CES Day 4: Pioneer EX Speakers
 |  Jan 07, 2006

Finally, the Pioneer EX series speakers mentioned in my Day 1 report (below) were producing some of the best sounds at the show—at the Alexis or anywhere else. Thew demo here was 2-channel only, using the big S-7EX floor-stander. I found very little to criticize in what I heard, but hope to get the chance to review these speakers very soon in a full mulichannel array. I'm not convinced that Pioneer's decision to market these speakers under their own name is a wise one. US audiophiles have never made a beeline for Japanese speakers (though many of them are now listening to Chinese ones!!). But the speakers are actually a hybrid of Japanese manufacturing, British design (from speaker designer Andrew Jones, who also designed the up market TAD speakers that use similar but not identical drivers) and French (cabinet) styling. If you're in the market for a $9000 pair of speakers, or a surround package built around them, they definitely deserve a listen. I'll have more to say in an upcoming review. .&mdash;<I>TJN</I>

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CES Day 4: Thiel
 |  Jan 07, 2006

Thiel's new 3.7 loudspeaker replaces the 3.6, a model that has been in the line for 13 years! The 3.7 (shown in prototype form only and not actively demonstrated) looks radically different, with its new cabinet design and cone material. Particularly interesting is the design of the coaxial midrange-tweeter driver. The ring-like midrange that surrounds the tweeter is ribbed for rigidity, and driven by a 3-inch voice coil at the center radius of the driver. Shipment is planned for early spring, at a price to be announced later. A new center channel will also be designed around the new coaxial driver, but is still some ways from completion. .&mdash;<I>TJN</I>

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CES Day 4: HSU Research
 |  Jan 07, 2006

HSU Research is now shipping its new VTF-3HO flagship subwoofer. It may also be enhanced by the Turbo package, an outboard enclosure linked directly to the main sub to extend the port length. It is said to produce the output of <I>two</I> non-turbo VTF-3HOs. Po Ser Hsu had top of these puppies in the corners of a room about the size of two walk-in closets, and to say that the bass was powerful would be an understatement. It also sounded <I>very</I> deep; don't let anyone tell you that you can't do bass in a small room.&mdash;<I>TJN</I>

CES Day 4: Conrad-Johnson
 |  Jan 07, 2006

Conrad-Johnson has two new home theater components to go with its current CAS200 6-channel preamp. The latter offers no processing, but instead relies on the Dolby Digital and DTS processing in most DVD players. To go with this, an updated universal DVD player will be available both from C-J and McCormack (essentially the same player, but with different face plates). It's an extensive updating of the previous McCormack player, using premium parts, and will be called the Conrad-Johnson Edition of the McCormack UDP-1. The price will be $3995. There will also be a MET150 multi-channel power amp ($8500) in the spring, with 150Wpc into 8 ohms and single ended triodes used for voltage gain, with solid-state output stages.&mdash;<I>TJN</I>

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CES Day 4: Bladelius
 |  Jan 07, 2006

Taking a break from speakers, I stopped in on Swedish manufacturer Bladelius. Designer Michael Bladelius worked on Threshold and Forte amps back in the early 1990s, and now has a complete line of amps, preamps, and home theater electronics bearing his name. They're beautifully done, all named after Norse legends, and all will induce sticker shock. The Grendel 5-channel power amp is priced at $9200. For that you get 350Wpc into 8 ohms and a switching power supply (a conventional supply will make the amp too heavy with that power output!). It's a modular design that may be configured many different ways (prices will vary with other configurations). The Enris pre-pro offers a front-panel widescreen display, HDMI switching, on-board video processing, balanced operation, and a price ranging from $15-$18K. It will ship in the spring.&mdash;<I>TJN</I>

CES Day 4: Bolzano Villetri
 |  Jan 07, 2006

The line of speakers from the Italian company Bolzano Villetri may not have been the best sounding at the show (though they may have had the must <I>unique</I> sound) but they were certainly the most unusual (obvious from the photos), and possibly the most gorgeous as well. Briefly, they consist of drivers firing upward and downward, in most cases two woofer-midranges and two small tweeters. The resulting sound fires out on all sides, for a (nearly) omnidirectional sound. The largest floorstander shown, the Great Torre, is priced at $9000. The slightly smaller Piazetta (love those names&mdash;sounds like a small pizza) goes for $6000 (its 6.5-inch woofers would likely be a good match for a subwoofer), and the short Cantora center is $3000. Also shown was a smaller line of speakers using similar technology in less complex enclosures (no prices available yet). But even those were beautiful.

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Bolzano Villetri Center
 |  Jan 07, 2006

Shown is the Bolzano Villetri Cantora center channel speaker.

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CES Day 4: Genesis
 |  Jan 07, 2006

Genesis Advanced Technologies had two major new introductions, plus new subs. The Genesis 3 employs midrange/tweeter line arrays in a dipole configuration, together with an on-board subwoofer. But the new, small F7.1p ($2950-$3250/pair, depending on finish) might be more home-theater friendly. I heard them in a 2-channel configuration, along with the new S2/8 sub ($TBD), and they sounded very honest and neutral. And while they could be used with a Genesis center, they are small enough that they could work nicely in all channels. A bit pricey, perhaps, but Genesis speakers have never been low-end designs. &mdash;<I>TJN</I>

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CES Day 4: Dali
 |  Jan 07, 2006

Dali was featuring its flagship MegaLine driven by McIntosh components, and they sounded spectacular. But at $42,000/pair, they have to. In the real world, the new Dali IKON line offers a complete range of speakers, including center channels, surrounds and subwoofers. The large floor-standing IKON 6 ($1595/pair) sounded very promising. All the models employ a ribbon tweeter; most are 3- or 4-way designs (only the smallest center channel is 2-way).&mdash;<I>TJN</I>

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CES Day 4: PSB and NAD
 |  Jan 07, 2006

Today was my day to cover the Alexis Park, the site of the high-end audio exhibits. Since my beat is home theater, and the Alexis exhibits specialize in 2-channel setups, much of my time was taken up searching for speakers that might find a comfortable spot in a home theater setup, along with the odd subwoofer, pre-pro or multi-channel amp.

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