New York Home Entertainment Show 2007

I must admit, I was not overwhelmed with anticipation for the Stereophile Home Entertainment Show this year. My memories of the last HE show I attended were that of cramped rooms, overwhelming crowds, and an overall lack of great sound from products that should have really excited me.

As the date neared however, that old fire began to burn again and my trepidation gave way to a rush of optimism that peaked as I neared the hotel.

This years event was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel atop one of NYC’s many architectural wonders, Grand Central Station. I walk through this landmark at least twice a month and the experience never loses its impact. The swirl of humanity converging from every possible corner of the globe is an experience not to be missed. This could not be a better place to up the energy level and set the right tone for what turned out to be a great success on nearly very level.

For starters, the rooms at the Grand Hyatt were on the whole, more spacious than I recall at the previous hotel. This made for a more relaxed, more comfortable fit for both man, beast, and gear.
 

And then there was the sound which considering the majority of my past audio shows experiences was clearly a cut above. My first stop was the Nova Physics Group's room featuring The ubiquitous behold electronics from Germany driving the new Scaena line array speakers from Mark Porzilli of Pipe dream fame and as of late, the Nova Physics Group Memory player. As would be expected, partner George Bischoff was in good spirits and obviously proud of this latest creation. Playing an opera with Choral accompaniment of unknown origins froze me in my seat. The stage carved out from behind the speakers was staggering in its specificity. The fit and finish of these truly unique speakers is befitting its higher end, though not outrageous $44K price tag.

 

Next stop was the Verity Audio/Nagra electronics/SME analog room. Lashed together with Jeff Smiths Silver Smith Palladium wire that pinned me under its spell a few years back, the system was absolutely superb. The diminutive $30,000 Verity Parsifal managed to sound much bigger than it’s proportions would suggest. As a system there was a synergy that resulted in intense musicality while allowing for all the nooks and cranny’s of the recording to shine through without distracting or dominating the experience. This may well be the perfect speaker for the perfectionist audiophile contained in a less than grandiose sized room. Having next to no experience with Nagra electronics short of reading countless rave reviews, I cannot attest to the current model's evolutionary characteristics from its past incarnations, but I can say it again: the great sound coming from the Verity speakers had to be indicative of what the ancillary gear had to offer.

          

From there I dropped in on relative newcomer to high-end retailers in Sam Laufer of Laufer Teknik. Laufer is the North American distributor for Behold electronics and Ascendo loud speakers. Sunny cable 1000 series held it all together with the Nova Physics Memory player providing the music. Despite the fact that I too have the behold gear in my home, and I have had heard the Ascendo System M speakers ($30,000) at least 20 times, I was none the less surprised by the level of sophistication and completeness to the sound. Sweet, delicate though impact full when called upon, it just does not get much better than this. Biamping the Ascendos with two Behold BPA768 stereo amplifiers (45K ea) may have showing off a bit, but like they say, if you got it, flaunt it. As far as the high-end side of the spectrum goes, this was the best sound at the show.

From there I dropped in on the Magico loudspeaker room. Famed for what many believe to be the world’s best monitor, Magico unveiled a new floor stander, the $22,800 V3 (photo left with designer Alon Wolf). Built to a more speaker for the money price point, the V3 was in my opinion, a great success. Fed by the latest Spectral CD player (15K), the Magico summoned a seamless soundstage and more than a dose of the Magico minis mid range magic (try saying that three times fast!) Magico builds all its own drivers assuring there is no off-the-shelf sound as heard from far too many high-end speaker manufacturers.

From there a trip to the Krell room. Having been tipped off before the show by Irv Gross of Krell of a new Krell Duo speaker, I was in no small rush to make it to the room before the masses ascended. Confronted by a staggering display of Krells recent additions to the Evolution line, I literally “gulped” and began my halting stroll of the rooms boundaries. If you are an audiophile with a liking for Krell, you should be able to find exactly what you need at a price you can afford. From the entry level 400i integrated to the cost-no-object Evolution 1 amplifiers; this is without question the most fleshed out product line in high-end.

Half way through my trek around the room, my attention was grabbed by the scruff by some very powerful, incredibly deep bass notes that gave me a taste of what the bends must feel like. Seriously, with the Evolution 400 stereo amplifier providing the current, the rather modestly sized speakers pumped out some of the most powerfully well controlled bass notes I have heard…. anywhere. This is the first smaller floor standing speaker I ever thought with out a doubt, could drive my auditorium-sized room into fits. At 35K, and a design that I would call eclectic industrial, this is a speaker I will be keeping an eye on. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, the Krell KID (Krell iPod Dock) preamp which retails for $1100, sports bass and treble controls and balanced out puts. I am getting one.

  

From there I thought I would give the new Talon speaker. Under the new ownership of acoustic designer/analog equalizer fame Rives Audio, I had high hopes for a ready for prime time speaker. I was not disappointed, but for one thing. They had two identical set ups in two different rooms, one with room treatment and one with out. The untreated room was as you may expect, unfocussed, uneven tonally and harsh in comparison to the treated room. My thinking is, why would you want to show your product in anything but the best possible light. I can say the Fire Hawk looked the part of a high-end speaker and the sound once sorted out, was pretty convincing.

       

From there another show stopper reared it’s prodigious head. The latest version of the TAD Reference 1 ($60,000) Driven by Analog master tapes and some pretty creatively designed MS 220 Platinum amplifiers from MSB. The TAD's twin 10-inch drivers reproduced an electric bass as realistically as I have ever heard. I played bass in a band for ten years and can attest; the drivers did not even close to being over stressed. As for the rest of the spectrum, a classical orchestral piece cast a holographic stage within the modestly sized room, keeping my attention despite what must have been 90+ degree temperatures and a stomach suffering from severe doughnut deprivation.

On static display down in the software for sale section, I cam upon some wire from Cable Research Labs, formally FIM cable. The new owner and designer Chip Winston took what he felt was a great product as a customer, and re-invented the brand, aiming at improving the performance while maintaining the products strength. The first thing that stopped me in my tracks was the spade terminations on the Gold Speaker wire. These Australian made connectors must be seen to be believed (photo right). You know you are hopeless when speaker spades gets your heart racing. I will be giving these a listen down the pike.

Down the Isle I came across a Chinese manufacturer Xindak. Featuring the Muse Deluxe CD player and XA6950 integrated amps. The build quality of the casework was stunning. And the prices range? That of upper end mid-fi. Not having a clue how these things sound, they sure as hell look the part. After my incredibly positive recent experience with the super affordable Melody integrated tube amp from China, I’m guessing these beauties may be worth a fair shot.

My only regret was not being able to attend more than one day. There were many rooms I missed altogether and many I wanted to return too for a second listen. On an unrelated note, my long time audiophile buddy and all around good guy Herb brought to my attention that the average age of attendees was reaching critical mass. We really need to bring the youngsters in kicking and screaming into our little slice of rapidly aging heaven. I think I will bring my 6 year old next year. Can some one please make a high-end speaker in the shape of Bart Simpson? My son will take two pairs.