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I made it a
point to visit everyone else at the show
this year first before entering into
this room. To be honest, I wanted to avoid
having to pick for a fourth straight year
Best Sound for these outrageously expensive
loudspeakers AGAIN! I was afraid of another
price increase and but would have screamed
out about it again in frustration as I had
in the past.
 It
was Saturday evening and the end was nearing
for another wild and frenzied CES. My
phone's ringing but I don't hear it due to
all the loud music going on in the Venetian
Towers. All I know is these missed calls
appear to be from outside the US. Probably
some manufacturers in Europe or Japan
calling to ask about the show no doubt.
Phone goes off again, but this time I'm
staring right at it...Well it's Jon Rantila
from Perfect 8 wondering "if I'm at the
CES?" Yes, I replied. "Then get your ass up
here and see if we can earn another Best
Sound!" Well, to be honest, I've been trying
to avoid you guys and don't know if I can
make it to your room this year, I jokingly
responded. Rantila wasn't laughing however.
Ok, I'm on my way...
As I had
mentioned in my earlier posts, this year CES
had some really great sounding setups. The
Soulsonic speakers really got my interest
zooming since they sounded so much like the
Perfect 8s. The Audio Note setup was easily
the purist sounding electronics I had EVER
heard - edging out the battery powered rig
from Audio Consulting of Switzerland I heard
in Munich two years ago. YG Acoustics always
has something great to hear as does TIDAL,
Bridge Audio Labs, Magico and Soulution.
They all paled in comparison once again to
the most realistic and high resolute system
I've had the pleasure of hearing again.
To be honest, I don't remember or recollect
this system having had this level of
resolution. And, this time around, being
among the last, rather than first rooms
visited, served as a good indicator on how
good this system really sounded. AGAIN, I
was blown away. The Perfect 8 are simply the
least colored loudspeakers I know of and my
choice again for Best Sound. Dynamics were
so fast and seamless they just had me
sitting there on the edge of the couch
shaking my head wondering HOW?. Ultimately,
the overall performance wasn't as sweet or
pure in harmonics as the Audio Note setup
but they're from two different worlds with
very different approaches to Nirvana. Both
work: the Audio Note approach is more
cerebral while the Perfect 8's a visceral
one. For me, I forced to choose, I would
want this sound because it serves as a
constant reminder of the Rules of the
Three-Bs I want in the reproduction of
music: Big, Bold and Beautiful. The Perfect
8 disarms the critical side of me and then
engages me to ride along the waves of music
it reproduces like nothing else I heard at
this show. More impressive was the news
Rantila shared about the price: they reduced
the price from $375k back to $325k.
Nice...when you drop them another $300k give
me another call. I double-checked what I had
written at previous CES events on this
loudspeaker and all the sonic wonderment and
excellence were still intact as they were
when I originally encountered this
incredible transducer....
Comments from 2010
- Best Sound AGAIN for me at this
year's show turned out to be the Perfect 8
loudspeaker. This year Perfect 8 showed with
Ypsilon electronics namely their model
SET-100 hybrid amplifier and produced what I
would qualify as the most breathtaking sound
I heard at CES. Don't know much about these
electronics except that their imported by AA
Audio Imports and sound. The only thing I
found disappointing was the price increase.
The Perfect 8 folks seem to increase the
price on this loudspeaker with each show and
this year's $375k asking price makes this
the most expensive loudspeaker to show at
this year's CES.
Comments from 2009
- Best Sound at Show for me came
- once again from the same room I voted for
last year - the Perfect 8 / Bridge Audio
Laboratory setup. I am somewhat ashamed that
a loudspeaker like the Perfect 8 costs
$300k, and the BALabo amp/pre combo retails
for $140k (a $45k Zanden digital front end
was different from last year). Yet, the
sound was so right, so organic and tonally
correct, I could easily see myself springing
for them if money was absolutely no object.
Bridge Audio Labs of Japan designs some very
intriguing electronics that I think would
rival almost anything out there in terms of
its ultra-low noise floor and organic
rightness: qualities that's earned my vote
for a second straight year in a row! On the
contrary to the little Magicos, listening to
a system this big and ostentatious, one
expects much, yet this system delivered the
goods - then some.
Comments from 2008
-
Bridge Audio Labs' electronics are hardly
affordable but its physical look and sonic
performance proved, in conjunction with the
"Force" loudspeakers, revelatory to these
ears. Very seldom have I been so taken by a
product particularly under show conditions.
Yet, this system, using a relatively
affordable Accustic Arts standard CD player
had me totally transfixed on its
performance. Every single song I threw at
this rig from my personal CD collection
sounded harmonically as well as spatially
remarkable. I'm not going to say the sound
could mimic what I hear now from horns on a
dynamic level, but then again, this isn't a
horn and from the perspective of a sheer
line source, this was about as good as I've
ever heard.
I argued, fussed and fought over the silly
price but could not find anything to fault
with regard to the "Force" sonic
capabilities...of course with those
remarkable electronics from Bridge Audio
Labs. Stunning.
That's my
show report and I hope you enjoyed it.
See you in
Munich...
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