SSI 2014

Electronics manufacturer Bryston is going full-steam-ahead with their line of speakers, which continue to impress me. The system on demo at SSI 2014 had a pair of Model T Signatures in a stylish white finish. The Signature differs from the base model in having an outboard crossover, with a price difference of $1000 ($6495/pair vs $7495/pair).

One of the not-so-secret principles audio design is that no matter how good the design of the basic circuitry, the ultimate sound quality will be a major function of the power supply. Simaudio has taken this to heart with a new product that builds on the already-excellent power supplies of the Moon Evolution series. The new 820S ($8000), pictured here, can serve as power supply for any two products in the Evolution series, providing separate power supplies for digital and analog components.

Anne Bisson is a talented vocalist/pianist/composer who often appears at audio shows. She was at SSI 2014 to promote her about-to-be-released CD, entitled Tales from the Treetops (Camilio Records CAM2-4335.) All but one of the songs on this recording are in English (with Percy Bysshe Shelley credited as one of the lyricists). Bisson told me that, listening to the recording, she was surprised to note that her voice sounds different in English and French, a difference she attributes to the fact that French has no diphthongs, only pure vowels.

In addition to AudioQuest cabling, the demo system put together by Montreal retailer Audioville comprised a pair of KEF Blade loudspeakers ($30,000), stirred into action by Chord electronics: the SPM5000 amplifier ($25,000), CPA3000 preamplifier ($10,000), and DSX1000 DAC/streamer ($13,000). The sound, as noted in Steve Silberman's demonstration, was explicit without being relentless about it: Music flowed naturally, and with decent color and very good impact, especially at the louder end of the spectrum.

I’ve reported from Salon Son et Image almost every year since joining Stereophile in 2003, and as much as I enjoy the show itself, my favorite part remains the evening before the opening day. That’s when, in accordance with an informal tradition, members of the industry and the press gather together at the Hilton Bonaventure’s hotel bar—which also happens to serve the best food of any hotel bar in my experience—to shake the dust of the town from our boots, as it were. Pictured here, from left to right, are Peter McGrath (Wilson Audio), Mike Manousselis (Dynaudio), Lionel Goodfield (Simaudio), Keith Pray (publisher, Stereophile), Philip O’Hanlon (On a Higher Note), and Costa Koulisakis (Simaudio).

Here’s the trick to show reporting: accomplish as much as possible ahead-of-time. Thus my decision, while riding the Amtrak train from Albany, NY to Montreal for this year’s Salon Son et Image, to write about the journey itself, and to illustrate my post with a photo of something I’d seen along the way.

In one of the rooms sponsored by Audio Pathways, the always-impressive yet consistently difficult-to-photograph-in-the-dark Raidho Acoustics C1.1 loudspeakers ($CAD18,000/pair) sounded excellent with a slightly-less-photo-phobic Jeff Rowland Continuum S2 integrated amp ($10,500), set up with Transparent cabling.