CES 2010 Show Report

Finishing Up With Evolution and darTZeel Posted Fri Jan 15, 2010, 8:25 AM ET
By Jason Victor Serinus

As John Atkinson and I entered the room at THE Show in which darTZeel electronics partnered Evolution Acoustics loudspeakers, I was immediately struck by the fullness of the midrange. It was as though the system was opening its heart and welcoming us in. That's how warm and nurturing the sound was.

What was especially wonderful was that this system was about far more than midrange. From a very open, clear and realistic top all way down, the darTZeel/Evolution Acoustics system sang true. And beautifully. Very, very beautifully.

First we listened to a favorite audiophile demo, tenor José Carreras singing an excerpt from Ariel Ramirez's Misa Criolla. The air around voices and instruments was as wondrous as the clarity of playback.

Then came something very, very special. But first, a description of the system.

This not exactly bargain-priced system consisted of darTZeel’s new NHB-458 monoblocks, whose 1000Wpc will set you back a mere $135,000/pair, and the darTZeel NHB-18 NS reference preamplifier with MC phono section ($29,000). Speakers were the brand-new, just introduced Evolution Acoustics MMtwo loudspeakers ($35,000/pair). Weighing 375 lbs each, these gorgeous babies claim a frequency response of 10Hz–40kHz ±3dB, and a sensitivity of 93dB. They also sound marvelous.

The rest of the system comprised Evolution Acoustics' DRSC speaker cables ($5000/pair), the LINK-Reference 50 ohm BNC–BNC interconnect ($6000), and PC2One power conditioning power cord ($2000). Playback was from either a Playback Systems MPS-5 Reference SACD/CD player with 24/192 input ($15,000), or the world-premiered Music Servers Direct MSD-1 Reference Music Server ($1995) controlled by an Apple iPod Touch. Other goodies included the Audience Adept Response aR6-T power conditioner ($4600).

Yes, it was an expensive room, filled with equipment I cannot possibly afford. But it's not about me, John, or Stereophile; it's about the music that gives us joy, and the equipment that brings it to us in all its glory.

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Resolution Audio Cantata Music Center Posted Fri Jan 15, 2010, 0:26 AM ET
By Jon Iverson

Twice this CES, I found rooms that were so striking that I suggested all the Stereophile brothers go take a look/listen. The first one was the Sumiko/Vienna Acoustics suite up on the 34th floor (I still can't get over how great the sound was in that room—you can read Jason's more reserved take on the room here), and the second, for completely different reasons, was the Resolution Audio room.

Some say all that matters in an audio component is that it sound good. Period. But good industrial design not only creates great sounding products, but ones that you enjoy seeing. I realize that not everyone's taste or style is the same, but in my book, the new Resolution Audio Cantata is one of the most beautiful audio products built to date.

The first thing you notice is the irregularly scalloped solid metal top and then the large retro-futuristic display on the front. Resolution's Jeff Kalt said he worked closely with his metal fabrication shop until he was able to achieve this look. The photo above does not do it justice.

So what does it do? The Cantata is a digital preamp/DAC that includes a built-in CD player and networking for external NAS drives or computers. Kalt says he has tried to anticipate the most common needs for a digital system, including networking with computers in other rooms. For this, since USB can quickly falter at distance, Kalt has developed the Pont Neuf device to convert the USB to Ethernet which can then be networked across a house with either a standard cable or wireless bridge. All controlled with an iPhone/Touch remote app.

Inputs include SPDIF, Toslink, AES/EBU, and USB (up to 24 bit/96kHz). Both balanced and unbalanced outputs are provided with either a fixed or variable signal. Retail will be $6,000 when released in February.

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Resolution Audio Cantata Display Posted Fri Jan 15, 2010, 0:21 AM ET
By Jon Iverson

Close-up of the retro-futuristic display graphics. Yes, they did line up an entire string of alphanumeric LED displays to match the holes carefully machined in the chassis.

