New York Home Entertainment Show 2007

                                               

This year’s Stereophile-sponsored Home Entertainment Show was similar in many ways - - both good and bad - - to previous year’s shows. The rooms in the Grand Hyatt had the same type of acoustic problems as those in Hilton, and the elevators were still a challenge. On the plus side, the show was well attended, had a number of very enjoyable systems,. and the best part of all is seeing many old friends. There were far too many system for me to describe so I will focus on the few that most tickled my fancy.

                  
A speaker I have been curious to hear since I first read about it was the newly-designed Rethm Saadhana. As with previous Rethm speakers, the Saadhana uses a single broadband driver (specifically, a Lowther DX 55) in a rear-loaded horn configuration, the new innovation being the addition of horn-loaded woofers for the lower 2 octaves. The accompanying electronics were Art Audio PX25 SET amplifier, ModWright LS36.54 line stage, a ModWright phonestage, and a ModWright-modified Sony CD player, and a Redpoint turntable with Triplanar arm. My first visit to the room on Friday was a bit of a disappointment; the sound was harsh and brittle. When I returned on Sunday things were sounding far better; when I questioned Rethm designer Jacob George, he explained that they had changed some interconnects and tubes. The sound was now pretty much everything I had hoped it would be; immediate, coherent, with tuneful bass which went far lower than did the older generation non-bass horn equipped Rethms. I enjoyed the sound a great deal, and hope that Jacob will provide me with a pair of Saadhana’s for review.

My next step was to the High Water Sound room, to visit my friend Jeff Catalano. I knew from earlier discussion with Jeff that the system would be based around the Aspara Acoustics HL speakers. I first heard Aspara Acoustics speakers at last year’s Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, where Jeff showed the HL1 speaker partnered with Tron electronics and a TW Acoustics turntable. That system was one of my favorite at the show, and I was thus most eager to hear the larger HL. Both models are based on a similar design, comprising a vertically oriented horn (housing a titanium compression driver), sitting upon a front facing/rear-loaded woofer cabinet. The HL speakers were paired with Tron Syren preamplifer, Seven phonostage, and Jubilate Push-Pull amplifier, based on the 807 tube. Serving at the front end were two different models of the TW Acoustics turntables - - utilizing a total of different 4 arm/cartridge combinations! - - and an Abbingdon Music research tubed output CD player, the later imported by Darren Censulla. (Rumor has it that Stereo Times colleague Key Kim will be reviewing the CD player.) The sound was much like that at RMAF, though on a larger scale. Fantastic dynamics, good coherence (the horn covers most of the frequency range), and lots of detail. I spent quite a bit of time listening to this system and couldn’t shake the feeling that I was not hearing its full potential because of the limited size of the room. Horns need lots of breathing space and I suspect the HLs couldn’t really open up in the hotel room’s modest dimensions. I hope to hear them in Jeff’s own much larger listening room, and am trying to get Jeff to provide me with a pair of the a newly re-designed HL1 Mk. II, the size of which I suspect would be perfect for my own listening room.

Canada-based Gershman Acoustics introduced their new Sonogram speakers. This reasonably priced ($2,700) speaker uses a Vifa tweeter, a Morel midrange driver, and an 8” fiberglass woofer of their own design (the latter manufactured in the U.S. of A!), mounted in an internal pyramid as a cost-cutting measure. Accompanying electronics were a Sim Integrated amplifier and CD player, and Magnum cables. The sound was extremely pleasant to listen to, and represented and excellent system that doesn’t require one to take out a mortgage.

Continuing on the theme of affordable systems, I was very impressed with the speakers from DCM. These 3-ways cost only $1,000 per pair; driven by a 70 Watt Jolida amp and CD player, the entire system cost approximately $3,500, an amount considerably less than the cables in many rooms. The sound, while a bit lacking in detail and dynamics, was very easy to listen to, a result of some excellent prioritization on the part of the designers. For someone who is not an obsessed audiophile, but who desires decent sound, this combination is unbeatable.

French speaker manufacturer Cabasse invariably provides very enjoyable systems at shows, and this year was no exception. The system showcased their new “The Sphere,” a (gulp) $150,000, massive 4-way concentric speaker in a (you guessed it) spherical cabinet, which sat atop a specially designed speaker stand which was itself a work of art. The speakers were Quad-amped with Bel Canto class D amplifers, and utilized an active cross-over which also contains an Eq. The system was ballsy to the extreme, producing massive amounts of energy which filled the room, but with an extraordinary degree of control and finesse. While not the type of system I would most want to have - - nor one I could afford - - it was nevertheless a remarkable demonstration of an innovative company which pushes the boundaries of home audio.

Bel Canto amps were also used in the Joseph Audio room. Jeff Joseph always achieves remarkably good sound under less-than-optimal show conditions. Though I was seated a bit too near-field, the sound had a wonderful tonal balance, a fair degree of detail and an overall very pleasing sound. Audio shows reveal much about current trends in audio, not only by the nature of the systems on display, but equally so by the traffic the various systems generate. There were two rooms which I felt had far better than average sound, yet each was poorly attended (at least while I was there). Perhaps not coincidentally, they had somewhat similar sonic attributes. The first featured Proac Three-Point-Eight speakers, a Jadis DA50 Signature amplifier and Jadis Equinox CD player. The sound was relaxed, a tad on the warm side, but with wonderful flow.

Last but not least was the Reimyo room (Imported by May Audio) which, as in previous years, proved one of my favorites. The system featured the diminutive (in size, but not sound) Bravo speakers, CAT-777 preamplifier (“Control amplifier,” in Reimyo terminology), PAT-777 300B-based SET amplifier, DAP-777 digital-to-analogue converter, and the brand new Reimyo transport. The sound was richly harmonic, soothing without being syrupy, nicely detailed, albeit not the last word in dynamics. The Reimyo room was like quiet meditation; to paraphrase my description from a few years ago, this system was an oasis from the harsh and bass-heavy rooms which are all too common at shows (and in people’s homes, I daresay).
There were of course many other very enjoyable rooms at the show, and many wonderful people - - manufacturers, importers, distributors, dealers, and of course, enthusiasts. My thanks to all of them - - and of course, the folks at Stereophile - - for making this show such a success.

Larry Borden

            

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