China 2006

My hotel keeps cases of Going Home Barbie (ie Barbie holding an obviously Asian baby Krissy) by the hospitality desk on each floor as departure gifts for new families with young girls.

The $2000 (USD) Prestige ST-200 super-tweeter has a vapor-deposited gold 25mm dome driver that has a -6dB downpoint at 54kHz (and only -18dB@100kHz). The two drop-in connectors on top establish crossover (14kHz, 16kHz, abd 18kHz) and sensitivity (89.5dB, 90.5dB, 92dB, 93.5dB, and 95dB). It integrated so seamlessly with the Glenair that I was initially convinced I was hearing only the concentric driver.

"Tannoy is updating its line without abandoning its strengths," the suave Tannoy rep explained to me. "Listen to this recording of Salvatore Accardo. It's an old analog recording and it may be a tad too warm, but you could listen to it for hours."

What do you expect from me after 20 hours of travel and only four of sleep? I'm going to bed before dinner and promise I'll actually blog about hi-fi tomorrow.

Denon definitely "gets" vinyl—just not necessarily LPs.

Cayin was showing the stunningly retro SP 105i table radio, which had me drooling. Nobody here knew what US importer Sze Leung was going to sell them for, but having seen the show sample, it's not what I thought I remembered, obviously. Importer VAS is still trying to determine a price, I've now been told.

For the 40th anniversary, B&W is introducing the limited edition Signature Diamond, a $20,000 floorstanding two-way featuring the Diamond tweeter and B&W's kevlar 7" mid/bass driver. The flared port is tucked into that wedge-shaped cut-away on the bottom. Only 500 pairs will be made.