LATEST ADDITIONS

Having greatly enjoyed YG Acoustics' two-way Carmel loudspeaker ($18,000/pair) at the California Audio Show this past summer, I was eager to hear it in a different setting. This was the opportunity, paired with Veloce Audio's battery-powered set-up. The system also featured Kubala-Sosna Emotion cabling (price not supplied), the LS-1 Pure Tube linestage ($15,000)—are there any impure tubes?—and LP-1 Pure Tube phono module ($3000), and V-6 monoblock amplifiers ($14,000, presumably for the pair). Also doing the honors were the Amazon One turntable (price not available), and the PS Audio Perfect Wave transport/DAC combo (approx. $6000).

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Judging by my complete lack of notes on the room occupied by Silver Circle Audio, Sutherland Engineering, and Tyler Acoustics&#151a VPI Scoutmaster turntable was spinning tunes, with amplification from Plinius driving the speakers&#151I would have to say that I didn’t do much listening in here. I mean, I <i>heard</i> music, but I was too busy enjoying my conversation with Silver Circle’s David Stanard, and I was too impressed by the <i>appearance</i> of the gear. From the cabinetry of the Tyler Acoustics Decade D1 loudspeakers to the <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/rmaf2010/hefty_ac_cords/">hefty AC cords</a> coming from the Silver Circle Pure Power One 5.0’s rear panel to the <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/rmaf2010/made_in_the_usa_enjoyed_everywhere… circuitry</a> of the Sutherland Engineering 20/20 phono preamp (review to come from Brian Damkroger), to the equipment rack&#151handmade by Stanard in one afternoon&#151everything was handsome and personal and showed obvious fine craftsmanship.

I loved taking a look at the exposed circuitry of the new Sutherland Engineering 20/20 phono preamp ($2200; review to come from Brian Damkroger). Made in the USA, enjoyed everywhere.

Spend some time with Ravi Rajapakse, President and CEO of Blackfire Research, and you might get the impression that he’s some sort of control freak.

The cute Chordette Gem Bluetooth DAC ($799) measures approximately 6” x 3” x 1.5”, comes in a variety of bright colors, and will be reviewed by Art Dudley in the January 2011 issue of <i>Stereophile</i>.

Audio Plus Services' John Bevier was sporting a snazzy bow tie at RMAF, echoing the sartorial sang-froid of another well-known audio distributor. More than one visitor to his room was puzzled by the apparent lack of any source component, yet the Focal 1038Be speakers ($12,000/pair) were playing the Gary Karr transcription for double bass and organ of the Albinoni Adagio and sounding sweet. John pointed to his MacBook, which was running iTunes with the Amarra front-end and sending the data via WiFi to the Micromega Airstream integrated amplifier ($4995), which has a WiFi front-end based on an Apple Airport Express router. This limits playback resolution to 16 bits and 48kHz, but for someone who wants to rip his CDs and play them with minimal fuss'n'muss, the Micromega is a contender. The system was wired with speaker cable from Crystal Cable, for which Audio Plus is now the North American distributor.