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An Incredible Challenge and a Good Hobby

At the GamuT house, the first beauty that caught my eye was their new Phi3 loudspeaker dressed in drop-dead gorgeous zebra wood. "In Europe," said designer Lars Goller, "anything striped is really hot right now."

"That must include shirts," responded Jon Iverson, noting that every GamuT representative was sporting stripes of some sort.

Besides great looks, the Phi3 also features a tweeter design that Lars Goller has been developing for over a decade. His passion for music and wonder of technology are undisputable. "If it doesn't sound like music," he said, "there is no…

<i>NEW</i> Shanling MC-30

In the Music Hall suites, everything shouts: "NEW!" Except for the scotch, of course, which is hidden beneath tables and aged for many years.

This is the new flea-powered (3Wpc) Shanling MC-30 music center ($995). In one chassis, it combines a CD player, tuner, iPod input, and tube amplification. I especially like the concealed input selector and volume controls (mounted atop those front cylindrical supports).

Ambient?

Penaudio's Sami Pentillä brought an entirely new line of loudspeakers to CES: the Ambient series.

"Aren't you concerned that people will think Ambient speakers will fade into the background?"

"That's exactly what we want them to do—cosmetically! We thought our Charisma and Chara were striking, but many consumers don't want to look at their loudspeakers, they want them to blend in with their decor. The Ambient speakers don't really shout 'Look at me.'"

The floorstanding Ambient Chronos ($7000/pair) looked pretty striking to us, but we were there for the sound. The…

A Shot of Adrenalin

Pathos products don't resemble anything else in the audio world, but the $35,000/pair 150W Adrenaline Class-A monoblock is stunning even in a room packed with other Pathos gear. It's a zero feedback design and it sounded even more stunning than it looked.

With Feeling

Pathos Acoustics has one of the uniquest design esthetics in audio. Paolo Anriolo and Giaani Borinato beamed with delight as Jon Iverson and I oohed and ahhed over the $8000 Endorphin CD player and $1950 InControl preamplifier.

And yes, we know there's no such word as "uniquest," but Pathos really does take unique past its normal limits.

Platters Flatter

Is there any record collector who hasn't wished for a device that would flatten warped records without damaging them? It's the classic "why doesn't somebody invent that?" product.

Furutech is the "somebody" who did. The $1360 DFV-1 Disc Flattener is a one-step, no hassle solution to those pesky disc warps. Just mount the disc on the spindle, close the clamshell case, and latch it shut. Then press a button and your hard work is done. Gentle heat is added to the case's pressure—the complete cycle takes about two hours, including cool down.

Listen to another record or drink an…

It's Kuzmarific!

Franc Kuzma showed us his $900 VynVac record cleaner. "It's compact and, when it's not in use, it doesn't take up much space," he told us.

The Gear Shop's Scot Markwell chimed in, "What can we say? It sucks—and that's the bottom line."

PPP Means <I>pianissimo</I>

Paul McGowan's $2500 PS Audio Power Plant Premier is radically different from his earlier power regenerating products. "For one thing, it's 85% efficient, which means it runs cooler and uses less energy," McGowan explained. "It has 10 Power Port receptacles with Nano Crystalline filters. It's even remote controlled."

Remote controlled?

"Yes, you can choose CleanWave or MultiWave operation and control the display."

Ready For His Close Up

Joseph Audio's Jeff Joseph didn't bring any new goodies to the show this year. He once again demonstrated the $2495/pair Insider. "I'm still trying to demonstrate how incredible an in-wall loudspeaker can sound—if it uses an infinite slope crossover, that is."

Why Jeff, you sound like a commercial.

"What do you think a CES demonstration is?"

Wait Isn't the White Lab Coat Somebody Else's Schtick?

Von Schweikert Audio's VR-5 SEs ($25,000/pair) aren't new, but once again they impressed Jon Iverson and me with their verve and natural presentation of acoustic guitar. Nils Lofgren's "Keith Don't Go" kept us nailed to our seats for the whole 12 minutes—which, in CES Show mode, is equivalent to seven human years.

We got Albert Von Schweikert to stop talking about measurement techniques long enough to pose with the '5 SEs.