The final day...
     So here we were, back at Alexis Park, and hearing grumbling. Parking at the facility was forbidden for nearly everyone (empty semi-trailers were parked where our cars would have been. For the same reason, exhibitors couldn’t just lift a small box from the car to the exhibit, but had to have it done by hired muscle...at $90, we’re told.
     We were fresh from an evening at the San Remo (the rebel show), where a live vs recorded comparison had been done. And we’re pleased to show you the event.

     The four fine singers and musicians present are known collectively as Misty River. They’re based in Portland, and came down specially in their mobile home Annabelle.
     But on with the fourth and final day of CES.
     After having seen the Von Schweikert VR-4jr (the last two letters do not stand for "junior"), we were intrigued because it looks so much like a shrunken version of the wonderful Reference 3a Supremas that are in our Omega reference system. We got a listen to them in the (still noisy) setting of Alexis Park, and they’re not Supremas by any means. Nor could they be, really, at US$3995, about a third of the cost, but they do sound promising nonetheless. Say, has Albert Von Schweikert seen the Supremas?
     We got to see and hear the Gryphon amplifiers for the first time in some years. This Danish company is now offering a full system, having completed its catalog with the Cantata loudspeaker. The speaker is not exceptionally large, but it is handsome (as are all the Gryphon products). And it is not purely passive either. A processor is inserted before the power amplifier, to modify some of the speaker’s characteristics. The final result is worthwhile, though the firm, full sound comes at a cost: US$21K for the speakers alone. The electronics, CD player and cable are...let’s say, proportional.
     Totem was in its usual suite, with a new speaker, known as the Rainmaker (the company favors Native themes). The speaker is small, but with expensive parts, including the usual monocoque cabinet and the internal borosilicate coating. It will cost US$900, which places it in the price range of our least favorite Totem, the Rokk. But a brief listen confirmed that the Rainmaker has the familiar Totem sound, and this speaker is likely to bring sunshine into your home rather than rain.
     We had a glance at the FM tuners at the Magnum Dynalab room. The MD-106 Triode has...well, the name sorts of gives it away. Aside from the 6922 tube inside, there is another tube, a "magic eye" to aid in tuning. Canadian price: $4700.
     We are used to seeing the people from Tenor at faraway shows, despite the fact that our respective offices are not more than 20 minutes apart. The company is known for luxurious tube amplifiers with price tags much higher than their power ratings. The new 300HP monoblocks represent a departure from tradition. Though most of their circuitry uses tubes, the final output sections is solid state. The result is power of 300 watts, many times more than any previous Tenor could deliver. The amplifiers were fed from Ed Meitner’s impressive EmmLabs player, and were in turn feeding Kharma Midi Grand Céramique speakers from the Netherlands. The room was one of the best of the show. The 300HP (the letters stand for "hybrid power" and not horsepower) costs C$45K.
     Sometimes dramatic events occur at CES. The room that was to house the display of Mark Levinson’s Red Rose Music was actually occupied by... Victor Tiscareno and Byron Collett. They were respectively designer and marketer at Audioprism, before Levinson bought the company and brought them on board. They have now left ("amicably," says the letter), and they are searching for a new name for their company. They already have their first products, however, two transmission line speakers costing US$3500 and $6000. We heard the larger of the two, and if we were distributors we would snap it up before someone else got it!
     Looking a chuckle? Two nights before CES opened we saw the Flying Mole multi-channel amplifier, which can hold up to 16 channels in a single chassis. A pair of B&W speakers was being driven by a dozen units, each with 16 stereo modules offering 160 watts per channel. Do the math, and you come up with a Big Number.
     Adcom was back at the show, following a serious period of decline and alienation of its user base. Adcom now belongs to the Klein Technology Group, which has also hired away the engineering team of California Audio Labs. Some of the familiar Adcom products were present, as were a number of new digital and home theatre products. The dealer network is being rebuilt.
     We spent a few minutes in the Connoisseur room, listening to the familiar SE-2 tube amplifier (the review will appear in UHF No. 69), along with a prototype CD player and a two-way loudspeaker. Only the amplifier looks truly like a finished product, but the net result was musically satisfying. Good things may come from this company.
     Thiel has somehow managed to win not one but two Innovations awards for its SW1 subwoofer (once when it was launched, and once when it actually became available), and perhaps it will cop a third one when its optional electronic brain (which we showed in UHF perhaps four years ago) finally enters production. On the basis of preliminary listening, the wait has been worthwhile, and anyway it has given you time to save your pennies.
     Is the SW1, with its twin woofers, too small for you. The SW2, the size of a Sumo wrestler, has two 12" (30 cm) woofers. No price yet.
     We heard a new Fried speaker, the Valhalla Studio. The company (pronounced Freed) is named for Irving M. Fried, who built transmission line speakers under the IMF name and later under the Fried banner. He sold his company, which promptly folded. The new company has Fried as a consultant, and offers updated versions of his famous designs. Worth a listen.
     In certain rooms, the equipment combinations seem to click, or perhaps it’s because extra care has been taken in installation. That was the case at Convergent Technology (ironically, CES placed them next door to Divergent Technologies), where the large JL3 triode amps driving Merlin speakers. Great! We also liked the Innersound Eros MkIII, a hybrid electrostat/subwoofer that sounded most satisfying.
     The day (and the show) ended at the room of Gershman, which was showing updated versions of both its Avant Garde speaker (reviewed by UHF No. 43) and the much larger Gap. The Avant Garde room was another of the rooms that clicked. The speakers were matched to Victor Sima’s new Linar 10, a six-channel integrated amplifier for surround (sounding superb in both two-channel and surround). That and a glass of wine made the day perfect.
     Good show. Or, more accurately, good shows. We’ll stay here for a few days of fun, and then back to work. See you soon.
     

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