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2005 Home Entertainment Show report
This years Home Entertainment show proved to
be something of a surprise. For the first time
in years, I came away with a real sense of
optimism for the near term future of the high
end. Not only was there good sound to be
found, there was an abundance of it. Despite
the treacherous conditions in the typical
Hilton hotel room, many manufacturers were
able to produce excellent results.
As Clement Perry has thoroughly covered the
overall show, I want to hand out a few
personal mentions to those manufacturers that
really caught my attention.
In no particular order…..
 Most
Balanced Presentation-May Audio and Reimyo...
Consisting of the PAT-777 ($24,495) 7-watt
amplifier, DAP-777 ($5,195) DAC, CAT-777
($15,495) preamp, CDP-777 ($15,495) CD player,
ALS-777 ($4,195) line conditioner, Harmonix
wire and a combination of their prototype
D-Bass speaker (photo above/price TBA) in
conjunction with the Bravo monitor ($4,295),
the sound here was just wonderful. Designer
Mr. Kiuchi’s meticulous set up and the use of
the perfect sized speaker for the room and
system wrought liquidity, color and dynamics
that really should not have been possible. A
review of the DAC and amplifier are in my
future.
 Best
Discovery…Gershman Acoustics speakers and
Linar amplifiers.
Gershman's new 30K Black Swan Speaker really
surprised me. First off, the bass achieved in
the cramped quarters was staggering.
Quivering, transparent and impossibly
extended, I could not believe my ears. Further
up the band, the sound was fast open and
engaging. Interestingly, the bass enclosure is
completely separate and does not come into
contact with the surrounding upper cabinet. I
must give some of this credit to the new line
of electronics from Linar. Based on the way
the M-500 amplifiers ($8,000 for the mono
pair) were controlling the woofer’s, I hope to
hear more from them in the near future. A
review of the Speakers and amplifiers is being
engineered as we speak.
 The
“I would sell a Kidney” Award...
goes to-Albert Von Schweikert and his new
VR9-Special Edition loudspeaker. This is the
one I would commit a variety of felonies to
get my hands on. Impossibly massive at 350
lbs. per side, the 50” tall, 30” deep VR-9 SE
is the half-sized, more room friendlier
version of the Flagship VR-11. The VR-9SE’s
build quality, fit n' finish is perfect to
these eyes, lending to the sense of awe. I
know Von Schweikert wanted to show that a
large speaker could integrate into a small
room and man o' man, he really picked a small
room for this show. But I’ll be damned if he
didn't pull it off. The imaging was of a 3-D
nature and the lovely and delicate treble was
completely open and extended. I got the
feeling the bass was like a stallion kicking
to get out of its stall, but nonetheless it
worked out surprisingly well. The amazingly
musical dartZeel 100-watt mono amps, EMM Labs
transport and DAC, JPS wire and VRS equipment
supports all came together to complete the
picture.
 
The Focus Audio mini monitor at the Sonic
Spirits room...
I really enjoyed the sound in this room on the
first day of the show. Phil Lam owner of Sonic
Spirits, a local New Jersey dealer, had the
Focus Audio FS-78SE ($3,450) in just the right
spot for the dimensions of the room. Swapping
them for the FS-68SE ($2,050) bookshelf design
at the request of Stereotimes Editor Nelson
Brill proved to be quite a shock. Having
little interest in mini-monitors I was half
way out the door when the music started and
stopped me dead in my tracks. The sound coming
out of those impeccably crafted little boxes
was breathtaking. Wall to wall soundstage,
nearly life sized imaging and a smooth top end
made a very strong case for the old saying
good things come in small packages. The Blue
Circle BC-3 Galatea MK II ($4,995) tubed
preamp, BC202 120watt hybrid stereo amp and
use of the Audience Adept Response line
conditioner (review to come) as well as my
personal favorite, the Dodson Audio DA-218 DAC
showed once-and-for-all that with the right
upstream components, you do not need to break
the bank on speakers to get great sound.
 The
Red Point Audio Design turntable...
Proving that Analogue design and manufacturing
is still kicking butt, the Red Point audio
Model D ($16,000) in a brilliant nickel finish
had me snapping photos like crazy. This
glistening belt driven beauty is at the top of
a well-crafted line of turntables from
designer Peter Clark (photo left). Available
in a myriad of finishes from red lacquer to
titanium, your sublime looking table will
match the sublime sound floating from your
speakers.
Best after hours event….The
Stereotimes 4th Annual Awards party. With
nearly 40 awards to pass out for the
Most Wanted
Components of 2005, this years
event drew nearly hundreds from all walks of
the audio community. Good food, lively
conversation and debate all came together in
the spirit of joy and good will. While ogling
all that great gear is a common interest
amongst us audiophiles, it is the
relationships, booth new found and long held
that is every bit as fulfilling.
Congratulations to all of this years
recipients. We are sure next years event will
be even bigger!
Greg Petan
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