International CES
Not very far from the Flamingo hotel, there is the prestigious Venetian. If you have never been there, you could imagine a gargantuan hotel, well... more than that! The registration at the CES has taken five minutes, but reaching the right office, has taken an hour. The four exhibition floors were at the Venetian Tower. Exhausting was waiting to the elevators. The time was dramatically dilated and we have not been able to visit all the booths. The impression was that, notwithstanding the rooms at the Venetian were very nice and spacious, the sound at the Flamingo was better. Here what we have found interesting.
KR Audio and King Sound
This room was intriguing for its simplicity and balance. We have made a relaxing listening session although rich in pathos and emotion. At the end we have not find neither a fault nor a peculiar sound feature. This is why we want to mention it. The mono power KR VA910 amps drove with self-confidence the electrostatic full-range King III loudspeakers by King Sound. One of the less expensive audio system but also one of the most pleasant for naturalness.
Lansche Audio
Back to Europe for a while. Lansche Audio is a German company and was presenting the No.7.0 loudspeaker: a three-way with seven transducers. The Corona Plasma tweeter is an extremely interesting component and the maker of a sound image rich in detail. The dynamics was assured by Boulder amplifications. A no compromise system.
Octave and Dynaudio
Lots of Europe in Las Vegas! We see with pleasure that the products of the old country are always appreciated overseas. The Octave amplifications are well known, but we have never heard them matched with Dynaudio speakers. We should have come to the States to find out how explosive this match is. The Dynaudio Evidence Platinum are amazing and have a tonal gift and an involving note that I have never heard before with this label. The eight drivers of the Platinum were easily controlled by the best of the Octave amplifications: preamp HP500 and the MRE220 power amps with KT120 tubes.
Totem Acoustic
The long and profitable chat with Mr. Bruzzese has convinced us that is necessary to signal the new line of Totem Acoustic loudspeakers that use the Torrent driver. It is an innovative transducer capable of assuring very low distortions notwithstanding the excursion of the moving part that reaches five centimetres of total oscillation. The making of the holder and the use of different metals allow the annulment of the aerodynamic resistance on the rear part of the cone. Also the moving part of the motor has been made with care. The coil uses square section filaments in order to obtain a smooth layer. The Torrent is easily driven by any amplification and offers musical performances of high quality.
MAD
If you have any doubt, I confirm you that these loudspeakers come from England. Helped by Viola amplifications with Crescendo preamp, Concerto power amp and ZenSati cables, the model MAD Duke Royal has satisfied us for harmonic fullness and plasticity of the image. The surprise has been the model 1920, which looks like the LS3/5A but without any difficulty in driving it. British sound and design.
TW-Acustic, Cessaro, Tron-Electric
TW-Acustic Black Knight turntable with TW-10.5 tonearm and Ortofon Windfeld cartridge, Tron-Electric GT Line and GT SE 300B amplification, Seven GT phono stage, ZenSati cables and Cessaro Horn Acoustic Chopin loudspeakers. To this system our praise in the section of systems with an analogue source. The Cessaro Chopin were so well performing that they seemed like flying. A great compliment to Joffrey Catalano who has looked after the fine-tuning of the system and the choice of the components.
CAT and Theta Audio
Without charging with responsibilities the Theta amplifications and the CAT loudspeakers, whose quality is undisputed, this has been without any doubt the most useless CES booth. A sound not convincing. Who has taken care of this system has not taken care or there has been a lack of sensitivity, that kind of sensitivity that makes the difference. Hence, it deserves an Artichoke Award, a reward that ReMusic has instituted for this occasion to give to whom, for incompetence or superficiality, betrays the fundamental principles of the High-End: passion, competence, taste and - it would not hurt - politeness.
Indigo and YG
Indigo is a Qualia & Company brand of absolute qualitative significance. All the chassis are in dug aluminium and the aesthetical care is of first order. This American company manufactures the entire amplification line together with a DAC and a power supply to use with all the components. The matching with the YG loudspeakers, already known in Italy, has given an outcome with a rich sound full of harmonic overtones. We have come out from this room mouthwatering.
Ocean Way Monitor System
These loudspeakers keep what they promise. They are real maxi monitors and we have never heard before any monitors performing with such refinement and discretion. A very detailed and dynamic sound, soaring sound pressure but never a hint of hardening or annoyance. With Mr. Woody, general manager of the company, we have spoken just a little but, like many CES exhibitors, he has asked to copy the files of the recordings that we use to test the audio systems. We have found out that Ernie Woody owns seventeen recording studios in Hollywood and he has made the soundtracks of famous movies. Also the Ocean Way have chosen Viola amplifications.
GoldenEar Technology
Let us say so: we are almost ready to bet that very soon we will hear speaking of GoldenEar and of the Triton Two Tower Overview loudspeaker.
Krell
Modulari Duo Reference Speaker are the Krell loudspeakers that do not stop to impress. The Krell new product is the Foundation Processor, a processor preamp that can be considered universal for the completeness of the inputs. This preamp is ready to deal with the HD audio signals.
Keith Monks
Why not signalling a machine that cleans up our LPs? The 2008 Keith Monks Omni can be considered as the Rolls Royce of the vinyl cleaning machines. Noiseless, completely automatic, extremely well-finished in all its mechanisms. To underline the original system that uses a cotton brush to dry the groove. N.B. The record rotation is backwards.
Kondo
As usual, Audio Note Japan has fascinated us. The suggestion has become curiosity in front of the new mono Kagura power amps and the high efficiency Biyura loudspeakers. The other pieces of the system make our knees shaky: Ginga turntable, M1000MKII preamp, GE-1 phono stage, CFz step-up and – sorry if not connected – an Ongaku.
