|
The show
continued with some unusual design from Scaena, the iso-linear array
speaker. They are available in a variety of multiple drivers, all stacked, including
digital subwoofers. They were driven by Behold amplifiers, and I was taken back by the
impressive demonstration. Great looking in red, the package as shown was
about $44,000.


Never one to be anything but theatrical, Totem filled
their room with impressed listeners when they featured among their lineup,
the new Tribe III, on-wall speaker to compliment the Tribe I and II. Playing
in mono, a Tribe III sitting lazily in the corner sounded spatial and full -
it had the room gasping in fact.


At 36" tall, 6" wide, and 3.5" deep, the Tribe III features an exclusive
"Torrent" performance woofer. Beautifully machined in-house driver chassis
costing several hundred dollars each, Totem went all out with this speaker,
and it's priced at $1,500 each.


Cayin had a room full of equipment and a number of new
pieces. The H-80A tube Hybrid Class A integrated amplifier is shown below. The remote
controlled integrated tube amplifier - the A-100T with 100wpc is in the
second photo. They are priced at $2,995
each.


From VAS (Valve Audio System), the Citation Sound 2 monoblock
amplifiers at $2,750 per pair, are based on the old Harman/Kardon
Citation II design. The VAS Stereo Control Center Sound I preamp lists for
$4,995.


With VAS was the Aurum Cantus V3M speaker at $4,500 per pair
with the stands. They are a two-way design, featuring an aluminum ribbon tweeter and 5"
woofer.

Lipinski Sound not only set up a full surround package, it also
bundled the entire room including Lipinski L-707 loudspeakers and L-240
stands, the L-150 subwoofer, the L-301 monoblock amplifiers, and last but
not least, a JVC 70" flat panel display, all for $45,000. The Polish-made
speaker package alone is $30,000 and frankly sounded well worth it.

Logitech showed a fine piece of gear, the $2,000 Slim Devices'
Transporter, considered an "audiophile" quality music server. Very beautiful
and intuitively designed, the unit features AKM AK4396 DAC, digital inputs
and outputs, and network true wireless Ethernet.

Great on the eyes and the ears, from Gershman Acoustics, this is the
beautiful Black Swan loudspeaker with a frequency response down to 18 Hz. The
48" tall 8 ohm Swan retails for $30,000/Pair.

- Piero Gabucci -
Terms and Conditions of Use
|