Up at the top of the Mirage hotel in the dCS suite, instead of a flashy new flagship product, the company was formally introducing something of a more practical nature: the dCS Network Bridge. The Network Bridge will allow owners of older dCS products to add networking to their existing systems. Audiophiles with other brand DACs can also use the dCS Network Bridge to add networking to their systems.

At least one exhibitor informed me, at the end of Day Two, that a lot of people he encountered thought that hi-res referred solely to streaming. This exhibitor found that visitors were quite attracted to the Astell&Kern portable audio players that were located near his exhibit, but pretty clueless as to sound quality of his far more expensive gear…

Once an hour, Mike Mettler, music editor of our sister publication Sound and Vision, introduced live demonstrations in the Hi-Res Audio Pavilion's mini-simulation of the Capitol Recording Studios. Each session was conducted by a different award-winning engineer or producer…

Today's audio world is beginning to be populated by innovative integrated amplifiers that fit into our homes and lives in new ways: products that are not only practical and user-friendly but can make us happy when we walk in the door and see the thing sitting on a desk or shelf—waiting for its master to touch and appreciate it.

On the first day of CES, a consortium of industry professionals gathered by the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG)—and chaired by Marc Finer, President of the DEG—spoke to assembled press and industry supporters at a Hi-Res Audio Press Conference. The group announced a new consumer awareness campaign called Stream the Studio, which is designed to increase awareness of hi-res audio amongst millennials.

How does that saying go? What stays in Vegas…never gets back to Brooklyn? What happens in Vegas…gets blabbered in Stereophile?

What is not clear, at this moment, is how many premieres we will actually encounter…

Hitting newsstands, tables, and mailboxes next week, the February 2017 issue features the 27th edition of our perennially popular "Records 2 Die 4," where the magazine's writers and editors each list two recordings that they will take with them when they go. And we haven't forgotten the hardware: John Atkinson waxes lyrical over the Magico S5 Mk.II speaker; Ken Micallef does likewise over the unique NEAT Iota Alpha; Mikey Fremer drives his Wilsons with humongous Boulder monoblocks; Art Dudley and Herb Reichert listen to idiosyncratic digital components from EAR and Schiit; and Herb Reichert auditions Rega's new Planar 3 LP player.

This week's Industry Profile features Jim Hagerman of Hagerman Audio Labs. In essence, Jim is Hagerman Audio Labs all-in-one, as he impressively functions as owner/designer/engineer/tester/builder/shipper/customer service, and so on. Hagerman Audio Labs first caught my eye a couple years back when I started getting into DIY projects. Though he has since eliminated DIY from his offerings (you can read why below), Jim continued to interest me because: 1) his website lists an address in Honolulu (a rarity in high-end audio), 2) he publishes his schematics, and 3) his candid approach to social media is refreshing—all hopeful indicators that he'd make a very interesting Industry Profile subject.

Stereophile tried something a little different for our CES coverage last year: we brought Graham Nash to the show. This year several new artist names were tossed about, and when Jake Shimabukuro came up we jumped at the chance to bring him to Las Vegas. Jake is a stellar musician, and has turned the ukulele into a respected instrument with his interpretations of classical and modern works, collaborating with a wide range of artists from Yo-Yo Ma to Alan Parsons. He is stunning to watch: If you've never seen or heard him play, check out the videos at the bottom of this story.