Daily Coverage - May
31st
All prices are quoted in euros unless
otherwise noted.
1 € is approximately 1.18 US dollars at time of report.
 
Germany's Ascendo displayed a new version of
their System Z loudspeaker (the older System Z will continue to be available as well).
This 16,000 €-per-pair version omits the large bracket-type stand of the regular
System Z and features a shorter and deeper high-frequency cabinet for the ribbon tweeter.
Even without the stand, the System Z is still time-alignment adjustable for listening
position because the top cabinet can be moved back and forth on the woofer chamber.
 
The stylish Vaessen Audio Design Box Signature
loudspeaker retails for 5500 € per pair. There is also a similar Box Audiophile
model for 4500 € per pair, and a Box Studio Monitor version for 3250 €
per pair. The differences in each Box speaker include cosmetic enhancements and higher
parts quality as you move up the line.
 
Rounding out the speaker coverage for the day
is Finland's Penaudio. The new Rebel2 two-way loudspeaker mounted on top of a Chara
subwoofer, shown in the birch finish, is an attractive combination that produced pleasing
sound. The sub uses a 7" driver crossed over at 180Hz. The Rebel2s are
1395 € per pair, and the Charas are 2295 € per pair.
Ampflion Audio showed the WT 14-27SE
single-ended switch-adjustable 15- or 30-watt integrated amplifier. The retail price is
3400 €.
We were impressed by Cayin products in
Montreal -- and now in Germany too. The company showed the Mini 1998 13W class-AB
push-pull amplifier (left) and the Mini SM-5 preamplifier, priced at 1500 € and
332 €, respectively.
The Cayin SC-10 preamplifier is a dual-mono
design that uses four 6922 and two 5AR4 tubes. This remote-control unit sells for
5000 €.
Electrocompaniet's NADA is silver-faceplated
version of the company's 400 MB 400W mono amplifier. The price of the NADA is
9700 € per pair.
Germany's Vincent showed the new
2990 € SAV-C1 surround-sound processor, which features standard processing modes
plus DTS-ES and Dolby Pro Logic II.
Well-known turntable maker Thorens showed the
TD-850 turntable, which comes with a tonearm and sells for 1299 €. The TD-850 is
available in aluminum (shown) or black.
As analog keeps advancing, so too does
digital. Above is Audio Aero's
Prestige SACD player (13,000 €; similar looking, but not the Prestige A/V player
that was shown at previous shows), which takes a DSD bitstream and, using a "DSD/PCM
bridge circuit," converts it to 88.2kHz PCM and then resamples the signal to
24-bit/192kHz using Audio Aero's proprietary STARS DSP engine. The company claims that
this method suppresses SACD's high-frequency noise and improves the signal-to-noise ratio
by 9dB. |
