The Festival opens
     It got under way at 1 p.m. We remember the days when the show opened at 5 p.m., when people (theoretically) get off work. Would anyone at all show up in early afternoon? Well, yes in fact. The lineup was awesome (see above).
     For us, of course, it took longer to get crowds. Visitors typically begin at the bottom floor (the mezzanine) and word up, or else start at the very top and work down. That second group is using its head: since the elevators are not accessible during the show, would you rather climb up or come down?
     But then the crowd arrived. And it kept coming right through the 9 p.m. closing time!
     One of the novelties at the show was the Cyrus Icon, a speaker using the revolutionary NXT technology. You’ve seen NXT...those flat speakers that get used in car systems and portable computers. The Icon uses an almost full range NXT panel, with a conventional woofer from 400 Hz down. NXT was developed by what used to be the parent company of Mission/Cyrus. It sold most of its divisions (Mission, Wharfedale, and ultimately Cyrus). In the picture is division manager Peter Bartlett, with the Icon. The sound? Well, it wasn’t quite set up yet, so...
     The other components shown (you can see the picture further down) will look familiar to people who remember Mission Cyrus (Mission was then the company, and Cyrus the product line). Remember the nice robust little amps (emphasis on little, meaning narrow)? They’re back, in greatly modernized form, of course. The case is magnesium, and it may be small but it is clearly mighty. And the rack you can order with it is...well, it’s tempting.
     Speaking of tempting, we got a listen to the new Choral component line from Chord Electronics. The looks alone makes you want to reach for your credit card (though it had bettter have a generous limit). For instance, the phono stage top (tilted forward about 40 degrees), has a pair of magnifying glasses inset in the top (if that’s the right word). Alll the better to see the circuitry with. Wow! Sounds nice too. The system was playing through Living Voice Avatars, the (slightly) downmarket version of the ones in our own room.
     One of the surprises came in the StudioLab room. The large speakers sounded like...well like large speakers, but the small Reference Ones (fed from Audio Aero electronics) were astonishingly good on a Bob Walsh blues record. Even more amazing was the price: C$1100 in wood veneer, slightly more in a finish applied in a car body shop.
     Linar Audio was back, with an improved version of the preamplifier, and an improved version of the 250 amplifier we reviewed back in UHF No. 58. The company now sells directly to consumers. We didn’t see Victor Sima, however.
     We got yet another listen to the improved Reference 3a MM de Capoi speakers (scheduled for review in our next issue). We also got a loook (though not a listen) to the astonishing Hurricane monoblock tube amplifier (200 watts from eight KT88 output tubes!). They’re C$6500 a pair. That may not sound like a lot, but the name says it's from Antique Sound Lab.
     Niro, maker of unusual electronics, had something unusual: a surround system made with jjust two speakers, one in front, one in back. Interesting! Niro is named for Niro Nakamichi, the founder of...
      We got a listen to a fine old LP of the Stravinsky Firebird, with Dorati on the podium. It was played from a DPS turntable (new to us), through a Comet preamp, and a Berning tube amp, into Merlin speakers. We were astonished by the sheer cleanness of the sound. The upper midrange was elevated, however. Poor speaker placement? Misadjustment of the tone arm? Still,what we heard was promising.
     We also liked an all-Italian system in a particularly classy setup: Unison amplifiers, Unico CD player (isn’t that a brand of olive oil?), and a pair of slim Superpavarotti speakers. Gee...do you suppose they pay royalties?
    We also got to hear a new production version of a speaker we had spotted in Vegas 18 months ago: the Fab Audio Model 1. It was being run with the MuRa supertweeter, which is crossed over at 18 kHz, and which goes up to frequencies where we get nosebleeds. Interesting. The shape (not quite evident from our truncated picture at left) is as provocative as ever.
     Now comes Saturday. It opens with a series of press conferences, and then what is always the busiest day of the show. Too busy in many cases, because it’s hard for anyone to listen when there are crowds in front of the speakers.
     Thanks for dropping by. We’re back tomorrow with the next report.

      

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