LATEST ADDITIONS

The KEF Blade got lots of attention.

"Closer, closer...That's it...Yes...Now look into my tangerine waveguide..."

At first, I didn’t know what was going on. I only noticed a very large crowd of people, all seemingly fascinated by what was standing before them.

Audioarts’ Gideon Schwartz introduced me to a new loudspeaker from Switzerland’s Stenheim, a company founded by four young designers who had previously worked together at the high-profile Goldmund firm.

Here, the Alumine monitor ($12,795/pair) is mated to an optional subwoofer module ($26,700/pair). Should one opt against the sub, matching aluminum stands add $2975/pair. The speakers were partnered with CH source components and Viola Audio Labs amplification.

These speakers, perhaps more than any others I heard at the show, managed to “disappear,” leaving nothing but music in their place. Without sounding at all aggressive, the system produced lots of fine detail and great center fill.

An Acoustic Signature Ascona with SME Series 5 tonearm and low-out moving-coil Ortofon Rohmann cartridge made beautiful music leading a system comprising VTL MB-450 Series III monoblock power amplifiers, TL-7.5 Series III preamplifier, and TP-6.5 phono preamplifier. Speakers were the distinctive and dynamic Vivid G2 Giya.

To start off our listening, I picked one of my sister’s favorite albums, Adele’s 21. I noted a great sense of forward momentum and stunning dynamic range, all of Adele’s strong soulfulness communicated fully. I turned to Rosemarie, and I searched for some sign of recognition of the beauty which radiated before us...

Acoustic Signature turntables are solid, non-suspended designs with heavy platters and electronically controlled drive motors. Their maintenance-free bearings are meant to last a lifetime, while their exchangeable tonearm plates allow for easy swapping of tonearms.

All but the most affordable Barzetti, or "Black Beauty" (€1800), which has an integrated electronic motor and sports a 10-layer piano finish, are made in Germany. The Barzetti is made in Poland.

An entire family of Chord Chordettes: The Toucan headphone amplifier; Dual moving-coil phono stage; Prime 4-input preamplifier; Peach D/A processor, descendant of the Gem; Scamp 40Wpc power amplifier; Mogul micro PC with six USB inputs, 320GB storage, and HD audio support; and Maxx integrated amplifier.

The Chordettes are meant to make up one powerful, versatile, colorful system.

Many enticing colors: A lovely line-up of high-quality, affordable Pro-Ject turntables.