Hegel H150 Integrated Amplifier Officially Announced

Sonus faber Announces Amati Supreme Speaker

FiiO M27 Headphone DAC Amplifier Released

Audio Advice Acquires The Sound Room

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CES 2012

Ypsilon Electronics’ Aelius monoblock

Larry Greenhill Jan 13, 2012

Ypsilon Electronics’ Demetrius Baklavas designed the new $36,000/pair Aelius monoblock amplifier. The Aelius is rated at 220W into 8 ohms, 308W into 4 ohms, and 500W into 2 ohms. It is a hybrid design that features tube inputs, hand-wound interstage coupling transformers, and MOSFET output devices wired in the same type of push-pull Circlotron output configuration that was found in some Output-Transformer-Less tube (OTL) designs. The Circlotron configuration was developed years ago by Electro-Voice, and while the Aelius's output devices are all N-channel MOSFETs, the Circlotron approach is very different from conventional quasi-complementary approaches.

CES 2012

JA tries to get his head around the Ypsilon's Circlotron

Larry Greenhill Jan 13, 2012

Ypsilon's Demetrius Baklavas (right in photo) and Ypsilon's US distributor, Brian Ackerman of AAImports, demonstrated the Aelius amplifier to John Atkinson (left) and myselfthe amplifiers were doing a fine job of producing dynamics and superb open highs from the plasma tweeters of the new, floorstanding Lansche 7 loudspeakers.

CES 2012

Audio Research's new Reference 250 monoblocks

Larry Greenhill Jan 13, 2012

Audio Research's Chris Ossanna proudly shows off the company's new $25,000/pair, two-chassis Reference 250 monoblocks, which employ the new KT-120 output tube. This amplifier has 50% more power-supply capacitance than their previous flagship, the Reference Anniversary 110, and uses the same type of Teflon coupling capacitors they sourced for their Reference Anniversary preamplifier. The front panel metering allows the consumer to check the bias and to adjust the speed of their response to either fast or slow.

CES 2012

JL Audio's new $1700 ES-112 subwoofer

Larry Greenhill Jan 13, 2012

JL Audio's home high-end audio subwoofer engineer, Brett Hanes, proudly shows off the company's new $1700 ES-112 subwoofer (wood finish) that uses clever engineering principles to coax better performance and value from a less-expensive product. The ES-112's woofer features the company's only dual-spider driver construction, a smaller voice-coil, though the cone is designed for the same 3" peakpeak excursions found in the company's flagship f212 and Gotham models. Other construction simplificationsyou change line input voltage by changing fuses in external fuse holdermake the product more adaptable for international sales. It also has a high-pass output with variable frequency crossover, which will be appreciated by those of us using subwoofers in a two-channel home audio system.

CES 2012

UrbanEar's Mellow Yellow $65 headphones

Larry Greenhill Jan 13, 2012

UrbanEar's Andrea Miles models their new mustard-colored Platten headphones, which list at $65. This was part of the great upsurge in headphone exhibits found in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, or the "Zoo."

CES 2012

Audio Technica's limited-edition ATH3000 headphones

Larry Greenhill Jan 13, 2012

Audio Technica's PR rep Frank Doris models the company's limited-edition, $1299.95, ATH3000 headphones, that feature Echizen wood frames, 53mm drivers, Spanish lamb wool cushions, and 7x9s copper wire.

CES 2012

Over at the "Zoo"

John Atkinson Jan 12, 2012

Traditionally, high-performance audio at CES has been on display away from the ginormous Las Vegas Convention Center, also traditionally but gently derided by audiophiles as the "Zoo." But there are still one or two high-end companies to be found and as you can see from the photo, the LVCC was packed with people checking out the new technologies on show.

CES 2012

California Guitar Trio

John Atkinson Jan 12, 2012

Unlike consumer shows, live music at a CES is a rarity, so it was a treat to listen to the California Guitar Trio performing at the party Harman threw to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Mark Levinson brand. Sponsored by Guitar Aficionado magazine, the Trio ripped through a wide repertoire, including "Pipeline" from surf music pioneers The Chantays, which they were playing as I took the photo. Jon Iverson has already discussed some of the 40th Anniversary Mark Levinson products; for me the party was an opportunity to catch up with speaker engineer Mark Glazer, responsible for the system design of both Revel's new Performa speakers (report to come) and many other great Revel speakers over the years.

CES 2012

Partying with Music Hall's A70.2

Stephen Mejias Jan 11, 2012

There were beautiful women. There were pink socks. There was loud music, expensive alcohol, shameless dancing. There might have been a tiger in the bathroom. It wasn’t like a party in the Music Hall suite&#151it was a party. The company’s energetic sales manager, Leland Leard, was too busy rocking out, so Roy Hall introduced me to his new A70.2 integrated amplifier ($1499). (Here we see Leland playing DJ; I will spare us the images of Leland on the dance floor.)

CES 2012

Rogue Audio Medusa tubed/class-D hybrid

Stephen Mejias Jan 11, 2012

Mark O’Brien’s Rogue Audio is notable for building high-quality products right here in the United States and offering them at real-world prices. How does Rogue do it?