Positive Feedback ISSUE 35
january/february 2008

CES 2008 …and the band played on…
by Danny Kaey

This year was really no different, what with all the glitz and glamour that Las Vegas presents itself with each passing year. Without further ado, my collage and memoirs of this years audiofest bash.

The Marten boys are at it again… The new "Form" series is a triangular loudspeaker system which retails for a consumer friendly $6500. Nice Marten sound to boot, what else does one need really?

Tape Decks galore! Custom painted Technics RS-1500 series decks were all the rage at this years show… Get this: two companies, The TapeProject and Quinton/AAA are issuing real time duplicated mastertape dubs of classic (TapeProject) and contemporary jazz (Quinton/AAA) titles! Wow!

Grand Prix Audio's Alvin Lloyd always knows how to put on a good show… his turntable sounded fantastic through the Eggleston speakers and Steve McCormack's new preamp… nice!

Odin… Lars of Nordost always throws the most involving demos at these shows, this time was no different: have a seat, and listen for yourself as he goes through the various Nordost cables… You will hear a difference! Odin was so detailed – you heard things like never before!

Einstein (aaudio Imports) was gorgeous sounding and looking like a million bucks! Rumor has it they can't keep their wares in stock, as demand is so high…

TacT Audio's Radomir Bozovic was on hand giving people his digital room correction demos through a pair of large KEF's. Sound with and without was definitely noticeable!  An all digital system (including real digital amplifiers) sounded really good, remarkably non-digital!

Loiminchay was showing off their "works-of-art" loudspeakers. Famous for their extraordinary fountain pens, these speakers were crafted with such detail and exquisiteness that I doubt you could improve upon their craftsmanship. Glorious, full and rich sound!

dcs was showing with Wilson Watt/Puppy's and a full compliment of VTL electronics. Detail, detail and more detail! The new dcs stuff looks and sounds rather nice!

EveAnna Manley was showing off her latest gear with quite fabulous and dynamic sound; also on hand was the brand spankin' new Stingray with iPod dock! Go EveAnna! I like her forward thinking attitude…

Proclaim's very unsual looking, but great sounding speakers were teamed up with Cary Audio electronics. Dennis Had was said to have been so impressed with the sound of the speakers that he insisted to team up for CES! Also seen was Cary's new 306 Professional CD/SACD player "the best I can do".

Elite AV's Scot Markwell and Franc Kuzma were on hand showing off Kuzma's latest foray into tonearm design. His latest creation, aptly named "4-point" is unique in that the horizontal and vertical axis are totally separate from each other and thus offer gains in strength and rigidity. Glorious and most amazing craftsmanship, Franc is a champion of mechanical engineering! Still in production of course is his linear tracker "Airline"… one of these days! Sigh

According to Scot, Plinius is doing very well and the New Zealanders are working overtime to meet demand. Beautiful lines as always… even better sound!

Avatar Acoustic's Darren Censullo was showing off his latest wares consistin of AMR and Karan… Guys, the AMR stuff is destined to be classic, these guys are very forward thinking in their totally modular approach to speaker, CD and amplifier design. Very, very cool stuff, that sounds superb. Karan meanwhile, is also doing well—why wouldn't they, their gear is another outstanding product line with great looks and sound!