THE Show was held at the Denver Athletic Club,
a block from the Colorado Convention Center. Audio companies such as Audio Research,
Vandersteen, BAT, Magnepan and Conrad-Johnson assembled and played systems in relative
quiet. Above, Lew Johnson talks about some high-resolution multichanel recordings he's
about to play on Magnepan MG20.1 and MG3.6 speakers and Conrad-Johnson electronics.
The Music Direct/Mobile Fidelity display area
was a small slice of two-channel analog
heaven amidst a show that stresses home theater and automation.
D-Box from Montreal set up a game demo that
had lines of people waiting to play. These racing stations tilt and lurch in synch with
the video. The expected price of such gaming luxury? $10,000 per station when available
later this year.
We liked the clean look of the Artcoustic
on-wall speaker system -- we stopped to look each time we passed it. The DF 65-50 left and right speakers
cost $1990/each, and the DF Multi center-channel speaker costs $2300/each. The DFS 100-75 powered subwoofer costs
$3400.
Regza is Toshiba's new premium line of LCD
monitors. No pricing was available, but each monitor had a gorgeous image.
Giveaways are commonplace at CEDIA, but they
don't draw big crowds. However, when you do what Logitech was doing -- giving away a
Harmony remote control every hour -- people gather. The consolation prize for those who
didn't win the remote? A t-shirt.
Sonance had one of the more elaborate booths.
It featured large cubicles that appeared to float.
