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Positive Feedback ISSUE
11january/february 2004
2004 CES "blur" of a show... Part 3 of many to come!
by Dave and Carol Clark
Morel (the one from Israel) showed their Octave twins to good effect. Love the way these look, and the sound was fast, very clean and detailed. Used with the Electrocompaniet electronics and Richard Gray units, there was also a nice sense of "ease" to the music.
Cary was showing their new SACD/DVD/CD player (under $3500) along with their new line of speakers. Sounded and looked good.
The new Cary Silver Oak 3 loudspeakers and the killer 211 amplifiers.
The ARS Aures Audio, AYDN, and KR Audio room was not only fun audibly, but fun visually. Along with the biggest tubes of the show and speakers that were imposing in their ability to "stare-down" at the listener like some alien creature, the sound was quite good.
The Kronzilla!
Morel Acoustics (of the US) showed off their new "floor speaker", that houses a woofer and tweeter that fire towards the ceiling. An interesting idea that sounded rather good. True, the sound came from below the listener's point of perspective, but what the speakers put out into (or up into) the room was full and rich. For those with limited space.
Aurum showed a speaker that is a full system of sorts. Each speaker has their own built in woofer amplifier, but they also come paired with an external 300B amplifier that drives the mids and tweeters individually. No crossovers are used and the sound was as coherent as get out. Aurus also has the Integris CD/preamplifier to fill out the chain! Really cool!
The shy and retiring EveAnna Manley (who is a breath of fresh air after being around the usual "stuffy" attendees) and Israel Blume (Coincident) standing in one of the "hipper" rooms. The speakers are Israel's killer Grand Victory speakers that offer a "real big" speaker for those with "real small" amps! Sounded fast and musical.
It is always Christmas in the Manley room—or at least PARTY TIME! Beer, cheese, and hats too!
The Snapper—watch your fingers please!
The Glacier Audio, Atma-sphere, Gilmore Audio, Grado, MSB, SOTA, and Tri-Planar room offered something for everyone. (The list of names says as much!) Oh, and the woman in the ad too! Sound wise was hard to tell as the demos we heard were of music not to our liking played back at horrendous levels—not the way to demonstrate equipment. even so, the speakers do show promise and the rest of the gear can speak for themselves.
A killer SOTA table.
Opera and Unison showed some of the prettiest components around. The Italians are second to none in fit and finish, as well as looks and sound!
The new Simply Phono looked really interesting Class A with no feedback!
Sculpted wood galore!
The new Unico with more power!
The Grommes-Precision room offered precision sound with Joseph Audio loudspeakers. The 260/260A amplifiers were shown with Nordost SPM cabling.
A Revox CD player in the Grommes room. The drawer belongs to the side table—not to the player! "Gee that is a big tray to load CDs into, now isn't that special!"