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Resolution Audio Pont Neuf Posted Fri Jan 15, 2010, 0:17 AM ET
By Jon Iverson

A clever USB to Ethernet bridge (Pont Neuf—get it?) to allow your computer USB out to serve the Cantata over long cable runs. In striking case to match the Cantata aesthetics and available in February for $400.

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Electrocompaniet Maestro and Prelude BR-1 Blu-ray Player Posted Fri Jan 15, 2010, 0:16 AM ET
By Jon Iverson

I was surprised at how ambitious the new Maestro from Electrocompaniet looked on paper: Blu-ray drive, both audio and video streaming, internet radio, FM tuner, options including iPod dock and DAB/HD radio, integrated amplifier delivering 120 Watts into three channels, and optional 75 Watts times two amplifier for surround that can be wirelessly driven using a RF link. All this for between $8,000-10,000 depending on options.

Alas, when I arrived at the room it wasn't running (this being a prototype with some heat issues I was told) but what I did see looked promising. The Maestro is the white box on the right in this photo with the company's Peder Beckman. On the left is the new $3,000 Prelude BR-1 Blu-ray player which has been optimized for both video and audio and can include AV streaming and 7.1 outputs.

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Peachtree iDecco Posted Fri Jan 15, 2010, 0:15 AM ET
By Jon Iverson

Peachtree scored a hit last year with their Decco desktop DAC/Amp combo. They've returned with an updated version of the original Decco called the Decco2 which is available now for $799 and sports a 40 watts per channel tube hybrid integrated amp and ESS Sabre DAC.

New to the mix is the $999 iDecco (pictured above) that includes a "pure digital" iPod dock up top. The rest of the specifications are similar to the Decco2, and the size and form factor for both products is the same as with the original Decco. Peachtree's David Solomon points out that their iPod dock connects your player directly to the DAC for the simplest digital signal path.

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HRT Music Streamer II, II+, and Pro Posted Fri Jan 15, 2010, 0:13 AM ET
By Jon Iverson

I still remember seeing the first two HRT Streamers at CES last year, when Kevin Halverson held them out in his hand, thinking what a great idea to improve the lot of cash-strapped PC Audiophiles. One year and thousands of sales later, version two of the original DACs are out as the $149.95 Music Streamer II and $349.95 Music Streamer II+. Joining them is the Music Streamer Pro at $499.95 which sports balanced +4 voltage outputs and other goodies for the pro-audio set.

Michael Hobson and Kevin Halverson were quick to explain that the new versions feature several design enhancements that result in better sound all around, while maintaining the small package and color scheme of the originals.

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Simaudio 750D DAC/CD Transport Posted Fri Jan 15, 2010, 0:13 AM ET
By Jon Iverson

"It's really red" I exclaimed, "bright, give-me-a-speeding-ticket red." Simaudio's Lionel Goodfield and distributor Michael Baskin were both quick to respond with "is there really any other color when it comes to special cars? So it is with special audio components."

The company is celebrating 30 years in business with red and chrome 30th Anniversary editions of both the both the MOON 600i Integrated Amp and 750D CD/DAC. Production numbers will be limited and prices have only been approximately set: $15,000 for the 600i and around $20,000 for the 750D which Simaudio claims includes the first true 32-bit DAC.

Goodfield says that the numbers are still to be determined, but no more than 50 of each will be made. The units will also have a 30 year limited warranty and include several minor circuit enhancements.

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Wilson's Polaris Center-Channel Posted Thu Jan 14, 2010, 3:13 PM ET
By John Atkinson

I know, center-channel speakers are the bailiwick of our sister magazine Home Theater. But as Wilson Audio Specialties' Peter McGrath told me when he explained the speaker's technology to me in the Utah company's suite at the Mirage, two Polarises work magically as a stereo pair. (Unfortunately, the speaker was only being shown, not demonstrated.)

