CES 2007

Page 3

Lumenwhite/Ayon Audio/Blue Pearl Audio/Acoustic system International

      

Bruce Fetherling put together a stellar sounding room. Listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan’s recording of “Tin Pan Alley,” felt like he was in the room. I listened to the whole track which is over nine minutes long despite the fact that I seldom listen to a complete track at a show because I have to cover so many rooms. But in this case I just had to because the music and the sound were so intoxicating. The Lumenwhite Silver Flame Loudspeakers ($28,500) were driven by Ayon’s 52 B Classic Mono Amps ($18,500) and the Spheris preamplifier ($24,000). The Blue Pearl Audio Jem turntable ($82,000) hosted all vinyl and all cabling was Bruce’s own Acoustic Dreams cables along with his superb component rack.


Sound Application/Silicon Arts Design/Venture

       

Room 1604 was a standout. It featured the Silicon Arts Design ZL-120 ($23K) with solid-state monoblock amplifiers and CF-080 preamplifier. Both implement unique direct Signal Path technology (DSPT) and drove the Venture Excellence loudspeakers ($56,000) marvelously. The Esoteric UX-1 was used as a transport along with the Weiss Medea D/A converter and the meticulously built Sound Application RLS-1 powerline conditioners ($7K), which incorporate an ultra broadband 2.5 GigaHz filter. The sound was wonderfully inviting, non-fatiguing and non-etched thanks in large part to the line conditioner which eliminated all line noises in the power line and gave blacker backgrounds making the sound a more real musical experience!


Kondo Audio Note Japan

      

As I was making my rounds in the hallways of building 1600 I heard violin sounds that just drew me into the room as if someone were playing live. The components in this super esoteric room by Kondo Audio Note are for a very few lucky chosen ones. The sound of classical music especially chamber music was out of this world. One of my favorites Mozart’s Violin Sonata was naturally rendered. The sound was delicate, transparent and lifelike. The violin and piano tonality were spot on; it was like listening to the real instruments. The only bad news is that you will need to take out a second mortgage (a big one) to own this dream system. Audio Note featured the legendary Ongaku integrated amplifier ($80K), a 27 Watts stereo classic 211 single-ended configuration and a preamplifier, none other than the flagship M-1000 MK II ($85K) driving the S-18 prototype loudspeakers and KAS-DAC ($30K) was in the system along with the 47 Lab PiTracer transport ($25K). Finally, all silver Kondo cables were used to connect the components.

Rethm/Sound Engineering/Stealth Audio Cables

         

Every year sound gets better and better in Rethm’s room and this year was no different. The sound was extremely open and transparent. The Rethm Saadhana ($6,500) loudspeaker utilizes a crossover-less design with a 6” custom modified single Lowther DX 55 driver in a horn-loaded cabinet. The frequency response is 75Hz-20KHz with a self powered bass unit, utilizing dual custom made 6” Peerless bass drivers with response to 32Hz. Finally, the amazingly affordable 18 wpc Melody integrated amplifier ($3K) handled the Rethm remarkably well. The Sound Engineering SE-1 turntable with Davinci tone arm and phono stage on a Sound Engineering stand optimized for the table was exceptional. All cabling was by Stealth Audio Cables.


Acoustic Zen Technologies/Red dragon Audio/ModWright Instuments

         

Robert Lee was all smiles when I walked into his room. As I sat down, I immediately realized why he was so happy. The sound was exceptionally good and it did everything just about right; it was detailed, dynamic, and most important, very musical. The Red Dragon Audio Leviathan signature series monoblock amps ($5,995), are 500 watts and have a damping factor of 2000 into 8ohm. They drove the Acoustic Zen Adagio loudspeakers ($4,300) with ease utilizing the ModWright SWLP 9.0SE preamplifier ($4,995) along with all Acoustic Zen cabling.


Edge Electronics/Nola/Prana wire

Edge Electronics sounded impressive driving Nola loudspeakers. I spent a fairly long time listening, and the sound was detailed, transparent, non-fatiguing and very musical. The big Nola loudspeakers sang while driven by the Edge NL Signature 1.1 ($20K) monoblock amplifiers at 400 wpc along with the Signature 1 preamplifier ($12,268). The digital source was a G CD player ($5,268) along with their new Line conditioner ($2,988) and all Prana wires.

Behold/Ascendo/Nova Physics Group/Sunny Cables

      

Sam Laufer of Laufer Teknik put together a wonderful sounding room with some of the most advanced audio products on the market. The Ascendo System M ($46K) loudspeakers were driven by Behold BPA768 KHz stereo amplifier ($38K ea) used in a bi-amp configuration. It has a full Class-A analogue power supply employing digital manipulation (high tech). The preamplifier is the Behold APU preamplifier ($21-66K depending on options) and the digital source was the magnificent Memory Player ($10K transport only) from Nova Physics Group. Finally, all Supreme Series Sunny Cables were used to connect the components. CP owns the Memory Player along with the Behold electronics while we both owned the Ascendo loudspeakers, so I wasn't too surprised by the crisp articulation along with rich nuances and subtleties I heard in this setup. As like many rooms the sound of this room improved greatly by the last day due to a last minute change in wiring. Hey, if don't work...fix it!


As I headed back to NYC, I kept reflecting on the quality of the show. Even with all the changes in venue and the resulting confusion at the 2007 CES, it remains my favorite place each year!

Key Kim

 

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