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CES 2005...Thoughts
 
Lost Wages, Nevada.
As previous shows held under Nevada's warm
desert sun offered a great escape for those
living on the cold eastern seaboard this time
of year, this event proved quite different.
First, it rained! Then, right here in the
middle of the desert, it snowed! Right
after one of the worst natural disasters in
history took place on the day after Christmas,
we, over here, gathered ourselves, regained our
composure (even as the the death toll grew),
and in less than two short weeks flew off for
CES 2005. As a personal survivor of 9/11,
I felt a sense of guilt. But, at the same
time, I've
since learned, as callous as it may appear,
moving forward, staying
active and sticking to appointments is
one of the best forms of therapy and thus
recovery. We really have no
choice except to go on and do the best we
possibly can.
However in a strange sort of way the weather
served as an ominous reminder.
For me, as well
as everyone I spoke with,
it served as a constant reminder to keep things in
their proper perspective. Life, just like the
weather, can be cold, wet and dreary... right
here in the middle of the desert too.
Gratitude restored!
My hunch is the gang made it there and back
with everything intact except their bill
folds. I know I lost again at the blackjack
table in what only seemed like
a matter of minutes. I told
myself I wasn't going to gamble again (lost
quite a bit last year too!), but I just had to
give it a another try. I mean there's got to
be more to life than just going to 'Vegas and
chasing behind exotic electronics. Yeah,
lose money and then chase behind exotic
electronics.
  
CES 2005 got serious ST
coverage from Dave Thomas, Frank Peraino
(above center), Dan Dzuban, Key Kim (left), Mike Wright, Ron Nagle, Courtenay
Osborne (right) and yours truly. Besides Key Kim
everyone lives quite a bit away so it was nice
seeing them all under one roof.
Frank Peraino couldn't keep
his eye on the camera for good reason: he was
smitten by the looks of the new Clearaudio AMG
Reference turntable nestled behind a
beautiful pair of ESP loudspeakers located in
the Musical Surroundings room at Alexis Park.
 
 
 Celebrating
20 years of high-end audio designs, Gryphon
Audio put on a hell of a display at T.H.E.
Show. Gryphon has garnered favorable reviews
the world over. They displayed all the
accolades received over a 20-year span along a
huge wall. Considering I've lusted after this
product line since 1995, it was quite humbling
to admire Stereo Times' Publisher's Choice!
among those magazines quoted (above
right).
Showcased this year was the
awe inspiring Poseidon Reference loudspeaker
($130,000). Standing 6 1/2 feet tall and
weighing more than 850 lbs per side the sound
these loudspeakers produced via some help from
a pair of relatives in the Gryphon Antileon
monoblocks ($50,000), and preamplifier,
the Sonata Allegro ($12,500) was absolutely
stunning.
This four-way
twin-tower-of-power
loudspeaker boasts special
features such as Constant Phase
crossover for perfect phase at all frequencies
at all times; System
response 6 – 40,000 Hz, + 3 dB (depending on Q
setting and room size);
Separate active crossover network for
each channel isolated in bass tower;
and lastly, a remote control for Q
setting, Bass Level and Low Cut.
I customarily use some of
my favorite jazz music burned to a single CD
and sitting in the sweet-spot listening back
through Flemming Rasmussen's latest and most
auspicious design only reaffirmed my initial
thoughts and fears: it is virtually impossible
to get this fidelity of sound from a simple
two, three or four-way loudspeakers. The sound
that came from these loudspeakers was so huge
in terms of volume of air, so rightfully
accurate in terms of instrument size and so
utterly easy on my ears, I realized again, as
I did before in previous years listening to
the huge VR11s ($125,000), and 2003's show
that featured the Wisdom Audio loudspeakers
($250,000), that in order to get this type of
freedom you need space and lots of green
paper.
deHavilland's designer Kara
Chaffe (right) and marketing director George
Kielczynski proudly displayed their
Editors Choice! 2004 Most
Wanted Award. Using the new 30-watt 845-G
amplifiers and an antique (circa 1963) Ampex
reel to reel tape deck strapped to a pair of
Nola Viper loudspeakers. God only knows how
Kara came up with all the pre-recorded music
but somehow she did. I was surprised to see
and hear Jimmy & Wes - The Dynamic Duo
on one of those spools of tape.
The room, using PranaWire
from stem to stern, sounded
delightfully open and considering the
loudspeakers, a far cry from the setup last
year featuring a pair of Alon Pegasus
loudspeakers. Thank God, Kara set this room
using an unusual approach of both adjoining
front and sidewalls. BTW, What's Alon spelled
backward? Nola, the name of Carl Marchisotto's
new company.
Further
thoughts...Tact Audio
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