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Although some doubters of the value of high-end audio refer to my audio system as "audio jewelry," at CES 2017 I finally saw the real thing. Focal, manufacturers of the Utopia full-range loudspeaker, held a press conference/cocktail reception at the Rockhouse, a trendy bar reached by walking around the outside balcony of the Venetian Hotel. There, the French company introduced its most exclusive headphone, the $120,000 Utopia by Tournaire. Jewelers Philippe and Mathieu Tournaire add 18-karat bands of gold at each end of the Utopia's headband, and each is set with three 1-karat diamonds in…
Classé premiered its new Delta 3 amplifier series at CES 2017. Rated at 350Wpc RMS, the Delta 3 Stereo ($10,000) employs lateral MOSFETs in its output stage and 234,000 microfarads of German-made 4-pole Mundorf electrolytic capacitors in its power supply. These capacitors are said to offer lower equivalent-series resistance (ESR) and equivalent-series inductance (ESL) than other brands. The lateral MOSFETs require less current drive, and have a higher slew rate in their Delta 3 circuitry, which delivers 10% of its output power in pure class-A. Classé's Dave Nauber announced that both the…
Covering CES with a perpetual smile and fresh ears is usually a challenge. But sometimes, you can feel like the luckiest reporter alive when everything falls into place.
Yes, it'll sound like I'm gushing, but unless you meet him, it's hard to comprehend what a positive and gracious human being Jake Shimabukuro is. Everywhere we went he stuck his hand out and, with a smile, exhibited unending excitement and curiosity at what he was hearing. And watching him play, up close and in person, is amazing. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.
We met for breakfast in the Mirage at 9AM and…
"Jake Shimabukuro uses my cabling, and hangs out in our booth at NAMM," said Mark Markel of Analysis Plus. Having just whistled two pieces with Jake, and had the opportunity to marvel at his musicianship and openness to collaboration, I consider that quite an endorsement.
This time, instead of showing the cable that I assume Jake uses—the Analysis Plus Micro Golden Oval guitar and instrument cable—Markel showed the company's new Micro Golden Oval reference interconnect ($5494.50/1m pair). This is a double-shielded cable with three 18 AWG conductors of gold, silver, and copper, and…
Winner of a coveted CTA Innovation Award, Wilson Benesch's A.C.T. One Evolution loudspeaker, here shown in the P1 version with eye-catching blue carbon-fiber composite cabinet ($38,800/pair, or $36,500/pair with standard cabinet), maintains the company's use of carbon-fiber technology. As explained by Wilson Benesch's Craig and Luke Milnes, the use of carbon fiber enhances the speaker enclosure's stiffness as well as its damping properties. The blue P1 model has an additional thick skin of carbon fiber which grants the speaker cabinet additional control and "improves everything."
This…
Transparent Audio has added to its line the Opus power cord ($5750/2m) and Opus Power Isolator ($15,950 including an Opus power cord). Claimed to use all-new technology that improves vibration control and hence lowers the noise floor, these are the company's new top-of-the-line products in their respective categories.
The Opus Power Isolator, which is a power conditioner, has a unique carbon-fiber carapace (shell) to eliminate magnetic-field interference and control vibrations, and includes a special dampening epoxy that is intended to further control vibrations that can limit dynamics.…
There's no connection implied between their position on the floor in the photo above and their status as Stage III Concepts' new entry-level offerings: The Stage III Concepts Kyros interconnect ($1800/1m RCA pair, $1900/1m balanced pair) and speaker cable ($4400/2m pair) feature proprietary cryogenically treated Hyperion connectors with silver contacts and ceramic-infused polymer insulators. Also boasting four cryogenically treated continuous-cast pure-silver "Aerostrand" ribbon conductors and proprietary shielding, the Kyros products are scaled-down versions of the company's more expensive…
Esprit, a French cable company celebrating its 20th anniversary, was represented by Richard Cesari. Now imported by Source Systems Ltd., the cables are all handmade. "It takes 16 hours to make one cable," said Cesari.
Almost the entire Esprit line is now available in the US. The company pays special attention to shielding, and uses lithium-ion batteries in its top four lines. All connectors are 14-micron silver-plated copper. Other special features include the use of long-crystal, ultra-pure copper, a silicon dielectric, and Kynar (polyvinylidene difluoride, a thermoplastic fluoropolymer…
Virtually identical in appearance to the Niagara 7000—the only outward differences are two little lights and one button—AudioQuest's new 38-lb Niagara 5000 ($4000) "Low-Z Power/Noise-Dissipation System"(shown sitting atop the Niagara 7000) is one-half the price and 50 lbs lighter than its big brother. AudioQuest's Kevin Wolff characterizes it as "an extremely high-value piece that offers 90 percent of the 7000's performance at half the price."
To get a bit more specific, the Niagara 5000's high-current power-correction circuitry is identical, and ideal for systems where source components…
Whatever I mock, I become. Before I started prattling for Stereophile, I thought all class-D amplifiers were
well, "Not class-A amplifiers." And then I reviewed the hybrid tube/class-D Rogue Sphinx integrated ($1495). And then I borrowed a Bel Canto REF500S ($2595). And I came away praising the beauty of both amplifiers' voices. And it was just today when I discovered the physical and sonic beauties of Bel Canto's REF600M monoblock ($4990/pair), which Kalman Rubinson reviewed in the September 2016 issue.
What's not to like about this amplifier?
It looks pro-school Paul Newman…