Nothing I had read in the press release for the Polaris had prepared me for just how big the speaker was in the flesh. It has to be low, of course, to fit under a screen, but is wide and deep. Two 10" woofers flank a vertical array of two midrange units and a tweeter, all three of the latter units the same as those introduced in the Series 2 version of Wilson's flagship Alexandria. And like the Alexandria and the MAXX3, the geometry of the upper-frequency units can be adjusted with precision to optimize the sound quality at a given listening position and distance.

The enclosure is fabricated from Wilson's inert and massive epoxy resin-based laminate, X-material, while the midrange baffle is formed from another composite, called S-material. Because the large rectangular port is at the bottom front of the enclosure, the Polaris can be placed against the wall behind it. And because all three low-frequency radiators are adjacent to the floor, boundary reinforcement results in prodigious bass output.

The Polaris will start shippng this quarter. And would you believe I forgot to ask the price? I am sure it will be not inexpensive!

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Electric Odeon Elektra Posted Thu Jan 14, 2010, 2:46 PM ET
By John Atkinson

I had gone into the Koetsu USA room at the Venetian to catch up on the latest developments to the Italian Blacknote DSS30 media server, which I hope to be reviewing later in the year. But I was very taken by the sound of the three-way Odeon Elektra loudspeakers ($19,100/pair), which, driven either by the DSS30,a Goldennote Stibbert CD player, or a Montegiro LP player, via a Goldennote 75Wpc, solid-state integrated amplifier, didn't sound at all like what I expect from horn speakers. Strings had a natural sheen, brass winds a natural "blattiness." Whether solo voice, classical orchestral, or solo piano (a high-rez Beethoven Sonata from 2L), the sound was uncolored, unstrained, and enjoyable.

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Edge Has an Edge Posted Thu Jan 14, 2010, 2:40 PM ET
By Erick Lichte

I spent much of my time at CES roaming around with Stereophile's self-proclaimed Web Monkey, Jon Iverson. I'd never met Jon before I came to the 2010 CES but he was a wonderful guide both to Las Vegas and to CES, as well as a smart and kind person to get to know. On Saturday morning he suggested we head on over the THE Show located at the Flamingo Hotel, right on the strip. One of the first rooms we happened upon was the Edge Electronics room. Jon said, "We've got to go in here."

I'd never heard Edge amps in person but I'd like to again after this experience. Designer Steven Norber showed me the new Signature 1.2 NL Amplifiers and gave us a listen. Driving the Montana EPS2 loudspeakers, the sound was full-bodied and gutsy.

Jason Victor Serinus comments: Though the Edge Electronics display was located in an acoustically challenging conference area near the dining area at THE Show, Steve Norber surmounted all obstacles to get fine sound out of Edge's newly upgraded electronics.

Playing Renaud Capuçon's recently released recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto, I had time to reflect on what makes Edge so special. The sound is not only full, but also honest. Avoiding both the euphonic lushness of some tube equipment and the metallic sterility of much solid-state, Edge presents a pretty honest rendition of what music sounds like. It has its own signature, of course, but it never intrudes on fundamental musicality.

Auditioned under extremely difficult circumstances were the NL Signature 1.2 monoblocks ($42,388/pair). Each 120 lb amplifier produces 400W of "quasi class-A" power into 8 ohms. Also heard were a prototype full-function Edge preamp (price not set), Steve's own digital player (Edge's new, pure DC battery-powered CD player is coming before long), and PBN/Montana EPS 2 speakers ($10,000/pair). Analog, of which I heard but a little of before John Atkinson's final-day talk began, consisted of a PBN Audio GrooveMaster table ($10,000), Jelco SA 750D tonearm ($700), and AZYX Airy II cartridge ($3295). Shunyata power conditioning and Cardas Golden Reference & Straightwire interconnects completed this fine-sounding chain.

