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Chord Electronics, distributed by Bluebird Music, took pride of place in two systems in their multi-chambered suite on the 35th floor…

Given the dramatic drop in the number of high-end audio exhibits at CES, only two companies chose to occupy the huge, high-ceilinged suites on the Venetian Hotel's 35th floor. The first, Lamm Industries, from the quiet little hamlet of Brooklyn, NY (where John Atkinson also lives), threw caution to the winds with a system whose total retail price was $649,440.

Earlier this year Anthem launched the STR Integrated Amplifier in a return to 2-channel, and representative Devin Zell explained that they have expanded that line this year with a 2-channel preamp and dedicated amplifier. The STR preamp goes for $4,000 and the STR amplifier goes for $6,000 and are available now.

Michael Fremer over at AnalogPlanet.com will eventually have more, including video, on this beauty, but here are some brief facts for Stereophile readers.

Hailing from the Champagne region of France, Davis Acoustics has been making speakers for over 30 years. The company produces OEM drive units that they sell to other manufacturers (including Goldmund and Avant Garde), but also sells their own extensive line of products.

The new $18,000 Pictor preamp is part of Constellation Audio's new Revelation Series, which is one step up from the company's entry-level Inspiration Series. Constellation's Irv Gross explained that the Pictor uses the same basic chassis as the Inspiration version, but has a separate power supply.

For John Atkinson and me, CES began with a trip to the Hi-Res Pavilion in the Las Vegas Convention Center's enormous Central Hall. John must have been a dog in a past lifetime, because his ability to find the booth in the middle of that huge glittering morass, which could be euphemistically characterized as high tech on steroids, smacked of a sixth sense.