The latest portable playback device to incorporate MQA decoding and playback is the Activo CT10 from Astell&Kern's parent company, Iriver. This device uses Astell&Kern's new Teraton sound module, which can handle up to 24/192 PCM (with or without…
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With Warner, Universal Music Group, and Sony as major shareholders/partners, it's no wonder that MQA figured so prominently in the CES Hi-res pavilion. MQA wasn't everywhere—Qobuz hasn't seen fit to embrace it as yet, and the majority of audio manufacturers have yet to get on board—but it has certainly come to mobile phones and players.
With Mytek's Michal Jurewicz in the background, the company's Chebon Littlefield showed the new Clef high-resolution, MQA-equipped, Bluetooth-equipped, mobile USB DAC/headphone amplifier ($299). Shipping in February, the Clef joins the Brooklyn DAC+ ($2195—review to come from Jim Austin) and the Brooklyn power amp as the latest products in the company's line.
Elac, which has been around for many more years than Andrew Jones has been designing speakers for them, has now released their Roon-friendly Discovery DS-S101-G music server ($1100), which allows you to play your own music files via an external HD or NAS. The Discovery comes with a subscription to Tidal, and a forthcoming firmware update will include Sonos integration.
It may look like any other smartphone, but LG's V30, shown by Vanessa Marrero, is smart enough to incorporate ESS's Sabre 32-bit Quad DAC. The V30 can record at PCM sample rates up to 24/192—note that the sign in the photo is incorrect—and play back MQA and FLAC high-resolution files. You can even take selfies while zoning out to hi-rez music (but hopefully not while navigating traffic in ridiculously congested Las Vegas).
For John Atkinson and me, CES began with a trip to the Hi-Res Pavilion in the Las Vegas Convention Center's enormous Central Hall. John must have been a dog in a past lifetime, because his ability to find the booth in the middle of that huge glittering morass, which could be euphemistically characterized as high tech on steroids, smacked of a sixth sense.
Marc Finer (left in photo), President of the Digital Entertainment Group and Executive Producer of the Hi-Res Pavilion, began a well-attended press conference by declaring, "This isn't about Hollywood; it's about music, and the…
The new $18,000 Pictor preamp is part of Constellation Audio's new Revelation Series, which is one step up from the company's entry-level Inspiration Series. Constellation's Irv Gross explained that the Pictor uses the same basic chassis as the Inspiration version, but has a separate power supply. There is also the option of adding a DC filter between the power supply and the preamp, which Gross says lowers the noise, for $6,000 extra.
There is also a matching power amplifier called the Taurus, which comes in both a stereo or mono configuration (stereo version shown in the photo…
Sharing the room with Davis Acoustics and also from France, Esprit has been in business for 20 years and produces a complete line of handmade audio cables. The company has only been at CES for two years however and until now has not had much distribution outside its home region.
Esprit has a half dozen ranges of interconnects, speaker cables and power cords that vary in price from around $200 to $7,000 per cable. On hand was Esprit CEO Richard Cesari who is holding one of the cables above.
Hailing from the Champagne region of France, Davis Acoustics has been making speakers for over 30 years. The company produces OEM drive units that they sell to other manufacturers (including Goldmund and Avant Garde), but also sells their own extensive line of products.
Davis Acoustic's Oliver Visan explained that the speakers and everything in them is created in France including hand-made crossovers and all drivers. The model shown above is the top-of-the-line bookshelf model called the Nikita and will sell for around $7,000-8,000 for a pair.
The Nikita features an 8" kevlar…
Michael Fremer over at AnalogPlanet.com will eventually have more, including video, on this beauty, but here are some brief facts for Stereophile readers.
The pricier SL-1000R will cost around $20,000 and is capable of accommodating up to three arms as shown in the photo. It has a much larger plinth than the less expensive SP10R, which will go for approximately half price or $10,000. The bigger table also sports a built-in S-shaped tonearm (the SP10R has no arm).
Both tables have a separate outboard control unit and power supply that provides precise control of the motor and…
Largish one-box streaming systems have taken off it seems, and I guess we shouldn't be surprised. First the Sonos and inexpensive Bluetooth systems took hold and then inevitably high-end audio saw an opportunity. Naim and Bluesound (among others) come to mind and we can now add Technics to the list.
Their new OTTAVA f is a gorgeous-looking device and started shipping last September for $999. Basically a three-way system in a box, there are two speakers, woofer, and a subwoofer, powered by 30 watts each for the left and right channels and 40 watts for the sub. Couldn't tell in show…