Conrad-Johnson's soon-to-be-available Premier 18LS remote-controlled solid-state preamp will cost $3495.

Genesis showed a new speaker at CES 2001, the $20,000-per-pair 450XS.

The robotic-looking GWA-4 loudspeaker ($3000 per pair) is from Greenwave Audio, a Hungarian audio company.

The Loth-X Polaris is a horn-loaded model and retails for around $7000.

Like many other new speakers, the NHT MegaTwo (left, $900 per pair) and MegaOne ($600 per pair) are intended for two-channel or home-theater use.

The Blue Circle BC8 mono amp ($6950 per pair) is a product about which its designer, the normally sedate Gilbert Yeung, is waxing poetic.

Expensive products were the name of the game at CES 2001, and a few eye-catching examples resided in the Sakura Systems room. Above is the 47 Labs Pitracer CD transport ($25,000), which exposes part of the disc during play.

In use along with the 47 Labs CD transport was the Kore-eda Laboratory Model 2660B two-box preamp ($27,500).

To finish off this system, Rethm The Second speakers ($6000 per pair) feature whizzer-cone drivers and uniquely designed cabinets.

The Lumenwhite Whitelight speakers ($34,000 per pair) use concave ceramic drivers. They played with the Vaic 52B single-ended mono amplifiers ($18,000 per pair) to a packed room of people who admired their sound and looks.

Clayton Audio's Spartan-looking P2000 preamp ($2800) was shown at last year's CES in a prototype form. It was paired this year with Clayton's mammoth S2000 stereo amplifier ($8000).