Art Dudley

Solen teens
SSI 2014
Art Dudley  |  Apr 01, 2014  |  0 comments
On my second day in Montreal I had an enjoyable conversation with Jean Barbeau of Solen Electronique, the Quebec manufacturing company whose capacitors and other passive components remain popular with hundreds of manufacturers (including the vintage-inspired Shindo Laboratory). Monsieur Barbeau, who co-designed the fine-sounding loudspeaker project being demonstrated in Solen's SSI room, observed that more and more young listeners have been approaching Solen in recent months for DIY parts and advice—"A very healthy trend."
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. . . and he never came back
SSI 2014
Art Dudley  |  Apr 01, 2014  |  1 comments
Among the many SSI rooms sponsored by Canadian distributor Plurison was a ballroom—the Verdun, to be precise—where the signage promised MartinLogan loudspeakers on demonstration. I stepped a short distance inside and was swallowed by darkness—and sound. I followed the latter, turned left, and felt more than saw a row of theater-style seats, most of them filled with people who were enjoying Avatar on a large screen. The sound was indeed impressive, but it was impossible to see, let alone photograph, the gear being demonstrated, and I could locate neither personnel nor literature. Unsure how to illustrate such an experience, I grabbed my chance and, on the way out, photographed the next guy going in.
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Naim's opening Statement
SSI 2014
Art Dudley  |  Mar 31, 2014  |  4 comments
The 2014 SSI witnessed the official North American introduction of Naim Audio's mighty Statement amplifier (which John Atkinson previewed in his coverage of the 2014 CES). I experienced this behemoth at the unveiling party thrown for it by distributor Plurison Audio, and was struck not so much by its undeniable power but by its very nuanced performance on subtler material—such as the classic "Helplessly Hoping" by Crosby, Stills, and Nash. During the chorus, when David Crosby's low harmony was the last to enter ("They are three together. . ."), the audible tension and release were palpable—and very impressive. The Statement is something that neither I nor the vast majority of you will ever enjoy at home, but . . .wow.
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Devialet and Focal
SSI 2014
Art Dudley  |  Mar 31, 2014  |  0 comments
Distributor Plurison Audio used SSI 2014 as an opportunity to demonstrate the newest and most affordable amplifier/digital processor from Devialet: the model D-110 ($6495), which was introduced at the 2013 CEDIA show. The combination of Devialet D-110 and Focal Aria 926 loudspeakers ($3495/pair) was in pleasant contrast to its (stylistically) cool surroundings: The sound was pleasantly inviting and, forgive me, surprisingly organic for digital playback and the company's proprietary ADH technology, which combines class-D current dumpers with a high-quality class-A voltage amplifier. Nice.
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Les trois Devialets
SSI 2014
Art Dudley  |  Mar 31, 2014  |  0 comments
Here's the Devialet line on static display: the D-110 ($6495), the D-170 ($9495), and the D-240 ($17,495).
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Son Idéal, Harbeth, Rega, and Pathos
SSI 2014
Art Dudley  |  Mar 31, 2014  |  0 comments
Bring me the head of anyone who says the Harbeth Monitor 40.1loudspeaker isn't a great rock 'n' roll loudspeaker! As Montreal retailer Son Idéal proved—proved, I tell you—the biggest Harbeths are very satisfying on the classic album Led Zeppelin III, especially with the assistance of a Rega RP10 record player with Rega Apheta cartridge; Rega Aria phono preamp; Rega Saturn-R CD player; and Pathos T.T. integrated amplifier.
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Son Idéal's Rega deal
SSI 2014
Art Dudley  |  Mar 31, 2014  |  0 comments
Presumably someone snapped-up this show special, seen in the second room of Montreal retailer Son Idéal: a Rega RP40, which is the 40th Anniversary edition of the Rega RP3, complete with the reddest mat in existence. Son Idéal offered it for $CAD1199, instead of the usual $CAD1699.
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Filtronique Son-Or–Magico–Ayre
SSI 2014
Art Dudley  |  Mar 31, 2014  |  0 comments
Montreal dealer Filtronique Son-Or brought to SSI a system built around Magico's floorstanding S3 loudspeaker ($22,500), with a digital source in the form of the dCS Puccini CD player/D/A converter (ca $25,000) and amplification by Ayre Acoustics. The latter consisted of the Ayre KXR 20 line-level preamp ($27,500) and the newer-than-new, long-anticipated Ayre MXR 20 mono amplifiers (price to be determined).
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Coming up for Ayre
SSI 2014
Art Dudley  |  Mar 31, 2014  |  0 comments
Here's a closer look at the Ayre MXR 20 amplifier, which is due to ship fairly soon, according to Ayre's Alex Brinkman. As he puts it, "We lost a little time working on the Pono thing."
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Grimm reality
SSI 2014
Art Dudley  |  Mar 31, 2014  |  0 comments
I kept seeing pictures of something that looked a little like a DeVore O/96 and not really knowing what it was. Now, thanks to the GTT Audio room at SSI, I know that the thing I was seeing is the Grimm Audio LS1-S ($39,900), a three-way powered loudspeaker pair plus digital preamp with USB interface.
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