January 5 - Part 1

Hansen's The Prince ($27,000) follows on the heels of (what else?) The King, which we saw and heard at last year's CES. Company owner Lars Hansen invented the The Prince's Hansen Composite Matrix cabinet material as well as designed the speaker's bass and midrange drivers. The sound was detailed and a touch sweet -- very good.

Zanden's Model 300 passive preamp ($2500) retains the mirrored look of the company's other products and includes four sets of inputs and two sets of outputs. [www.zandenaudio.com]

The styling of Silverline Audio's Grandeur Mk II ($15,000/pair) echoes that of the first iteration of the speaker, but the new model is much shorter. It is also available in piano-black finish. [www.silverlineaudio.com]

A trio of new products from Conrad-Johnson, including the CA200 "control amplifier" ($6500), which Lew Johnson described as "a power amp with passive controls...,"

"...the MET150 enhanced-triode" multichannel amp ($8500)...,

...and the PV15 ($2800), the newest PV-series stereo preamp. The PV15 can be ordered with an optional phono stage ($850).