Series 1
All prices are quoted in euros unless otherwise noted.
1 €  is approximately 1.28 US dollars at time of report.

Naim's new top-of-the-line CD 555 CD player (25,000 € ) doesn't really look as green as the lights shining on it make it appear, but it stands out in a crowd nonetheless. The CD 555, which has a separate power supply, features Naim's new single-connector Hi-Line stereo interconnect, which sells for 1000 €.

We thought that the Leben CS300 tube integrated amplifier was one of the coolest products we've seen so far. If the retro styling looks familiar it's because the company is owned by the same engineers who made Luxman famous many years ago. The CS300 outputs 12 watts into two channels and sells for 2300 €.

Cabasse's La Sphère, which was shown as an early prototype design at the Las Vegas CES, takes the company's concentric driver approach to the max. The four-way La Sphère is an active stand-mounted design that weighs about 100kg and costs 100,000 €. That price includes the system's crossover module, but doesn't include the optional power amplifiers (which are made in collaboration with Bel Canto Design). A cutaway shot of the driver and enclosure helps to show the complexity of the design.

OK, we admit that we snickered when we first saw the Haliaetus Technologies HA-325 Firebird speaker, which retails for 8000 € per pair. Heck, the company even has something called the HA-223 Booster, which attaches under each speaker and costs 12,000 € each. But then we looked into it more, and listened, and came away delighted. Haliaetus says that their Acoustic Nozzle technology was developed by the European Space Agency, the Centre National de la Recherce Scientifique, and the Pierre and Marie Curie University to extend low-frequency response from a very small enclosure. This allows keeping the cabinet small, so that the speaker acts more like a point source. Whatever the explanation, the sonic outcome was impressive.