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CES 2010
Sony Towers Boast Cold-Climate Timbers
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2010
The Sony SS-AR1 has been around since 2006 but we didn't notice it till this show. The three-way, four-driver floorstander features a chambered enclosure with a baffle of Hokkaido-grown maple and side panels of Finnish birch, both of which the designers prize for their "generous reverberation." Drivers include aluminum woofers, sliced-paper midrange, and a tweeter backed with six concentric neodymium magnets. Pricing in mid to high four figures. This is the kind of thing a big manufacturer will do just to prove it can. But don't scoff. We've reviewed other Sony SS-series speakers in the distant past and they were, in fact, superbly musical.
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CES 2010
Quad Passes Bar Exam
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2010
Though Quad is best known for its venerable flat-panel electrostatic speakers, which are true audiophile classics, it has been marketing more conventional box speakers for several years. Thus it is no surprise to find the company releasing its first sound bar. The three-channel L-ite has drivers of silk and kevlar that are designed and manufactured in house. The bar is $699. Add $500/pair for matching surround satellites and $1100 for the 10-inch, 300-watt sub. Shipping in March.
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CES 2010
Epos Rocks the Sat/Sub Category
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2010
We maintain that a well-voiced sat/sub system can be a thing of joy and Epos is one good place to look for one. The 8VS 5.1 system includes a satellite that looks smaller than its 9.25-inch height with matching center and sub. Tweeter is aluminum, woofer is kevlar, and price is $1750. Nice black gloss finishes too.
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CES 2010
Fill Your Atacama Speaker Stand with Joy
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2010
While Atacama makes conventional speaker stands like the ones at far left and right, the star attraction is obviously the Aurora 6 at $449/pair. That price includes the glass columns but not what fills them. So how would you fill your Auroras? This could be a creative opportunity for folks who collect stones, marbles, or beach glass. How it would affect the resonant character of the stand we cannot say.
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CES 2010
AktiMate Is Both Maxi and Mini
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2010
We are maxi. We would prefer to be mini but that would imply a life without pastries and beer. AktiMate, however, inhabits both modes of being with the Maxi and the Mini. Both of these 60-watt active speakers have a cool iPod dock that can fold down into the enclosure when not in use. Both have three line ins, USB in, and ethernet connectivity; the Maxi, a small fraction of an inch taller, adds internet and FM radio plus wi-fi. Maxi: $1000. Mini: $650.
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CES 2010
Resolution Sings a Cantata
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2010
Resolution Audio's Cantata audio server is pleasingly slim but not enough to crowd out the slot-load CD drive. Network connectivity is ethernet and you can also connect source components via SPDIF, XLR, or RCA. iPhone and iPod touch control is available. Price is $6000 and the company offers a similar-looking stereo integrated amp that would complete the set nicely.
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CES 2010
Sonneteer Has Storage Covered
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2010
Sonneteer's Morpheus audio server will play anything your home network dishes up through a PC or other device. You can supplement it with Sonneteer's 3TB external hard drive, which adds the convenience of a slot-load CD drive for burning. The basic unit has 50 watts times two and sells for $3995. Double that if you add the extra drive. One angle that came up in our discussion was the fact that the system rips with metadata from free providers; a more deluxe service costs extra. If you're buying a pricey audio server, find out where it's getting its metadata and consider how that will affect the experience of using it.
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CES 2010
Meridian Dazzles with Sooloos and Colors
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2010
Since we last show-blogged about Meridian's Sooloos audio server, the mag has run a full review. The latest wrinkle for CES 2010 is the ID40 Sooloos Card, which integrates the server with Meridian 800 Series components such as the 861 Surround Controller (now in its sixth generation, $25,995). In the new 808.3 Reference CD Player ($19,995) the card is standard equipment. What pleased us most was the news that the company's amazing active speakers will move beyond their longtime puritan black gloss finish to embrace a rainbow of colors.
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CES 2010
PS Audio Augments DAC with Networking Device
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2010
PS Audio, best known for its high-end DACs and powerline accessories, has augmented its Perfect Wave DAC ($2000) with The Bridge ($500). The latter allows anything on your home network to send signals to the DAC via wi-fi or ethernet. Yup, there's iPhone/iPod touch control and the company may add Google's Android phone to that list "if it gets popular enough."
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CES 2010
There's an App for that Cary Server
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 09, 2010
Hipper audio servers like Cary Audio Design's Music Server are coming with iPhone/iPod touch control. Cary wrote its own app for this purpose. The product has 1TB of onboard storage and can accept an external drive via USB. It backs itself up automatically and comes with Shoutcast internet radio. Pricing was roughly estimated to be $2000-2500.
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