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Criterion!

"What's new?" I asked Jeff Rowland.

"Define new," he said.

Ah, engineer humor.

I guess you could consider this new," he said, "seeing as how it is finally a reality."

He pointed at the petite Criterion preamplifier ($18,500). "It's battery powered, has user adjustable gain on each input, and a really great display that can be customized for each input. It has three separate balanced outputs, including one that can be run independent of the other two. It uses a 32-bit microprocessor for the commands. It also has a separate recording output with variable…

The Heart of the Qsonix Server

This one box contains all eight DACs, two hard drives selected by the customer, and all processing power to run the software and audio.

Qsonix Touchscreen Music Server

In addition to Sooloos and Blue Smoke, Qsonix was also demonstrating the latest iteration of their touchscreen music server system. The fully self-contained Q110 package is comprised of the single DAC/HD drive/software box and up to four touchscreens.

The Q110 package can be built with a variety of options. Disc drive capacity ranges from 250MB to 1.5TB, and you can choose either a 15" or 17" touchscreen. So a 1TB system with 15" touchscreen for example is $7,100. Add $700 for the 17" screen and $1,800 for each additional screen.

The single black box that contains all the…

Navison Audio's New Deal

Richard Rives, famous for tuning rooms around the world is now distributing audiophile products. Among those is the new Navison Audio Reference 228 CD Player which sports the latest Philips CD-Pro2M transport and 24 bit Delta Sigma DAC technology.

Currently available in a natural wood and gold finish, black and silver are coming soon. The player sells for $9,500.

Luxe!

Luxman is another old-school, technology-driven Japanese company. Looking at the 250Wpc B-100F (80th Anniversary Commemoration) ($55,000/pair) is a reminder of the days when the great Asian manufacturers fought for the title "best." The B100F is huge and can deliver 2000W into 1 ohm.

It's packed with unique tech, too. Luxman believes that undyed circuit boards sound better, so they use uncolored Teflon boards and coats the copper traces with gold to deter corrosion. Luxman engineers also assert that 90-degree turns sound audibly inferior to gentle curves, so they perform "feng shui…

Rough Breathing

Ypsilon was showing a monster of an amplifier—the 120W SE-100 Mk. II($70,000/each). A single-ended hybrid, it uses a 5842 input tube and a row of MOSFET output devices. It's entirely wired point-to-point and sports custom power transformers. Of course, it's stuffed with boutique components.

I've never subscribed to the "too much power is almost enough" school of thought—and, truth to tell, 100w isn't all that much—but the Ypsilons had more of that effortless imperturbablity that I heard from other massive amplifiers this week. It's not overwhelming, simply a sense that everything…

Master of Sonic Arts

Nagra's new 60Wpc MSA stereo power amp ($8000) is loosely based on its older "pyramid" PSA amp. This MOSFET stereo amplifier (geddit?) sounds far better than the older one, IMHO. Verity's John Quick played some tracks from Manu Katches stunning Neighborhood and the new guy had better pacing and, more importantly, far better timbre. I heard deeper into the soundstage, especially hearing more of Katche's superlative stick work.

And I have to admit, I'm a sucker for Nagra's grittier industrial design, having never really liked the way the PSA looked. Superficial, I know, but there…

Saving the Planet

Due to a horrible traffic jam in the bowels of the Sands/Venetian Show venue, I was only able to catch the tail end of Greenpeace's January 9 press conference. The good news is that the greenest consumer electronics products on the market today have a smaller environmental footprint than those sold a year ago. The sad news is that there is considerable room for improvement.

"Green Electronics: The Search Continues," available online here, details the results of a survey of 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TV, and game consoles. It assesses toxic chemicals…

Rocking With Dean

There are always live concerts at CES and the 2009 Show was no exception. Cable manufacturer Ultralink/XLO brought Showgoers virtuoso bass guitarist Dean Peer Friday evening. Dean, whose audiophile sound-quality CDs Ucross and Travelogue are being reissued by Ultralink/XLO, used artificial harmonics, flamenco right-hand techniques, and a battery of effects pedals to create complex yet funky soundscapes. Thanks for the sonic treat, Ultralink/XLO.—JA

Roger Skoff's long-established line of XLO cables joined the Ultralink family of cables in 2002 to form Ultralink/XLO. Since then, much…

Wireworld's Alchemical Achievement

Want to hear silver turn to platinum? Check out Wireworld's new line of Platinum Eclipse Reference audio cables, whose interconnects are composed of four flat conductors made of Ohno continuous cast solid silver of 99.99997% purity.

Some years back, Wireworld's David Salz realized that, due to the limitations of insulation technology, he was unable to fully achieve his goal of a neutral cable that was as transparent as a direct connection. He sought a quieter background, and a more liquid sound that would not compromise the texture of music in any way. He also wanted his power…