2008 CES/T.H.E. Show

        


Live, at the Venetian!

After spending the better part of the first day over at T.H.E. Show, I was now itching to jump into the fray over at the Venetian big time. Unfortunately, this proved to be more of a task than simply getting off the shuttle and walking through the front door like it was at the St. Tropez. Still needing to get a show badge holder Mike Wright and I set off on what would become a mini odyssey trying to find the press registration. What was frustrating was the fact that between the front entrance and the corridor that would point you in the general direction of the CES registration there were no signs. Instead, people would tell you things like, “It’s over near the Grand Luxe Café” or “It’s the same way that you go to get to the porn industry show.” Of course the person that gave me that last piece of advice was none other than internationally renowned adult film star Vanessa Blue (photo right). Never mind how I knew that just enjoy the picture …

Once I found the CES press room and grabbed a quick snack, it was off to the show I went. The first show rooms I found were actually in the Sands Convention Hall where a dozen or so companies chose to set up shop away from the madness up on the hotel tower floors.

       

Signals Super-Fi: My first stop was in the Signals Super–Fi room which is the North American distributor for German Physiks loudspeakers, Vitus Audio, and Continuum Audio Labs, and the global distributor for Dragon power cords and the Stereovox line of cables which are designed by Chris Sommovigo who also is the owner of Signals Super-Fi. They set the bar for all the upper echelon systems I would hear this week and I mean set it high. Any system that uses the awesome Continuum Audio Labs Criterion turntable with their own Copperhead tonearm ($55,595) is setting the bar high (I almost forgot the Air Tight PC-1 cartridge). Now consider running that front end into the peerless electronics from Vitus Audio - SP-100 phono stage ($29,995), SL-100 line stage ($35,995), and SM-101 mono amps ($55,595/pr). There was even a Vitus SCD-010 CD player ($16,995) handling digital duties as well. The whole system was wired with Stereovox Reference interconnects and Dragon speaker cables and power cords. Everything feeding a pair of German Physiks The Carbon Mk IV loudspeakers ($55,595/pr) and PQS-202 Carbon loudspeakers ($55,595/pr).

This was an audiophile “Dream Team” if ever there was one. The build quality and sound in this room are what define high-end audio.

      

Navison Audio: One of the most interesting demos I walked in on was in the Navison Audio room. These newcomers offer some very attractive Vietnamese-made tube electronics that feature chassis made of Barian Kingwood with gold accents. As lovely as these pieces were to look at I was a bit taken aback when the guy doing the demo turned the lights off leaving us to listen in the dark. Now, I know a lot of people say that they like to listen in the dark because it heightens the experience and brings more focus to the sound. But I prefer that intimate setting in my own home by myself. In a room full of strangers, it was just plain creepy. Fortunately the sound was good but I was happy when the lights came back on.

Tropos Audio: Another newcomer was Tropos Audio from Seoul, Korea (photo right). They produced a full line of electronics including the P9 preamp, P350M power amps, D7 DAC and T7 transport, Stravinsky loudspeaker ($35,000) which features two 6” midrange drive, two 9” woofers, and a ribbon tweeter. This was a very impressive looking and sounding loudspeaker and worth seeking out if Tropos ever becomes available in the U.S.

Volent: Speaking of impressive loudspeakers, few left a mark on me like the massive Paragon Series VL-4 from Hong Kong based Volent, a manufacturer of a wide range of beautifully crafted loudspeakers. But while I was listening to this speaker I couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity about its sound especially in the treble performance. Then a few days after the show I received an email from Ben Lau of Volent who informed me that Volent/LCY is actually the manufacturer of the excellent ribbon tweeter that I loved in my recent review of the JAS Audio Orsa loudspeaker.

The VL-4 is a 4-way design with a frequency response of 20Hz to 100KHz! It features a twin ribbon super tweeter, air motion transducer, 7” midrange, and 12” woofer. I listened to my trusty Erin Bode CD in this room and was floored. This is another company that I will be keeping an eye on. Compared to a lot of other speakers I saw at the show, the Volent Paragon VL-4 at $26,500 is something of a bargain.
 

MBL: Of course what would an international show be without a stellar demonstration from MBL. Showing off their Reference Line system featuring the outrageously spectacular looking and sounding MBL 101X-Treme loudspeaker ($199,000/pr) this was the first of the big, beautiful expensive systems that actually sounded like it was worth the money. The rest of the system featured the 6010 D preamp ($21,650), four 9011 amplifiers ($39,000/each), 1611 F DAC ($22,500) and 1621 A CD transport ($21,850). The sound was as big and glorious as the system itself.