Although it was introduced at the January CES, SSI was my first opportunity to hear Wadia's cute 151PowerDAC mini amplifier ($1200). It combines a DAC, digital preamp and 25 Wpc power amp, and is housed in the same tiny package as Wadia's iTransport shown to its right. The PowerDAC was being used to drive ProAc's new floorstanding Studio 140 Mk..II speakers in the M-HiFi room at SSI, with XLO cables.
Cable manufacturer JPS Labs is now connected (sorry) with the Canadian importer AudioScape Canada, which also distributes amplifiers and CD players from PrimaLuna, turntables from Dual, loudspeakers from Usher, and other delights. At Salon Son et Image, Joe Skubinski of JPS unveiled a new version of his popular Digital AC power cord, now called Digital AC-X. The cable's filter network has now been upgraded to handle higher frequencies than before, but the price remains the same: $399 for a 2-meter run. Sweet!
With so many lookalike, workalike remote handsets littering the ring-stained table of our hobby, new ones seldom stand out—or work better than the old ones. Pioneer has finally produced a breakthrough: Anyone who buys a new Pioneer VSX-1020 receiver (expected to go on sale in America in June, for approximately $800) will have the opportunity to download a virtual handset from the Apple apps site, for use with his or her iPod Touch or iPhone. The finished product looks—and works—exactly like the knobs and switches on the amp's front panel. Here's one remote control that will probably never get lost under the couch or dropped in the toilet. (Don't ask.)
In one of the excellent-sounding Audio d’occasion rooms, I had the pleasure of meeting Oracle Audio Technologies’ Jacques Riendeau, who introduced me to the latest incarnation of his beautiful Delphi turntable, reviewed by Michael Fremer in our March 2010 issue. Riendeau explained that the Delphi Mk.VI ($11,600, with Oracle/SME 345 tonearm) uses Delrin feet for a better balanced sound across a wider environment; an improved main bearing system for a greater gap between background noise and the signal; and, most importantly, Oracle’s Micro Vibration Stabilizer System, which utilizes three plungers that dip into silicone baths to reduce lateral vibrations, found by Riendeau to have an enormous impact on sound quality.
The dudes at Coup de Foudre know great music, and that’s exactly what was playing when I walked into one of their rooms on Saturday afternoon, Tom Waits sounding all damned and heartbroken but still so full of love, and there was nothing I could possibly do but sit down and listen. The soundstage was so deep, the low-level resolution so clear, the overall presentation so effortless, it was as if I was looking into Tom Waits’ old soul.
Leema Acoustics’ Mark Perfect dwarfs the little Leema Xero ($1400/pair), driven by Leema’s own Tucana II 150Wpc integrated amplifier ($8000) and Antila Multi-DAC CD player ($6000), all producing a surprisingly BIG sound with tightly focused images placed within a fairly wide and deep soundstage. Perfect explained that Leema takes its name from design partners Lee Taylor and Mallory Nicholls, recording studio engineers who met during their tenure at the BBC. Designed and manufactured in Wales, the Leema Zero uses custom-made Audax drive units, and has a rated sensitivity of 85dB.
I walked into Jay Rein’s Bluebird Music room and was immediately taken by the hard-rocking sound of Led Zeppelin’s “Moby Dick,” reproduced with appropriate drama, impact, and scale. Here we see Rein standing beside Spendor’s new A9 loudspeaker ($7295/pair). Introduced at this year’s Bristol Show, the A9 made its North American debut at SSI 2010, and sounded excellent, driven by Exposure’s new 3010S2 series: 100W monoblocks ($2595/pair), preamp ($1395), and CD player ($2195). The S2 series replaces Exposure’s Classic line and represents a 50% power increase for one-third less money, Rein told me. Van den Hul’s D352 speaker cables and D102 interconnects ($929) tied this impressive system together.
Klaro Audio debuted its Summus loudspeaker ($3300/pair CAN), designed and manufactured in Montreal. This compact floorstander stands 36” H by 6.5” W by 10” D, and has a rated efficiency of 89dB; it uses single-wire binding posts from Furutech and its Russian Birch Plywood cabinet is available in Piano Black, Cherry, Mahogany, Tasso Brown, or Terra Natural finishes. Mated to the CEC TL51XR belt-drive CD player ($2200), Jadis JS1 Mk.III DAC with separate power supply ($18,000), and Jeff Rowland Continuum integrated amplifier, the Klaro Summus, pictured here with Jacintha looking on, impressed me with its large, smooth sound.
Leben Hi-Fi’s CS600 integrated amplifier ($5895), distributed by Tone Imports, produces 32Wpc and is a gorgeous piece of art, recalling the industrial design of 1950s and 1960s American hi-fi. We didn’t listen to the CS600 at SSI 2010, but I had a lot of fun just looking at it. Watch out for John Marks’ review in our June issue.
It was only a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/musicintheround/music_in_the_round_37/index2… months ago</A> that I greeted Oppo Digital's BDP-83 universal Blu-ray player as a breakthrough consumer component, and it became a Runner-Up for <I>Stereophile</I>'s Budget Product of 2009. It now appears that Oppo is using the design as a base on which to develop similar and more advanced products, both for themselves and for a good many other manufacturers. Some may take exception to my use of the word <I>manufacturers</I>—if it's an Oppo under the skin, what, precisely, are these other "manufacturers" contributing? Well, that's hardly a new question.