Resolution iXS
The simple but effective iXS.
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Berkeley Audio Design Associates' Alpha DAC
"You know," Alon Wolf told us. A lot of what you liked about the sound of my music server was the Pacific Microsonics Model Two DAC I was using. But that's no longer manufactured, <I>this</I> is even better and only $5000."
Not For Sale!
We were listening to Magico's fabulous V3s ($25,000/pair), which John Atkinson will be reviewing in the May issue, when we noticed a large music server. "What's that?"
What's Old Is New Again
Several rooms this year are sporting 1/4" reel to reel decks as source components. <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/012907master/index.html">The Tape Project</A> has caught on with exhibitors in the Venetian including Pioneer/TAD & Magico. Representatives from TTP were often spotted hauling reel to reel tapes, along with the machines that play them (such as this modified Technics 1600) up and down the halls.
Oracle Thalia
We glanced into Oracle's room to see what was new. We'd seen the Delphi, we'd seen the CD 1500 and CD 2500 before. "Nothing new?" we asked.
Audio Space's DAC-1
Audio Space's DAC-1 US ($3000) is a hybrid tube/Mosfet DAC with a difference.It has two pairs of RCA analog outputs: One deriving its signal from the tube DAC; the other taking its signal from the discrete Mosfet DAC.
Lyngdorf Server 1
The Lyngdorf Server 1 is a music and video server had us drooling. Lyngdorf, of course, loves to keep signals digital until the last millimeter, building DACs into their active DSP-driven loudspeakers. The Server 1 sounded great—there was just one problem: It isn't available. Yet.
PS Audio's Memory Link
The PS Audio Memory Link ($1695) is a CD/DVD/RAM drive. It's a mechanical player (<I>ie</I>, it still spins the discs), but it has an unusually large cache. Conventional players have caches of around 8–16MB, the Memory Link has a 64MB cache. Why is this better?
PS Audio's Memory Link Rear
The digital outputs include HDMI for audio only output.
On The Bus
Wes Phillips, Stephen Mejias, and Kal Rubinson join San Antonio, Texas retailer Galen Carol on the way to the Venetian. As Galen explained to us, high end retailing is a bit of a challenge, but still viable to dealers that take care of their customers and offer old fashioned service.