PSB's Desk-Top Subwoofer
PSB had already shown its neat little powered desk-top speaker, the Alpha PS1 but, now, they have completed a 2.1 system by adding the Sub Series 100 Compact Powered Subwoofer, which Stephen Mejias will be reviewing in the March issue of Stereophile. The combination, placed, appropriately, on a desk top, sounded amazingly well balanced and full with good bass on several tracks that were played. It displayed none of the usual muddy bass that one usually associates with table placement and, when listened to seated or standing a few feet away, offered really big and open sound. The combination, called the Alpha-1-100, comes at a special price of only $499.
QAT Audio MS6i Music Server Transport
Beijing's QAT Audio had their new fanless MS6i music server on display in the Venetian. NAS drives are supported via both WiFi and ethernet to supplement the user-replaceable 2.5 inch or SSD internal drives. Digital outputs include toslink, coax, BNC and AES/EBU and there are four USB ports.
All PCM formats up to 24/192 are supported and the company features a nice looking app for iOS and Android. Available mid-year for $2,990 in the US, currently available in China.
Qualia DAC with USB
Qualia founder Masanori Fujii was born in France where his father was Japan's former ambassador to the country. Fujii still bridges both cultures by designing his products in Europe, but building them in Japan.
The Qualia DAC with USB is machined out of a single large block of aluminum and features 4 ESS Sabre 9012 DAC chips in a dual mono design. In addition to USB, inputs include AES/EBU, coaxial and optical. The DAC handles all PCM streams up to 24/192 and has both balanced and unbalanced outputs as well as headphone jack.
Available now for $39,000. Fujii adds that he is "not interested in any compromise in quality. The DAC has a very natural analog sound."
Quintessence at T.H.E. Show
Tom Compagna brought his new Quintessence Acoustics flagship QLS loudspeakers ($50,000/pair, $60,000 with active subs) to T.H.E. Show. "These are true ribbons, not quasi-ribbons," he said of his SOTA line source design, which uses nine 6.5" true ribbons and nine moving-coil mid-woofers. Frequency response is stated as 39Hz41kHz, ±3dB, extending down to 19Hz with the subs. With a claimed 95dB sensitivity, the QLS can handle up to 400W continuous, 1000W peak. Connected to Tom Maker's reference monoblocks and MG Audio Design flat ribbon cables, the speaker's bass was very impressive, but midrange predominance de-emphasized the top end.
Resolution Audio
Resolution Audio has yet to name or price its new 100W monoblock amplifiers, due in May, but they may come in around $9000/pair. Their push-pull design is licensed from English engineer Denis Morecroft. Build is distinguished by custom T-network caps and, in the company's words, "crazy careful attention to detail."
Roger's Lookers
Rogers High Fidelity's New York-manufactured, aerospace engineering-based system, which included the just-launched PA-1A six-tube phono preamplifier ($7100) (pictured on the right) and EHF-200MK2 KT150-based, 112Wpc integrated amplifier ($15,000), delivered extremely quiet, beautifully warm and lovely sound with Shunyata power conditioning, Kimber Kable, and Davone Grande loudspeakers. The two Rogers pieces also looked fabulous.
Rosso Fiorentino, Graaf, and More
Jason Serinus mentioned the Rosso Fiorentino Florentia loudspeakers ($99,995/pair) in his report on the Graaf amplifier in the Avatar Acoustics room below. This four-way speaker enclosure features aluminum front panels and glass side panels and weighs 361.5 lbs. The midrange and treble units are mounted in an open baffle, while the top-mounted woofer and the twin 12" subs are mounted in sealed enclosure. The subs are driven by a 1500W amplifier and the sensitivity is claimed to be 89dB.
Rumee from Taiwan
Not yet distributed in the US, Rumee's two single-ended tube amplifiers, the HS-1 ($950) and, with different power tubes, the HS-2 ($950) are made from sweet-smelling solid cypress. I wish I could say more, but the language barrier was hard to surmount.
Scaena Mainframe Music Processor
Though I was in the Avatar room asking about new digital products, somehow this one was missed, so thanks to Jason Serinus for coming up with a photo for me. There was also a little confusion about the name of the product, but we're going with Scaena Mainframe for now.
The company info says that the new server plays all formats of audio and video and features an aluminum enclosure with liquid cooling, Xenon processor, "error correcting" RAM, and a custom 7" touch tablet to run everything. The Mainframe also runs off of a lithium battery power supply that can go for up to 12 hours on a charge.
No pricing or availability info yet.
Sim Audio Neo 2600 CD Transport/DAC
Sim Audio's Lionel Goodfield notes that CDs are still major parts of most audiophile music collections, so he wanted to develop a player to maximize the format's potential while keeping costs under control. The result is the Neo 2600 for $2,000 that features a floating transport and borrows much of its technology from the company's more expensive 650D from the Evolution Series.
The 2600 also has SPDIF and AES/EBU inputs and can be upgraded for $1,000 with an internal 32 bit DAC that also adds a USB input. Available in black, silver and 2-tone.