Thursday, January 9 -- Series 1
Athena Technologies' AS-P300 subwoofer ($299)
sports a 100W power amplifier coupled with an 8" driver and is a scaled-down version
of the popular AS-P400. It includes the same unique ability to integrate with Athena
Technologies speakers via the simple twist of a knob -- the crossover control is actually
labeled to correspond with various speakers in the Athena line. [www.athenaspeakers.com]
Simaudio displayed two new home-theater
products, the Stargate preamp/processor (top, $4295) and Moon Aurora multichannel amp
($4495 for five channels, $5295 for seven channels)... [www.simaudio.com]
...along with the new 425W W-6 mono amps
($6495). All are from the company's Moon series and looked terrific in
black/brushed-silver finish. [www.simaudio.com]
Magnepan premiered the Magneplanar CC-3 ($950)
as part of a music-only system. The CC-3 can be oriented horizontally or vertically and is
meant for L/C/R and surround use if required.
Audio Magic's over-the-top Clairvoyant
pure-silver ribbon speaker cables (left, $4200/six-foot pair) and Clairvoyant 4D
interconnects ($2200/one-meter pair) looked impressively big in person... [www.audio-magic.com]
...and sounded great along with Audio Magic's
Stealth Kukama DAC ($2499), which will be available this May. [www.audio-magic.com]
Lamm's updated ML1.1 monoblocks ($22,690/pair)
were on static display, the mighty ML2s driving a pair of Wilson Audio WATT/Puppy 7
speakers. [www.lammindustries.com]
GutWire displayed their high-value Basic
digital ($129/meter length) and component $259/meter length) cables... [www.gutwire.com]
...as well as the new Notepad isolation and
damping device ($60 for three), which is designed to be placed either on or under
components. [www.gutwire.com]
The V5 single-ended-triode phono stage (top,
$5295 plus $700 for the optional step-up transformer) and the V6 line stage ($5995) are
both new from Canada's Foundation Research, whose previous phono stages have achieved a
cult-like following.
Stacked electrostats live! Braun from Germany
showed off the LE1 ($15000/pair stacked, $7500 for a single set), which are designed
around the stator for the legendary Quad ESL 57. [www.globeaudiomkt.com]