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Esoteric RZ-1 Music System Posted Thu Jan 14, 2010, 2:23 PM ET
By John Atkinson

Havng recently used Esoteric's four-box SACD playback system, with its dual-mono DACs and the ultra-high-precision Rubidium Clock unit, I checked out what the Japanese company was displaying in the rooms they were sharing with cable manufacturer Synergistic Research. My eye was caught by this beautifully styled one-box SACD player/DAC/100Wpc amplifier. The RZ-1 is scheduled to sell for $6000 and as well as using one of Esoteric's highly regarded SACD/CD transport mechanisms, it has both 192kHz-capable S/PDIF and 24/96-capable USB digital inputs and—significantly for the way the audio market is going—a phono preamplifier. The 32-bit D/A section uses an AKM AK4392 chip and offers both a conventional reconstruction filter, one that resembles Meridian's minimum-phase "apodizing" filter.

As well as the RZ-1, Esoteric introduced the dual-mono D07 DAC at CES, which also offers the choice of digital filters as well as a digital-domain volume control. The D-07 will cost $4800.

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Parasound's John Curl Phono Preamp Posted Thu Jan 14, 2010, 2:15 PM ET
By Erick Lichte

There were a few companies showing products on the 2nd floor of the Venetian, adjacent to the Sands Convention Center, where the Adult Show was being held. After John Atkinson and I grabbed a well-needed afternoon cup of coffee we checked out a few of the spaces on these lower floors. JA and I quickly found the Parasound/Atlantic Technology room—a pairing of companies I would not have come up with myself. On silent display was the brand new JC3 phono preamplifier ($2000). Those who know about Parasound equipment will already know that the JC moniker for this phono stage indicates that it was designed by John Curl, an engineer that many audiophiles (and reviewers) speak of only in hushed tones. As you can see from JA's photo, the preamp is divided up into shielded sections within the chassis to keep the dirty signals dirty and the clean signals clean. Each channel's circuitry is encased in a metal sub-enclosure, that also shields the input and output jacks, and is supplied super-regulated DC from the power supply.

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Ultra-Quiet Classé Amp Posted Thu Jan 14, 2010, 1:56 PM ET
By John Atkinson

Some products at CES—all-black products, with black highlights, and with the lettering tastefully done in black, in a darkened room—defeat all but the most-determined photographers. So my thanks to Larry Greenhill for managing to photograph the new Classé CTM600 600W monoblock amplifier ($6500 each).

The CTM600 has an effective forced-air cooling system, with fans on the rear panel controlled by a microprocessor to ensure that the amplifier quickly reaches its operating temperature, then stays there despite how much power it is called on to deliver. Air is drawn in through an artfully concealed slot at the front and pulled through two horizontal heatsink tunnels that run from front to back. But what is even more impressive about this amplifier is that its unweighted audioband S/N Ratio is an extraordinary 135dB ref. full power. TThe CTM joins the very few amplifiers that have a dynamic range equivalent to that of a hi-rez recording.

A 300Wpc stereo version is available in the same chassis as the CTM600 and also costs $6500, while a smaller 300W monoblock will costs $5000 each.

Listening to a CD of Government Mule playing blues, with a pair of CTM600s driving B&W's new diamond-tweeter 802 speakers in Classé's suite at the Mirage, I was struck by the awesome, effortless dynamics of the sound—a highlight of the 2010 CES for me.

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MSB Platinum DAC Line Posted Thu Jan 14, 2010, 1:30 PM ET
By Jon Iverson

MSB is not messing around at this CES. The company has announced a stack of new products, including the DAC IV variations seen here (from the top): Signature Platinum DAC IV starting at $13,995, the Diamond DAC IV starting at $25,995, the Platinum DAC IV starting at $5,995, and the Platinum Power Base to keep them running.

MSB's Larry Gullman was on hand to explain that these new DACs are 32 bit/384Khz capable, can have either a USB input or iPod dock added, and are available in either black or white finishes. I especially thought their four corner isolation system was ingenious, allowing you to stack as many units as needed, while keeping each product fully suspended.

