By Frank Alles

This special show report will cover the highlights of both the CES (mainly those exhibits at Alexis Park) and T.H.E. Show, which was conveniently located adjacent to Alexis Park at the St. Tropez. I did wander briefly to the Las Vegas Convention Center, to see more of the CES, but it was so noisy and crowded on Friday morning that I couldn’t concentrate on anything and decided to relocate to Alexis Park, where I could navigate more freely and think more clearly. Yes, the LVCC was basically a zoo!

In the two plus days I had to cover these immense shows, I tried to get into all the rooms that I thought would hold the most promise for both cost-no-object and bang-for-the-buck audio gear. I’m sure that I missed some truly excellent rooms, as it was not physically possible for me to get to every exhibit within my time constraints. This report will cover the highlights of what I consider to be standout rooms. Realize that it is not intended to be comprehensive or definitive, but representative of my own experience and personal listening bias.


Most Dynamic
For Von Schweikert fans, please know that I tried to have a listen to the VR9 SE speakers, but the volume was so high during my particular demonstration that I had to bolt for the door after about 30 seconds of holding my ears. Therefore, I can’t really assess the sound quality, but I can say that the VR9 SE’s will definitely play very loudly.

I can further attest that the Von Schweikert Db-99 speakers ($12.5k) will play at virtual rock concert levels, which I learned at an after-hours session in the Opera Audio Consonance rooms, ST 1002/1004, over at T.H.E Show. The preamp was the Consonance Cyber 222 ($2k) and spinning the CD was the futuristic Consonance Droplet CDP 5.0 ($3200). With the sweet-sounding Consonance Cyber–10 Signature 2A3 tube amps ($2k) putting out around 12-watts per speaker, Jeff Beck’s guitar sounded extremely convincing around the corner, through the doorway in the middle of the neighboring room. Lord have mercy! (Note that earlier in the day I managed to hear the db99’s sounding very competent and well balanced at lower, more-sane volume levels.)

But for sheer dynamic projection of sound, my vote has to go to the recently redesigned Avantgarde Duo Omega horn speakers ($27,970) that I heard in room AP2013 at Alexis Park. There, a recording featuring brass instruments was playing on a gorgeous, German-built turntable using the Lyra Titan MC phono cartridge ($4.5k). The way the horns projected the sound of the trumpet and other brass instruments into the room was nothing short of extraordinary. As I recall, the bass was quite dynamic and formidable too, but since I was unfamiliar with the material being played, it’s hard for me to judge the overall balance of the presentation. I was told that the sensitivity of the latest Omega version of the Duo’s drivers has been increased by several dB’s to 107dB per watt. Whew!


                   

Most Surprising New Product
Probably, my biggest surprise of this year’s shows was found unexpectedly in room AP1910. There, I ran into Alan Yun of Silverline Audio Technology, who was debuting a new entry-level speaker named the Prelude. The slender Preludes each contain two 3.5-inch woofers, and a 1-inch aluminum/magnesium dome tweeter. The slender 40”x5”x8” towers have a sensitivity of 91dB/watt and frequency response rated from 35 – 28,000Hz. That’s right, Response to the mid-30Hz’s with only two 3.5-inch woofers! Vinyl-clad cabinets in Cherry or Rosewood are offered, and the price is only $1200 per pair.

The sound was dynamic, punchy, clean, and palpable. I was impressed with how loudly they played and how well balanced they appeared to be. Double basses were articulate and very detailed and you could hear the spit in the sax-player’s mouthpiece as he blew a blue tune. Everyone was looking around the room for that “hidden subwoofer,” that didn’t exist. These speakers should work great in small to mid-sized rooms and I imagine they’d be ideal for home theater applications as well as purist, two-channel installations. I’m going to make it my mission to personally pester Mr. Yun relentlessly until he sends me a pair for review!


Bang for the Buck
Speaking of bang for the buck, there were a few systems that caught my ear, and offered 97 percent of the best performance I’ve heard anywhere. The first was in the NuForce room at AP2160. It contained the new NuForce P-8 remote controlled preamp ($1095), NuForce Reference 9 mono amplifiers ($1250 ea.), and Usher Dancer CP-8571 II speakers (roughly $9k). Upon my arrival the sound was hauntingly rhythmic and dynamic. It quickly became evident that there was some sort of fervent tribal ritual taking place. The attack of the high-frequency percussion was razor quick and clean while the syncopation of the drums led me to believe that I might be the next human sacrifice. Scary stuff, to be sure, yet, I was most impressed.

 

The second giant killer system was at T.H.E. Show in ST 2206. CEO Robert Grost of Cerious Technologies was demonstrating the Cerious Too satellites accompanied by two Cerious Bass modules. At first we played a cut, “Taylor,” from Jack Johnson’s on and on CD. The sound was extremely detailed, focused, and clean, almost to a fault. Later we moved to a high-speed guitar cut featuring Tim Reynolds and Dave Matthews and it seemed that the guitar notes lacked richness and body. When I intimated this to Mr. Grost, he smiled and said he could fix that. So with a quick turn of a knob on the woofer crossover, we did another take. I have to say that the adjustment restored the familiar balance to this recording, fleshing out the fundamentals and allowing the guitar to be perceived as a real instrument. The Kevlar-clad Cerious Toos are $3800 per pair, and come in a variety of attractive finishes. Cerious prides itself in using advanced, reinforced Kevlar cabinetry and synthetic ceramic driver technology. The complimentary Cerious Bass powered subwoofers are priced at $4000 per pair. Hearing such impressive sound from the least Cerious product finds me wondering just how impressive the more expensive Cerious loudspeakers may be. Keep your eyes on these boys!

The third bang for the buck system I happened upon was in the VMPS/Bruce Moore suite, in ST1303. We heard the RM30C speakers ($3700), which use VMPS’s new, patent-pending Constant Directivity Wave Guide technology. The wave guide appears to be a thick acrylic plate with heavy damping material on the back, which covers the midrange ribbons except for a 0.667-inch aperture that runs down the center of the midrange driver array. This technique is responsible for allowing 180-degree high frequency dispersion, resulting in a very even frequency balance along the lateral plane. It greatly improves off-center, out of the sweet spot listening, to which I can attest. Bruce Moore 225-watt mono tube amplifiers ($15k) were employed to drive the RM30C’s, and two VMPS Original subwoofers ($499 ea.) filled in the bottom octave bass. The sound was dynamic, natural, and clean; and was comparable to the price-no-object systems at the show.


Most Outlandish

Those creative Canadians in room ST1307 came up with the most visually unusual/unique system of the show. It was comprised of the lunar-landing-module-like Sound Fusion Luna SF-70 speakers ($6995), deHavilland Mercury II preamp ($3995), deHavilland Aries GM-70 monoblock amps ($9950/pr), and the crazy-cool Redpoint Audio Design Series “D” turntable (top photo $16k w/o arm) equipped with two Ikeda arms (one 12” and one 9”). The cartridges were the Ortofon SPU Royal GM and the Ikeda 9C3; the latter, on the 9” arm was the one I heard playing. The sound was dynamic, immediate, and transparent, the way the best analog setups can be.


 

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