SP Stands For "Special"
"Any source components?" I asked Cayin importer and VAS Audio maven Sze Leung.
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Kuzma 4Point
Franc Kuzma was showing a fascinating tonearm, the $7300–7500 4Point, named because it has unique vertical and horizontal bearings. Kuzma said, "It's like a unipivot tonearm that can't 'chatter' in the horizontal plane."
Muse Erato II
Poor Kevin Halverson! Since Hesiod only named nine muses in <I>Theogony</I>, Kevin has had to double up as Muse's line of players has increased. The Erato II is available as a transport ($5300) or one-box CD/DVD/DVD-A player ("up to" $7300).
Isn't It Purty, Mama?
That line got me a kitten when I was five. It doesn't seem to work so well on audio manufacturers, though. I must have lost me some cute.
Rainy Sunday
"Basically, what we're offering is some fun for a rainy Sunday afternoon," said Upscale Audio's Kevin Deal, who had two replacement I/V op-amp upgrades for the $2499 Prima Luna ProLogue Eight CD player. Both are ready to just pop in as replacements for the Eight's existing board. The Basic ("around" $150) has open slots for bypass capacitors and a heavy-duty PS. The Super ("around" $225) already has surface-mount caps and the HD PS installed.
McIntosh Spins!
I got another chance to see—and this time, <I>hear</I>— the $9000 MT10 turntable. "You know, this product generated more comments in our CEDIA2007 blog than any other component."
Totem's The One
Totem was showing their special anniversary model, The One ($3595). Along with Naim electronics, the sound created was powerful, fast, and fun. We listened to "How I Love That Woman," a soaring instrumental by Bob Brozeman.
Totem and Naim
Totem's The One sounded excellent with Naim's CDX2 CD player, amplification, and power supplies.
Totem's Tribe
As usual, Totem did a wonderful job of transforming their booth to provide a fun and distinct listening environment. The company was also playing their Tribe wall-mount, which provided a surprisingly robust sound.
Going to Bed with the Vandersteens
It was late. I was exhausted. After a delicious dinner, I stopped at the Venetian with the intention of picking up my laptop, camera, and other heavy things before returning to my hotel room and passing out. When I reached the 29th floor, however, I ran into Richard Vandersteen and his family. They were also coming from a dinner, also looking exhausted.