Other new products at the show include the Platinum Data CD IV Transport 384khz/32bit high resolution disc player at $2,995, iLink Integrated Transport at $1,995, 2 ch. and 8 ch. Platinum Studio ADC 384khz.32bit high resolution ADCs starting at $14,995, and the M202 200wpc Class A monobloc amplifier at $17,500.

In addition, MSB is busy pushing digital audio so far out that they've had to create their own networking scheme to keep up with the data. Built around the same CAT-5 cables and connectors used for ethernet, the company says the "MSB Network" is a high bandwidth, low jitter, multi-channel, digital interface, which supports both DVD-Audio and SACD in their full resolution native formats. MSB's implementation of I2S can run at 88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192 kHz with 32 Bit Resolution and up to 14 channels of PCM plus 6 channels of DSD.

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MSB Ladder DAC Revealed Posted Thu Jan 14, 2010, 1:28 PM ET
By Jon Iverson

Here is some serious DAC porn: The MSB Signature Platinum DAC IV with its top off to reveal four 24 bit Discrete 3MHz Four Quadrant Ladder DACs.

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MSB Signature Platinum DAC IV + iLink II Integrated Transport Posted Thu Jan 14, 2010, 1:27 PM ET
By Jon Iverson

Yes even the best can come with an iPod dock built right in. The MSB Signature Platinum DAC IV, starting at $13,995 with the iLink II Integrated Transport option at $1,995. Shipping now.

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Atlantic Technology—Small Speaker But Big Bass Posted Thu Jan 14, 2010, 1:14 PM ET
By John Atkinson

"So what you think our new AT1 loudspeaker will cost?" Atlantic Technology's Peter Tribeman had just finished his dem of a fairly small two-way tower that, driven by Parasound Halo JC 2 preamplifier and Halo A21 power amplifier, was producing prodigious amounts of low frequencies in a fairly large room.

"I have no idea," I responded, "but if it's less than $2500/pair, you'll have a hit on your hands."

"We're aiming at at $1999/pair!" said Peter.

The AT1 uses two 5.5" woofers, tuned to 63Hz, but loads them with an alignment developed by Phil Clements, called "HPAS," which extends the low-frequency cut-off to 31.5Hz, and –3dB at 28Hz. HPAS is neither sealed-box, nor reflex, nor transmission-line, but incorporates aspects of all three to resemble a"controlled explosion" at low frequencies, explained Peter, leaving me none the wiser.

But hearing is believing, and based on what I heard at CES, at $2k/pair, the Atlantic Technology AT1, which will start shipping in the spring, will indeed be a winner.

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CEntrance's Tiny USB Headphone Amp Posted Thu Jan 14, 2010, 1:03 PM ET
By John Atkinson

I was aware of CEntrance from the code they supply for the Texas Instruments USB receiver chip used by Benchmark , Bel Canto and others to allow USB connection without there having to be a driver program on the host PC. But the Chicago-based company also makes USB-based hardware, and at THE Show, Jason Serinus and I bumped into their Managing Director, Michael Goodman (left) who is showing Jason the cute DACport USB Headphone Amplifier ($500). This 24/96-capable, bus-powered, cigarette lighter-sized product has a miniature USB port on one end and a ¼" headphone jack on the other, with a small volume pot on top. CEntrance also makes similar bus-powered products with an A/D converter to connect microphones and electric guitars to a PC via USB.

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A Busy CES Posted Thu Jan 14, 2010, 1:01 PM ET
By Larry Greenhill

Friday was the busiest day I and other Stereophile writers found at the CES venues. Pictured here is a lull in the traffic taken from a window at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) near the press room, where the line for the free press lunch stretched hundreds of feet. Later that day, the bus and cab lines at the LVCC stretched half a mile as evening approached and the temperature outside dropped from mid 60s to temperatures in the 40s (Fahrenheit). Little evidence of a recession was visible in pure crowd count, but I ran into many more Asian and European attendees, while missing some friends in the audio high end community who skipped CES this year.

Attendance was said to be >120,000, compared with 113,000 in 2009, though this is still well below the record 141,000 two years ago.

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