Audio Research Reference 3, Audio Research Reference 210 monoblock amplifiers ($9000/each), and brand-spanking new $25,000/pair Vienna Acoustic <I>Die Musik</I> loudspeakers had us glued to the sweet spot.
Sumiko had a new Pro-Ject turntable on display, the "approximately $2000" Perspex, which sports the new 9CC Evolution tonearm.
Sumiko was showing the $2495 Primare DVD110 DVD/CD player/reciever. It's a two channel unit with a class-D 102Wpc amplifier and a couple of features you don't see on most stereo components: a subwoofer and 1080p video outs.
Sumiko's Norbert Schmied showed us their new upscale cartridge. "What's it called?"
Ayre's Steve Silberman was excited about the new DPS Ayre turntable. Charlie Hansen had hipped Wes Phillips to the then pending debut of the DPS Ayre back in September.
The three phase power supply is pure Ayre. There are three amplifiers, one for each phase. "Essentially, they are mini-MXRs," said Silberman. They are 120 degrees out of phase with one another, and we need to tune each one with a stethoscope to achieve absolute pitch stability. The result?
The ever-lovely Rosemarie Torcivia and Cynthia Fontaine, running the <I>Stereophile</I> room at the Venetian. They'd appreciate it if someone would bring them a decent sounding stereo to listen to. An ipod even.
"This," Quartet Marketing's Stirling Trayle proudly said, "is the T + A Music Player."
The Music Player has tons of inputs: USB2.0, iPod (with control and display), S/PDIF digital coaxial, TOSlink digital optical, LAN, W-LAn, and RS232 for update and control interface.
We were stunned to see Roger Skoff in the Ultralink/XLO room—we thought he'd retired years ago. "I did," he explained, "but I was asked to design some new stuff incorporating new technologies and more advanced versions of our existing designs."