CES 2011

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CES 2011
The Day Before the Day After
 |  Sep 08, 2011  | 
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CES 2011
Paradigm
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 11, 2011  | 
CES 2011
MartinLogan
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 11, 2011  | 
CES 2011
Control 4
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 11, 2011  | 
CES 2011
Mitsubishi TVs
Shane Buettner  |  Jan 11, 2011  | 
CES 2011
Mitsubishi Laservision
Shane Buettner  |  Jan 11, 2011  | 
CES 2011
Thiel SCS4T
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 11, 2011  | 
The new Thiel floorstanding SCS4T (about $3700/pair), mentioned again further down in this report, is a modest speaker by Thiel standards. The single coaxial driver has the advantage of coincidence. That is, the tweeter is mounted coaxially with the woofer, so the two drive units do not produce comb filtering dips in the speaker's response at off axis angles. Coaxial drivers are also used in more upmarket models from Thiel, and also by KEF and Tannoy, but otherwise are relatively rare.

Yes, I heard more dramatically impressive sound at the show, but the Thiel room, one of the first I visited, sounded so honest and right that for me it represented the sort of value that most of the higher-end products could not manage. Of course, a pair of Thiel subwoofers were helping it along in the deep bass!

And unlike nearly all of the speakers heard at the Venetian, the SCS4T is ready for home theater. The older, stand-mount SCS4 (about $2400/pair, available in singles) should be a good match. It uses the same coaxial driver and can be used as a matching center channel, even mounted on its side (a trick that other non-coaxial 2-way speakers cannot do without sonic consequences.

CES 2011
Sony SS-AR1
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 11, 2011  | 
As with the Thiels, we mentioned these Sony speakers earlier in this report. But also like the Thiels, they deserve another mention. No other speakert impressed me as much as this one did at the show. I'm enough of a show veteran to realize just how much the room, associated components, and program material can effect the sound of a system, but under the conditions in the Sony room, in a 2-channel setup (four of the speakers were also being used in a surround system in a different room) they impressed me about as much as any speaker ever has at a trade show. The sound was punchy, dynamic, and full-bodied without being overblown. And they made both modern and classical music sound real—few speakers can do as well on both.

The SS-AR1's (I sense an homage in that name) have been on the market in Japan since 2006, but have recently been upgraded in the voicing and crossover department.

But will we ever see them for sale here in the states? Possibly, but this show appeared to be a trial run to judge dealer interest. That's been a problem with Sony speakers in the past, and there have been some very good ones. High-end dealers are reluctant to take on Sony speakers, and Sony dealers are reluctant to take on speakers this expensive—currently about $27,000/pair in Japan.

Associated equipment included Pass Laboratories monoblock solid state amps and an EMM Labs (Meitner) Reference SACD/CED player.

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CES 2011
Marten Getz
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 11, 2011  | 
Another potential best-of-show system has to include the Heritage Series Getz, a new model from Sweden's Marten loudspeakers. With their all ceramic drivers from Acuton (apart from a passive radiator, one of the large cones visible in the photo) they were very different in balance from the Sony speakers, above. Faster on their feet and even more sparklingly detailed, but less weighty and majestic sounding. And at $20,000, cheaper, though not exactly a blue-light special.
CES 2011
Dept of Wretched Excess
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 11, 2011  | 
While I can't say I had any complaints about the sound of this system featuring Lamm tubed electronics and Wilson Alexanria X-2 MkII, at around $675,000 (2-channels only, of course) it was a bit, um, over the top.
CES 2011
B2 Titan
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 11, 2011  | 
I've never heard of the Italian loudspeaker company B2, but their Titan, which stands about 65-inches tall and weighs in at 286 lbs, sounded spectacular in a very large room. The mids and highs were particularly transluscent, thanks to a pair of ceramic-coned midranges from Accuton and a 6" ribbon tweeter. The smaller speaker on the right in the photo is the Hebe (not heard). Estimated retail prices as of show time were about $75,000/pair for the Titan and $19,500 per pair for the Hebe.
CES 2011
Pass Laboratories SR-2
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 11, 2011  | 
Most of our budgets won't stretch to the $18,000/pair level of these floorstanders, but with their Nextel series drivers from Seas of Norway, each speaker with one 7-inch midrange driver, one 10-1/4-inch long excursion woofer, and a 1.1-inch HEXADYM™ magnet tweeter, the Pass Pabs SR-2s sounded mighty sweet.
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CES 2011
Joseph Audio Gets Perspective
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 11, 2011  | 
Hardly cheap at a mere $11,800 per pair, but a bargain compared to some of the above systems, Joseph Audio's new Perspective floor standers are an outgrowth of the company's $7000 pulsar stand-mount monitor, with an added 5" woofer in a larger cabinet. They sounded superb, with far more bass than I expected.
CES 2011
Goggle Guy
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 11, 2011  | 
From Liquid Imaging Co. LLC comes the Summit Series HD combination video camera and snow goggles. The integrated wide angle HD camera captures the wearer's point of view while the skier is shushing down the slopes!
CES 2011
Anthem
Shane Buettner  |  Jan 11, 2011  | 

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