Burmester 911 Amplifier and Artnovion Acoustic Panels
Robb Niemann, the CEO of Rutherford Audio, North American distributor for Burmester, had new product and new corporate news to share
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LATEST ADDITIONS
Mark Levinson's New Middle-Tier Preamplifier
The No.523 features six line-level inputs, a phono preamplifier, and a headphone amplifier (there's a 1/4" jack on the preamp's front panel)
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VTL's TP-2.5i Series II Phono Preamplifier
I visited the VTL room three times, collecting photos and data, and every time Luke was smiling his big Luke-smile: "Herb, how can I help you?" The room was well-litand yet I failed to get good pictures.
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Mark Levinson's Middle-Tier Stereo Amp
CES 2017 saw the introduction of the 350Wpc Mark Levinson No.534 stereo amplifier ($20,000). Todd Eichenbaum, Director of Engineering for Harman International's Luxury Audio Group and designer of the No.534, explained that it was developed to fit between Levinson's entry-level No.532H stereo amplifier ($8000) and the $50,000/pair No.53 reference monoblock amplifiers.
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Hegel Music Systems Röst
Perhaps because of Bent Holter's recent revision of his "distortion-reducing" SoundEngine technology, the elegant Röst drove the desktop-mounted KEF-LS50s with purity, lust, and musical authority
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Bel Canto REF600M Monoblocks
It looks pro-school Paul Newman racing-driver cool, especially in black. It puts out 300W into 8 ohms and 600W into 4 ohms, and can deliver a peak output current of 27A. Did I mention each amp weighs only 15.4 pounds? (I could carry both channels home on the subway.)
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Jake Shimabukuro in the dCS Suite at the Mirage
Covering CES with a perpetual smile and fresh ears is usually a challenge. But sometimes, you can feel like the luckiest reporter alive when everything falls into place.
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Yes, it'll sound like I'm gushing, but unless you meet him, it's hard to comprehend what a positive and gracious human being Jake Shimabukuro is. Everywhere we went he stuck his hand out and, with a smile, exhibited unending excitement and curiosity at what he was hearing. And watching him play, up close and in person, is amazing. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.
AudioQuest's New Niagara 5000
Virtually identical in appearance to the Niagara 7000the only outward differences are two little lights and one buttonAudioQuest's new 38-lb Niagara 5000 ($4000) "Low-Z Power/Noise-Dissipation System"(shown sitting atop the Niagara 7000) is one-half the price and 50 lbs lighter than its big brother.
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Esprit High-End Audio Cables
Esprit, a French cable company celebrating its 20th anniversary, was represented by Richard Cesari. Now imported by Source Systems Ltd., the cables are all handmade. "It takes 16 hours to make one cable," said Cesari.
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Stage III's New Entry-Level Cables
There's no connection implied between their position on the floor in the photo above and their status as Stage III Concepts' new entry-level offerings
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