LATEST ADDITIONS

Folks were already packing up in the Wyred4Sound room when I happened upon an active display of their just-completed prototypes, none of which is listed on their website. If you total up the total cost of the Aura preamp ($2999, Aura GaN amplifier ($2999), MS i3 music server ($2999) with its outboard HCPS power supply ($999). Isolink USB reclocker ($399), 10th Anniversary DAC ($4499), and Reference Standard 1 speaker ($14,999/pair), plus cables and all the rest, you end up with a $31,213 system.

In this moderately priced system, speaker designer and recording engineer Tony Minasian paired his new Oriaco G6 standmount loudspeaker ($3500/pair with stands) with Denon and Marantz gear. "Most of the sound comes from the full-range driver," he told me. "The tweeter mostly acts like a supertweeter." From what I could tell, its impact is major.

This report could also be titled "My Visit with Cable Support Plate and A/V Room Service," but that's hardly as eye-catching. And catching your eye is my goal, because there was a lot of import at these two booths.

Voss Audio, a southern California-based brand new to me, made an extremely strong show debut with its Voss Steve Keiser Design Magnum Opus stereo power amplifier ($80,000) and Vitra preamplifier ($50,000). The amp’s designer, who died last year, was one of the founders of B&K components. John Voss’s company also manufactures the Vitus phono preamplifier ($45,000). Rather than showing it, he teamed up with Philip O'Hanlon's On A Higher Note (shown above) to use a Revox/SonoruS PR99 open-reel deck to play master tapes through Graham LS5/8 loudspeakers ($14,000/pair) with Townshend super tweeters ($1500/pair). Cabling was all Gryphon.