CES 2008

The striking Vivid Audio Giya G1 loudspeaker ($54,000/pair) is the work of acclaimed designer, Laurence Dickie, who is perhaps best known for the creation of B&W's famed seashell-shaped Nautilus.

Our eyes must have shot open when we walked into the listening room. On A Higher Note's Philip O'Hanlon, distributor for Vivid Audio and Luxman, approached us and admitted, "It's one of those speakers that will polarize people. People will either love it or hate it."

We listened. At the end of a jazz piece, the first row of listeners broke into applause and shouted praise. The sound of the Giya was immediate and detailed. Louis Armstrong's voice was full of grit and lungs and throat, and seemed enormous.

O'Hanlon explained that Dickie's work with the Nautilus didn't simply inform the design of the Giya. Beyond that, the Giya is the resolution of Dickie's work with the Nautilus, the completion of his work with the Nautilus. Which makes the Giya a very special speaker, indeed.