LATEST ADDITIONS

Following Michel Plante's speech at the opening night reception, the Give Band played a great set of world-music&#150;influenced rock that, thankfully, was not too loud. (The FoH mixer must have been an audiophile.) The band's CD <I>AudioPhylanthrope</I>, recorded and mastered at the world-famous Guy St-Onge's studio, was launched at SSI as the Show's reference recording. The Give Band are performing at 9pm tonight (Friday, when the Show closes) in the Lounge Stereo Plus on SSI's lower floor, so if you are at the Show, you still have a chance to check them out.

The Give Band's singer/flute player, Caroline St. Louis, was last seen on this Show report wearing a <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/ssi2010/press_day/">blue wig</A> at the ticket counter. Wearing a wireless mike, she danced and sang to impressive effect.

I was also impressed by the sound of the $7000/pair Joseph Pulsar stand-mount that Stephen Mejias <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/ssi2010/joseph_audio_simon_and_garfunkel/">… about</A>. What was notable about the set-up was that, in order to tame the hotel room acoustic, Jeff had set-up the speakers, driven by Simaudio's new 175Wpc Moon 700i integrated amplifier via Cardas Clear cables, to fire across the room's diagonal. If you have problems getting an optimal transition between the mid-bass and upper bass in your room, you might want to try this set-up (significant other not objecting, of course).

The DSPeaker Servo loudspeaker ($3500/pair) is also available in matte white finish. Here, we see a rear view. The speaker cabinets are made of MDF and feature several different internal damping materials.

With the Joseph Audio Pulsar ($7000/pair), <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2009/josephs_pulsar/">introduced at the 2009 CES</a>, Jeff Joseph’s goal was to turn his top-of-the-line Pearl into “a convenient, single-serving size speaker with real bass slam.” The Pearl’s 1” tweeter is mated to a magnesium-done woofer made by Seas to Joseph’s specs. Joseph explained that the Pulsar is designed to radiate sound evenly over a very wide angle to avoid wave interference, and make for simple placement and good sound throughout the listening room.

Hathor Acoustik takes its name from the Ancient Egyptian goddess said to have the ability to “cure humanity with her song,” explained designer Luc Allair (right). Salon Son & Image 2010 presents the debut of Hathor’s Reference loudspeaker ($20,000 CAN). Partnered with an elegant, all-Naim system, including CDX2 player, NAC 252 preamp, and NAP 250 amplifier, the Hathors produced a warm, inviting sound, marked by an especially wide and deep soundstage and fleshy, well-focused images.

Hathor Acoustik takes its name from the Ancient Egyptian goddess said to have the ability to “cure humanity with her song,” explained designer Luc Allair (right). Salon Son & Image 2010 presents the debut of Hathor’s Reference loudspeaker ($20,000 CAN). Partnered with an elegant, all-Naim system, including CDX2 player, NAC 252 preamp, and NAP 250 amplifier, the Hathors produced a warm, inviting sound, marked by an especially wide and deep soundstage and fleshy, well-focused images.