SSI 2015

One of the characteristics of shows like SSI, where many of the exhibitors are dealers rather than manufacturers or distributors, is that you may get a chance to hear equipment combinations you would never encounter at CES. At SSI 2015, the Totem Earth speakers were combined with McIntosh electronics, to good effect. Another thing that distinguisher these dealer-exhibitors is that you can buy the products on display—something that's strictly forbidden at CES. The Totem Earth has a list price of CAD$9000/pair, but you could have it a "show special" price of CAD$6000/pair.

Two of the prominent Canadian women in audio: Angie Lisi (left) of the Audio Pathways high-end distributor (and owner of two Toronto-area retail stores) and Lucy Lentini (right, Vice-President Sales and Marketing, Totem Acoustic).

SSI provides a good opportunity for friends and competitors to meet up. Here we have Suave Kajko (left) of Canada Hi-Fi (and TAVES) and Franco Moggia (right) of the magazine TED (Tendances Électroniques & Design).

Naim had the new NAC-N272 preamp/streamer/DAC at SSI; the price per pair is CAD$8295, USD$6800. Since the slide of the Canadian dollar, manufacturers have been scrambling to come up with prices that accurately reflect that value of the currency. I was told that for some time Naim has kept the US and Canadian prices nominally the same, which resulted in Canadian prices being effectively lower. The NAC-N272 is the first product to reflect the change in value of the currencies. If you're in Canada and are planning to buy a different Naim product, you'd better go for it now; the prices are sure to increase soon.

Tannoy makes a wide range of loudspeakers, but the ones that elicit the greatest admiration from seasoned audiophiles are the big ones, which look like they could have been made decades ago. At SSI, they had the Tannoy Westminster (CAD$50,000). Now, that's a real speaker.