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Rogers High Fidelity introduced their new 65Wpc 65V-1 integrated amplifier ($4000) as part of a neat system: Besides the EL34 stereo Rogers amp, the system included a pair of EgglestonWorks Niko Bookshelf speakers ($2500/pair), and a Detroit-manufactured Shinola Runwell turntable ($2500). Also featured were two made-in-Maine cables from Transparent Audio—their Link interconnect ($100/1m pair) and Wave speaker cable ($220/8' pair). These components weren't just made in the US, but beautifully made in the US. All combined, this system produced very pleasing sonics—and the Rogers integrated…
Jürgen Reis, MBL's lead engineer, was delighted to show me the company's new 560W (into 4 ohms), mono power amplifier, the MBL N15 ($17,800). Slimmer than MBL's reference-line amplifiers, four N15s (for bi-amping) fit into one equipment rack. There are two XLR (balanced) inputs, one for a preamplifier and the other for a future media server. Reis was proud of the N15's very high common-mode rejection and 36-ampere output capabilities. Using MBL's smart-link network connection, one can access a display showing the amplifier's temperature and fault status. I was treated to a detailed PowerPoint…
The VTL exhibit room exuded hospitality and charm. Luke Manley and his wife, Bea Lam, walked me through their latest offerings, including the $33,500 S-400 Series II Reference stereo amplifier. Even newer was the $18,000 TP-6.5 Signature phono stage with moving-coil step-up transformers. The circuit design includes a single-ended input with balanced outputs. Luke explained its hybrid design that offers two options for the moving-coil owner: a hybrid JFET-and-tube head amplifier, or the silver-wired transformer. The remainder of the circuit includes a 12AX7 for RIAA compensation, and 12AT7s…
"We do have a new BAT amplifier," replied MoFi Distribution's Managing Director, Norbert Schmied, to my standard room-entry inquiry. I had drifted into the MoFi room, which was busier than most exhibit rooms at the Venetian Hotel. Norbert took me over to a Balanced Audio Technology VK-56SE ($8500), a 52-lb, 55Wpc tube amplifier with a silver faceplate and a graceful arching rear bar, somewhat like a roll bar in a car. In addition to the roll bar, the VK-56SE now offers a fuseless protection circuit. The silver finish, fuseless protection, and roll bar distinguish the new amplifier from the…
While the dCS and Nagra suites at the Mirage approximated the size of a typical medium sized living room, the YG suite at the top of the Venetian was something else entirely. The room was quite large, the speakers human size, and a bigger crowd was also on hand. Lori Lieberman was playing on the system as we walked in and YG's Director of Sales, Dick Diamond greeted us with a big smile and helped me get the laptop connected.
Jake was going to hear his music for the first time on a system totaling over half a million dollars.
You could see the wide smile on Jake's face when he…
The Philharmonia loudspeaker ($50,000/pair), designed by Jean Nouvel and the French audio-engineering firm Amadeus, is the first consumer-level product from a company whose specialty is studio monitors. As it turns out, Jean Nouvel designed the 2400-seat Le Philharmonie de Paris, home of L'Orchestre de Paris. The speaker's electronics were designed by the orchestra's chief recording engineer.
Imported by Source Systems, these are active loudspeakers that include two 700W amplifiers per tower. The speaker, whose cabinet is made of 500 layers of birchwood, includes custom DSP software…
Shown in prototype form, without logos, Realization is Kubala-Sosna's new flagship cable line. With introductory pricing in effect until July, interconnects and speaker cable are $10,000/1m pair, and cost $1800 for each additional meter. Prices will rise to $11,000/$2000.
Seen here holding the cables is their usually unseen chief designer, Howard Sosna. Howard is an oral maxillofacial surgeon who performs his "day job" 65 hours per week, and designs cables at 2am and on Sundays. Someone who's been involved in audio all his life, he started Kubala-Sosna with Joe Kubala in 2002–2003.
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When I returned to audio after a 12-year sabbatical, the first things I noticed were hi-rez downloads, high-quality headphones, class-D, G, and H operation of amplifiers, and the upscale-looking but low-priced products of Emotiva. I also noticed that the average price of quality audio gear had quadrupled (at least). Right away I knew I didn’t want to write audio porn about glitzy boxes at oligarch prices. Emotiva looked so direct-sales, street-wise smart—and everybody was talkin’ about how musical Emotiva’s stuff sounds: “It sounds good—and they're givin’ it away!” I couldn’t wait to try one…
Right now it appears that both Europe and America are cultivating a new, more refined vision of what a tube audio amplifier should look and sound like. Both sides of the Atlantic are making tube products that (again) sound at least a little like actual vacuum tubes and less like high-strung solid-state racing cars. Both cultures now want genuine tube sound but demand 21st century tube longevity and reliability—and, of course, a discrete headphone amplifier.
The new V 80 SE integrated amplifier ($10,500) from Germany's Octave Audio is just such a creation. It delivers 120Wpc (into 4 ohms…
One of the chief reasons I fly to woebegotten Las Vegas, USA is: I love all the wild, eccentric audio persons that treat CES as a business-building pilgrimage site. The other is that CES is the best place to find new products to review. This year I found several, and the one that has me the most stoked is the Rogers High Fidelity 65V-1 class-A, single-ended EL34/KT88 integrated amplifier ($3999). Not to mention: I have never seen an amp painted with industrial-black crinkle paint that I didn't love.
I have met Rogers' president and chief designer Roger Gibboni several times, at his New…