Today's demo was designed not to show that Wilson's Duette ($11,000/pair) was better than the competition—in this case B&W 800 Diamonds ($20,000/pair) or Krell LAT-2000s ($14,000/pair)—but rather to demonstrate how they might provide a solution for a common loudspeaker problem, namely…
search
Whatever you say about David Wilson, you have to admit he gives great show. Wilson doesn't come to CES with just a new product, he constructs a narrative structure and puts on a show. This is a good thing, since Wilson thinks long and hard about the lesson he wants to teach. He plays fair, too.
That's a sentence I never thought I'd read. Interesting interview with Brian Walker.
John LaGrou sent me this link to a thought provoking collection of essays.
Burckhard Heim's work might actually help mankind jump into hyperspace.
Day Sequerra presented its newest FM/AM/HD Radio tuner, the Model M1 HD Broadcast Reference tuner in the Alexis Park. The basic chassis includes the option to receive High Definition (HD) FM digital radio and HD/AM radio in a modular package ($4995) with single-ended analog, balanced analog, and digital outputs. "We have begun to refer to this model as 'tuners," said David Day, seen in the photo with his new baby, "because it can be configured to accommodate 10 different audio and video receive modules, including: FM HD, a class-M output option that features current-feedback amplifiers…
Soundsmith introduced a strain-gauge cartridge system in the Joseph Audio room at the Alexis Villas. The output of the dedicated battery-powered preamplifier can be fed to a preamp's line input as it does not require any equalization.
The preamplifier "charges" the cartridge, which is indicated by LEDs on its sides that emit blue light when it is operational. The front panel of the integrated preamplifier displays both tracking force and force balance on each groove wall.
With a one gram tracking force, the cartridge, mounted in a VPI tonearm and turntable, played back…
McIntosh demonstrated a vacuum-tube version of its C1000 preamplifier in its two-channel audio room at the Alexis Villas. Retailing for $9000 and weighing in at 54 lbs, the C-1000T has fully balanced, dual-mono, MC and MM phono stages, balanced and single-ended inputs and outputs, and a front-panel window to show off four of the eight 12AX7 tubes. Mirrors create a barbershop effect of endless reflections, suggesting the presence of many more tubes than are actually there. Even so, I found the effect pleasing.
The remote has enough controls to allow the C1000T's owner to "become a…
Gingko Audio is a manufacturer I'm familiar with as a maker of component supports, but they also make a loudspeaker: the unusually named and unusual-looking Tubulous ($2450/pair). The enclosure consists of a pressed-paper tube, and there are three midrange/woofers inside, with a tweeter mounted on top. Very clean, transparent sound.