LATEST ADDITIONS

Though I was in the Avatar room asking about new digital products, somehow this one was missed, so thanks to Jason Serinus for coming up with a photo for me. There was also a little confusion about the name of the product, but we're going with Scaena Mainframe for now.

The company info says that the new server plays all formats of audio and video and features an aluminum enclosure with liquid cooling, Xenon processor, "error correcting" RAM, and a custom 7" touch tablet to run everything. The Mainframe also runs off of a lithium battery power supply that can go for up to 12 hours on a charge.

No pricing or availability info yet.

Beijing's QAT Audio had their new fanless MS6i music server on display in the Venetian. NAS drives are supported via both WiFi and ethernet to supplement the user-replaceable 2.5 inch or SSD internal drives. Digital outputs include toslink, coax, BNC and AES/EBU and there are four USB ports.

All PCM formats up to 24/192 are supported and the company features a nice looking app for iOS and Android. Available mid-year for $2,990 in the US, currently available in China.

Soul Of the Music had their sMS-1000 media server on hand featuring the Vortexbox OS and the ability to handle PCM files up to 32/384 as well as DSD. The front panel has a slot for ripping both CDs or DVDs and pricing is dependent on type of output selected: $3,000 for both balanced and unbalanced analog outputs, $2,700 for coax, toslink, AES/EBU, and $2,500 for just USB 2.0

"I'm a full-time music lover and a part-time audiophile," Gary Koh declared while demming his new Genesis GRA1440, class-D, truly differentially balanced monoblock amplifiers ($22,000/pair). "Music is inherently balanced," he said, as he played the stereo LP version of Al Grey and The Basie Wing's The Last of the Big Plungers, and proved that modified Hypex class-D modules, when incorporated into amplifiers that output 1440Wpc into 4 ohms and include a full Genesis power supply, can yield totally welcoming, alive and colorful sound. There was absolutely no hard edge to be heard on this system.

Crystal Cable's Gabi Rijnveld assured me that her years of ballet training had prepared her for prolonged kneeling while yours truly struggled to snap the optimal photo. The Dutch company introduced Crystal Cable's 10th Anniversary The Cube compact stereo integrated amplifier (around $15,000). Due out around Munich show time in May, this little baby attempts to incorporate all the advanced technology of Siltech's innovative three-box SAGA amplifier ($75,000) into a single box that is more financially available, designer lifestyle-friendly, and outputs 200Wpc into 4 ohms.

There's a big change in the Bel Canto line, folks. It even comes with a new logo and website, belcantoblack.com. As for the sound, listening to an Elvis Presley outtake of "Peace in the Valley" on a 45rpm pressing from, I believe, Direct Grace, I loved the wonderfully clear and uncolored sound, as well as the natural "you are there" detail. To be honest, I drank it up.

Gideon Schwartz of AudioArts NYC assembled an extremely fast system that delivered maximum color without any of the harsh, irritating edge that I encountered on many systems, both tube and solid-state, at CES. On Salvatore Accardo's well-worn Diabolicus in Musica LP of Paganini's solo violin music, as well as on a CD by the Musicians of the Nile, I was deeply impressed by the upward extension of the tone and the system's willingness to bathe music with the light it deserves. If the system wanted for the last iota of bass impact and clear delineation of low-lying lines, it nonetheless handled bass with a finesse that few hotel room set-ups offered, especially in the case of large loudspeakers sandwiched into small spaces.