The second show report from UHF Magazine

Radio from on high
     As noted in our last report, CES was heavy loaded with what is billed as "digital media centres." They’re not all alike, but what they are is this. A large system hard disc stores your entertainment products, such as music and movies, and distributes them wirelessly to various places in your home: the stereo system in the living room, the TV in the bedroom, and so on. Your media centre may actually be your computer, fitted with appropriate streaming software and some wireless gear, or it may be a specialized box. A number of people are snapping up the new US$499 Mac Mini to use it as a headless (i.e. no screen) media centre. Who needs radio anymore?
     And yet, at the same time, there is an expansion of radio...only from outer space. Two vast satellite radio networks, both US-based, are expanding, and claim to be doing wonderfully well.
     One of them is called Sirius. Its mascot is a dog (possibly because its original CEO had come from RCA, the "His Master’s Voice" company). Its presence at CES is anchored by an inflatable dog more than two storeys high. You can’t miss it.
     A number of keen-eyed observers had Sirius pegged as the eventual loser of the two-way race, with XM emerging as the eventual winner, if indeed there was to be a winner at all.
     But new Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin was sounding positively cocky at his CES press conference. Last year the satellite radio systems were boasting about how many of their channels are commercial-free. This year Karmazin was talking about going beyond music and local chitchat (weather, sports and the like) toward actual talk radio. Specifically, Sirius has picked up shock jock Howard Stern, who will be on line as of 2006, free finally of those inquisitive little notes from the FCC. The Engadget blog claims Karmazin mentioned Stern 30 times during his talk.
     But there’s more than Stern. Sirius will add two or three video channels, to keep the kids in the back seat amused. It will be highly compressed (as are the Sirius audio channels for that matter), using Microsoft’s Windows Media software.
     Over at XM, meanwhile, they figure the future means listening at home, not only in the car. The company has signed deals with such Boston Acoustics, Denon, Harman/Kardon, LG Electronics, Onkyo, Polk and Pioneer to include XM receivers in their gear. You’ll be able to just plug in a smart antenna containing data on your subscription, and you’ll be all set.
     So what happens now? Well, our guess is that when Bill Gates told CES about living the digital lifestyle, he didn’t mean radio. With home computers streaming music and pictures everywhere, and with millions of people jacked in to their iPod players both at home and in their cars, how many people will want to pay $12 a month to have someone they don’t know spin records for them?
     Just asking.

Amps and more amps
     You’ll recall that in the past few months we picked up a Simaudio Moon W-5LE power amplifier for our Omega reference system. It was the company flagship, except perhaps for the monoblocks.
     But a number of dealers have long thought there was room for Simaudio to muscle its way (we’re picking our terms carefully) into richer homes. So now our W-5LE is nowhere near the flagship anymore.
     What you see here is the new W-8, with 250 watts per channel (versus 200 watts for our W-5LE), and a price tag of US$9200. This is the first two-channel Moon amp not to use the "Renaissance" circuit. The new "Lynx" circuit is similar, however, in that it has no overall feedback.
     An upscale P-8 preamplifier was announced at the same time, as was the similarly styled Andromeda player. The Andromeda plays only Red Book CDs, and is described as an all-out assault on the state of the art.
     The W-8 was of course not the only new amp in Vegas. The BC202 (shown at left) is a new hybrid power amplifier from Blue Circle. At $5295, it is the smallest of what the company calls its True Balanced Output series. Unlike some "balanced" amps, these truly are balanced. all way to the output, which means the black output post is not connected to ground.
     "Hybrid" of course refers to a mix of tubes and transistors. Does the BC202 run hot? Blue Circle claims not, though the presence of the tiny fire truck parked atop looks like an ominous precaution.
     The biggest amp of the series, with a price tag over US$10K, is the BC206. Would it need two fire trucks?
     Speaking of large amplifiers running hot, some of the biggest solid state amplifiers we know of are the ones from Krell. Yes, they can run hot, especially if you triamplify, as Krell has been known to do at (well ventilated) shows. So we were more than a little startled to see what seemed to be a shockingly frank logo from, Krell:
     Then we noticed the writing at the bottom of the logo, indicating that the "Heat" part stands for "High End Audio Theater." Still, doing full surround with some of the larger Krell amps can make the acronym seem all too appropriate!
     We can recall first seeing Japan’s Almarro at CES with what must have been the world’s lowest cost tube system, including CD player and speakers: cute and amazing to listen to for the size and price. The company has since moved upscale somewhat. The picture at left shows the new A50125A integrated amplifier. It has no fewer than eight 6550 output tubes plus a pair of 12AT dual triodes and a pair of 5687’s, for 125 watts per channel. Curiously, Almarro rates it at twice that power as a monoblock, but there’s no indication of how you then adjust the volume. No price listed yet, but it will certainly cost more than the US$800 asked for Almarro’s other integrated amplifier!
     Victor Sima’s Linar was back (exhibiting with Gershman Acoustics, as usual) with several new products, including a somewhat unusual one: a five channel integrated amplifier. The Linar 10 can be used as a two-channel amp for biamplification, or full surround. We wondered whether the Linar 10’s preamp section has an extra channel for the subwoofer. A glance through the owner’s manual confirms it does.
     Look for an expanded section with more photos in the print issue of our magazine.


