I've saved the best for last -- my list of the
best systems I heard in Las Vegas, that is. These are the systems I'd most like
to hear in my own listening room -- although they did just fine in the hotel rooms that
housed them.
I mentioned the Aurum Acoustics system (shown
above) earlier, and even after three additional days of listening, it retains its place on
my list. This is a well-designed, synergistic collection of products to settle into and
enjoy, not analyze and pick apart. I also loved the Ascendo
and GTT Audio systems, which used Ascendo and Kharma
speakers, respectively. Both were clear windows into the emotional element of the music,
albeit in different formats: digital for Ascendo and vinyl for GTT Audio.
My vote for the best sound was cast in the
waning hours of the show -- make that THE Show, which is where this system was. After two
failed attempts to get chair space in the Audio Research room, the moons aligned and I was
in the sweet spot with the remote to the Reference 3 preamp ($9995) in hand. Other
products from ARC included the Reference CD7 CD player ($8995) and Reference 210
monoblocks ($19,990/pair) along with Wilson Audio Sophia 2 speakers ($13,990/pair). Cables
were a mix of Shunyata Research and Cardas, along with ARC's own interconnects.
I threw everything at this system -- from the
delicacy of the Jacques Loussier Trio to the bass-heavy vibe of Beck -- and it reproduced
it all with detail, presence and the sort of tonal accuracy that lets you know first-class
sound is happening. My notes say "exciting, accurate, and intensely musical."
The system played in this same room last year used different amps (ARC Reference 300s) and
speakers (Wilson Audio MAXX 2s), and cost much more, but it didn't measure up to this
year's model.
***
The guys at Ayre Acoustics get it.
They understand that assembling an entire
audio system in a hotel room is, at its core, about music, not just sound. Today, they not
only let me play Beck's "Go It Alone" in their room, but they encouraged
it. Way to go! I like Patricia Barber, but there's now a backlash against her music, and
that of Diana Krall, at audio shows. Who knew that making good-sounding albums could be a
hindrance to an artist's career?
A system that combined great sound and
great music -- Louis Armstrong on vinyl when I walked in -- was the one put together by
GTT Audio and the terminally nice Bill Parish. The Kharma Midi Exquisite speakers, at a
cool $75,000 per pair, sounded exquisite driven by an ASR Emitter II Exclusive Blue
integrated amp, which costs a mere $27,000. A Kuzma turntable with Kuzma tonearm and
Shelter cartridge was the source. It was apparent that this system was special as I walked
through the door.
Jim Saxon (left) and Harry Pearson.
Finally, I want to plug Jim Saxon's pre-Jimmy Awards
feature on our SoundStage! A/V site. I'm a big fan of Jim's writing, which is
always erudite and entertaining, and as I've been following in his footsteps and visiting
rooms that he has, I've agreed with his assessments. "He's able to write like that
even after a couple of beers," said Anthony Di Marco in a jealous tone. I hear ya,
man.
***
E-mail never stops.
While here at CES, I've received a couple of
messages regarding the Zanden Model 5000 Signature/Model 2000 Premium DAC/transport
combination that I wrote about in 2005, including one that asks if I've compared the
Zanden combo to one of its competitors under show conditions. Even if I were able to hear
these two competing system here at CES, the rest of the systems and the rooms in which
they would be playing would be complete unknowns, and any conclusions drawn would be of
little value. When you visit a show, you listen to complete systems that are often in poor
rooms, not individual products.
With all of this as an introduction, one
system I was pleased with includes products that I use at home. The Lamm room had the
company's ML2.1 monoblocks driving Wilson Audio MAXX 2 speakers to great effect -- though
not to the same level I experience in my listening room. My system conveys more presence
and bloom than what I heard here, but then there are some differences in equipment. I
don't currently have Lamm's L2 preamp, for instance, and I've never heard the gleaming
Metronome digital combination in use. Even so, I enjoyed the music from a seat off to the
side of the room. I wanted to let others have a chance to hear this system from the sweet
spot, something I can do at home.
And this speaks to show etiquette: I can't
tell you how many times I've seen press barge spontaneously into a room and expect that it
will become their personal listening haven for the time they are there. It happened here
again today, and it's distasteful. From my experience, the print press is far more
inclined to do this than any of us Internet wordmeisters; maybe it has something to do
with the odor of ink.
Keep it for after hours, or do what everyone
else has to: make an appointment.
***
The first day of CES is always filled with
excuses to explain less-than-stellar sound: "The speakers are brand new";
"we just retubed the amp"; "the CD player doesn't sound good until it has
had four days of constant play on it." Two systems I heard, however, needed no
excuses. The first (shown below) used Vitus Audio's massive SM-101 class-A monoblocks
($49,000/pair) to drive Focus Audio Master 2.5 speakers ($17,300/pair), with a dCS P8i
CD/SACD player as the source. There were no tubes, but the sound had warmth and presence
-- and scads of power. The second system was from Canadian manufacturer Aurum Acoustics,
and we've heard it in other forms in the past: Integris CD player ($10,800) and Integris
Active 300B speaker system ($30,000). I listened to entire cuts while in front of this
system, a guilty pleasure during a hectic show.
But what is an audio system without music to
play on it? One of the Alexis Park's large meeting areas is home to a number of music
retailers, including Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records, Chesky Records and Telarc. One
that's sorely missing this year is JVC America. In the past I've added a few of JVC's
XRCDs to my collection each year, but this year there is greater urgency because JVC
America is scheduled to cease sales in the US later in the year. I was fortunate to find a
few titles that I've been meaning to buy at the Music Direct booth, but the XRCD stock was
paltry. If you've been wanting some XRCDs, you better buy quickly. Soon the discs may be
commanding top prices on eBay.
Aside from XRCDs, what was on my mind during
the first day of the show was hygiene. I've had the flu during CES, and there is nothing
worse: there is a lot of work to do, and I'm so sick that I wouldn't, under normal
circumstances, get out of bed. At CES, each sneeze is worrisome, and after shaking hands,
I reach for the hand sanitizer that I carry along with me. I never touch my nose
or eyes. I see others taking the same precautions.
