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Naim's new Super Lumina range of high-end interconnects and speaker cables was developed in parallel with its new, ultra-expensive Statement amplifiers. Designed to complement the Statement, 500 Series, and Classic products, the cables feature an advanced version of Naim's patented Air-Plug technology, and silver-plated over copper conductors, connectors, and terminations. Optional gold terminations for fitting with non-Naim equipment are available. Although US prices are not set yet, UK RRP prices including VAT for the source-to-preamp interconnects are from £1750/pair for RCA up to £3000/…
Critical Mass has just released its new entry-level Sotto Voce equipment rack ($4500 for four tiers). Far more affordable than the company's other racks, it is made of Sapele, a wood that I understand is in the Mahogany family. The rack is upgradeable to include Critical Mass's filter systems that enhance component performance. The upgrade path starts at $225, and can include filter systems that cost up to $2895.
Hi-rez pioneer/evangelist/recording engineer Mark Waldrep of AIX Records held forth in the Hi-Res Audio Showroom in the Venetian Hotel, near booths from Super HiRez and HDTracks. AIX Records' 2015 sampler, containing three different mixes of 70 tracks drawn from its rich catalog, is due sometime in February.
Marc Sheforgen (left) and Chad Kassem (right) of Acoustic Sounds' Super HiRez DSD download site spilled the beans that in a few weeks, the world's first live-to-DSD hi-rez recordings of "a handful of" blues artists will become available as both stereo and multi-channel downloads. Recorded in the company's Blue Heaven recording studio/concert venue, a converted church in Salina, KS, these may be the first unedited live DSD recordings ever issued. Also expected are Super HiRez's first multi-channel rollouts of classical, blues, rock, and pop titles, which will be available in both DSD and PCM…
Meetings were frequently in progress when I glanced at the HDTracks booth in the Hi-Res Audio Workshop ballroom. Every time I take a look at the company's site, it's loaded with new releases from everyone from The Who and Eric Clapton to Anna Netrebko and a host of Grammy 2015 nominees. It was great to see David Chesky again, even though he kept mistaking me for tenor Jonas Kaufmann. I should be so lucky.
For the second consecutive year, Hi-Res Audio made a major statement on the main floor of the Venetian Hotel via a large Ballroom exhibit and star-studded panels. How many non-audiophiles took the time to explore beyond their schedule of meetings, conferences, and gizmo gatherings, I do not know. But the impact of two presentations per day, and the special press presentation by Neil Young (reported on earlier), will live on in reports and recorded footage of the events.
Although I was unable to attend "Hi-Res for Mobile Lifestyles," moderated by Rob Sabin of Sound & Vision, which…
Black shiny products are tough to photograph at shows, so trust me when I say the new N31 is dripping with gorgeousness not reflected in this photo.
Priced at $18k and available this May, the N31 will process both 24/192 PCM and DSD sources (including iPods/iPads/iPhones). MBL's Juergen Reis showed me a screen shot of an iPhone playing a 24/192 file in the the USB 2 input of the N31, using iTunes USB storage feature.
The DAC also sports a proprietary 3-stage jitter reduction design, and MBL's custom Minimum Phase digital filter with emphasis on short post-ringing, and no "…
Constellation creates some of the most innovative casework at CES, and the Cygnus is no exception. First shown at CES a couple years back, the product will soon be shipping in two form factors: standalone DAC ($27k) and a DAC/Server ($32k) configuration (shown above).
The smaller box sitting under the main unit in the photo houses the power supply and for the server, a Linux computer, USB media ports, ethernet jack and Wi-Fi control. Constellation uses a unique DVI connection which conveys clocks and I2S data back and forth between the two chassis.
The server version…
Lumin started shipping their flagship S1 this year and displayed it in both silver and black in their room. In the photo above is the silver S1 along with two L1 Music Library UPnP 2 TB servers below.
The S1 includes both DSD and PCM playback as well as 4 ESS Sabre 9018 DAC chips (2 per channel) with the company's new clocking system and dual-toroidal power supply. There is an HDMI digital audio output and both balanced and unbalanced analog outs. The inputs include USB and you can also hook up its ethernet port to a standard NAS or computer as source or the new L1 2 TB music server…
Unfortunately The Beast was not in their room when I visited MSB, and only showed up later, so I asked MSB's Vince Galbo to send me some photos. MSB is the North American distributor for the Swiss-built The Beast.
Galbo says that The Beast is an an effort to provide an "ultra premium" music server with software geared towards especially difficult categories and sub categories relating to classical music. He says for example that users can can drill down and differentiate the same conductor, the same orchestra, the same composer, the same music piece, on different dates, etc. Storage is…