Scott Wilkinson

Like last year, the 2010 CEA Line Shows event was held at 7 West 34th St., taking over the entire 11th floor of what is otherwise a design center, no doubt one of many in midtown Manhattan. And that floor was definitely more crowded than last year—according to executive producer Martin Porter, about 70 exhibitors (twice as many as last year) and roughly 1500 attendees, an increase of more than 30 percent. Not only that, there were quite a few new-product announcements that had not been originally made at CES. Clearly, the whole idea of a consolidated line show has gained some traction, as I hoped it would.

It seems I spoke too soon. Last week, I profiled the <A href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/ultimate-gear/audio_note_gaku-on_monoblock... Note Gaku-On monoblock</A>, calling it the most expensive power amp I know of on a per-watt basis, which was a true statement at the time. But as soon as I posted that profile, Cornelia Davis of <A href="http://www.audiofederation.com">Audio Federation</A> informed me of another tube-based monoblock that, watt for watt, costs even more&#151;the ML3 Signature from Brooklyn-based <A href="http://www.lammindustries.com">Lamm Industries</A>.

All photos by Scott Wilkinson