LATEST ADDITIONS

Though English manufacturer Naim Audio has had some very affordable products in their line, like the original Nait integrated amplifier from the mid-1980s, their reputation for sound quality was established with relatively expensive models. But nothing in the company’s history prepared me for the Naim Statement six-piece preamplifier/twin monoblock system (center in photo) that made its debut at CES. To be available in July, the Statement, which comprises the NAC S1 line preamplifier and two NAP S1 power amplifiers, will be priced at $200,000 and is specified as delivering one horsepower (740W) into 8 ohms! Its weight matches its power: the preamp weighs 135 lbs and the power amplifiers each weigh 222 lbs.

I can’t believe it was five years ago that I first heard the Wilson Sasha W/P speaker at a CES. Funnily enough, it was in the same suite at the Mirage so when I first entered this year I didn’t notice anything new. But then I realized that the speaker on the right in my photo was the same size as the Sasha—okay, it’s ½” taller than the original Sasha, shown on the left—but now resembles the larger Alexia that I reviewed in December, though the tweeter is now mounted in the same enclosure as the midrange unit. The Mk.2 Sasha costs $29,900/pair compared with the Mk.1's $27,900/pair.

Laurence “Dic” Dickie (above) showed me his new G4 speaker design in the On A Higher Note suite at the Mirage, which will enter production in April. To be priced at $33,000/pair, the G4 features the same absorptive lines behind the tweeters and midrange drivers and the hybrid vented transmission line loading for the twin woofers first seen in the Giya G1. The upper and lower aluminum-dome HF units are the same as in all the Giya models, but because of the G4’s narrower width compared with the others, Dic had to design a new midrange unit. This again uses an aluminum cone and the same-sized radial magnet, but now there is an oversized dustcap to provide stiffening of the diaphragm midway between voice-coil and surround.

Daft Punk's "Within" was playing when I entered Magico's suite at the Venetian. The sound produced by the pair of the new S3s ($22,600/pair) was large and dynamic, with rich low frequencies. A solo version of "God Bless the Child" followed, and Gregory Porter's baritone was uncolored, with a well-defined, palpable image hanging between the loudspeakers. Finally, the bass drum on Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man pressurized the large room with low frequencies, all this from a a pair of speakers, each with two 8" woofers in a sealed enclosure powered by 100Wpc of amplification, with source an Aurender server feeding data to a dCS Vivaldi DAC and a Vitus preamp.

On passive display in the room adjoining their demonstration room was a single Magico Ultimate v.3 horn speaker, shown here with Magico's Alon Wolf for scale. A five-way design costing a mind-boggling $600,000/system, the speaker’s higher-frequency horns feature a Tractrix flare, the lower-midrange horn a trapezoidal flare, all of which blend smoothly into the baffle. A 15" sealed-box woofer handles frequencies below 125Hz.

Given the lateness of the hour, I could only snap a photo of the Italian Pearl Evolution Victor Ballerina 401/8 DPG loudspeaker ($14,000/pair) and grab a brochure. Slated for U.S. distribution, the three-way D'Appolito design with 89dB "sensibility"—why do so many overseas companies dispense with professionals when they translate their literature into English?—boasts a bass box that is equipped with a "Dynamic Pressure Gide (D.P.G) . . . a substantial and radical innovation in loudspeakers [sic] design. The D.P.G. differs from the usual internal bracings—that only aim at reducing box vibrations—because it is intended to orientate a great part of air flow toward the Cremonesi–Venturi port, purportedly reducing air pressure on the box walls."

Formerly imported from Italy by May Audio, when Art Dudley reviewed their Mastersound 300 B S.E. integrated amplifier, MasterSound may be poised to re-enter the US market. Through Diapason loudspeakers, I was intrigued with the sound of the Mastersound Final Amplifier 845 monoblock, a parallel single-ended eye-catcher. Mastersound's Dueundici preamplifier was also in the system. I regret that the lateness of the hour on T.H.E Show's final day did not allow me to gather more information.