		Radio from on high As noted in our last report, CES was heavy loaded with what is billed as "digital media centres." They’re not all alike, but what they are is this. A large system hard disc stores your entertainment products, such as music and movies, and distributes them wirelessly to various places in your home: the stereo system in the living room, the TV in the bedroom, and so on. Your media centre may actually be your computer, fitted with appropriate streaming software and some wireless gear, or it may be a specialized box. A number of people are snapping up the new US$499 Mac Mini to use it as a headless (i.e. no screen) media centre. Who needs radio anymore? And yet, at the same time, there is an expansion of radio...only from outer space. Two vast satellite radio networks, both US-based, are expanding, and claim to be doing wonderfully well. One of them is called Sirius. Its mascot is a dog (possibly because its original CEO had come from RCA, the "His Master’s Voice" company). Its presence at CES is anchored by an inflatable dog more than two storeys high. You can’t miss it. A number of keen-eyed observers had Sirius pegged as the eventual loser of the two-way race, with XM emerging as the eventual winner, if indeed there was to be a winner at all. But new Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin was sounding positively cocky at his CES press conference. Last year the satellite radio systems were boasting about how many of their channels are commercial-free. This year Karmazin was talking about going beyond music and local chitchat (weather, sports and the like) toward actual talk radio. Specifically, Sirius has picked up shock jock Howard Stern, who will be on line as of 2006, free finally of those inquisitive little notes from the FCC. The Engadget blog claims Karmazin mentioned Stern 30 times during his talk. But there’s more than Stern. Sirius will add two or three video channels, to keep the kids in the back seat amused. It will be highly compressed (as are the Sirius audio channels for that matter), using Microsoft’s Windows Media software. Over at XM, meanwhile, they figure the future means listening at home, not only in the car. The company has signed deals with such Boston Acoustics, Denon, Harman/Kardon, LG Electronics, Onkyo, Polk and Pioneer to include XM receivers in their gear. You’ll be able to just plug in a smart antenna containing data on your subscription, and you’ll be all set. So what happens now? Well, our guess is that when Bill Gates told CES about living the digital lifestyle, he didn’t mean radio. With home computers streaming music and pictures everywhere, and with millions of people jacked in to their iPod players both at home and in their cars, how many people will want to pay $12 a month to have someone they don’t know spin records for them? Just asking. Amps and more amps You’ll recall that in the past few months we picked up a Simaudio Moon W-5LE power amplifier for our Omega reference system. It was the company flagship, except perhaps for the monoblocks. But a number of dealers have long thought there was room for Simaudio to muscle its way (we’re picking our terms carefully) into richer homes. So now our W-5LE is nowhere near the flagship anymore. What you see here is the new W-8, with 250 watts per channel (versus 200 watts for our W-5LE), and a price tag of US$9200. This is the first two-channel Moon amp not to use the "Renaissance" circuit. The new "Lynx" circuit is similar, however, in that it has no overall feedback. An upscale P-8 preamplifier was announced at the same time, as was the similarly styled Andromeda player. The Andromeda plays only Red Book CDs, and is described as an all-out assault on the state of the art. The W-8 was of course not the only new amp in Vegas. The BC202 (shown at left) is a new hybrid power amplifier from Blue Circle. At $5295, it is the smallest of what the company calls its True Balanced Output series. Unlike some "balanced" amps, these truly are balanced. all way to the output, which means the black output post is not connected to ground. "Hybrid" of course refers to a mix of tubes and transistors. Does the BC202 run hot? Blue Circle claims not, though the presence of the tiny fire truck parked atop looks like an ominous precaution. The biggest amp of the series, with a price tag over US$10K, is the BC206. Would it need two fire trucks? Speaking of large amplifiers running hot, some of the biggest solid state amplifiers we know of are the ones from Krell. Yes, they can run hot, especially if you triamplify, as Krell has been known to do at (well ventilated) shows. So we were more than a little startled to see what seemed to be a shockingly frank logo from, Krell: Then we noticed the writing at the bottom of the logo, indicating that the "Heat" part stands for "High End Audio Theater." Still, doing full surround with some of the larger Krell amps can make the acronym seem all too appropriate! We can recall first seeing Japan’s Almarro at CES with what must have been the world’s lowest cost tube system, including CD player and speakers: cute and amazing to listen to for the size and price. The company has since moved upscale somewhat. The picture at left shows the new A50125A integrated amplifier. It has no fewer than eight 6550 output tubes plus a pair of 12AT dual triodes and a pair of 5687’s, for 125 watts per channel. Curiously, Almarro rates it at twice that power as a monoblock, but there’s no indication of how you then adjust the volume. No price listed yet, but it will certainly cost more than the US$800 asked for Almarro’s other integrated amplifier! Victor Sima’s Linar was back (exhibiting with Gershman Acoustics, as usual) with several new products, including a somewhat unusual one: a five channel integrated amplifier. The Linar 10 can be used as a two-channel amp for biamplification, or full surround. We wondered whether the Linar 10’s preamp section has an extra channel for the subwoofer. A glance through the owner’s manual confirms it does. Look for an expanded section with more photos in the print issue of our magazine. [TO THE NEXT REPORT] [BACK TO UHF HOME]
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