LATEST ADDITIONS

CES 2010
It's About Time
Tom Norton  |  Jan 09, 2010  |  First Published: Jan 10, 2010
Though I've covered only a fraction of the rooms at the Venetian so far, with a day to go, my favorite rooms today were the Thiel (above) and the Avalon, where the new Avalon Times were making terrific sounds, driven by monoblock power amps from Jeff Rowland. The Time employs two 11" Nomex-Kevlar composite woofers, a 3.5" concave Ceramic Dome midrange, and a 1" concave Diamond diaphragm tweeter. The Thiel and Avalon systems could not have soundxed more different (Thiel leaner, Avalon warmer and richer) but both flattered a wide range of the music I tried on them. The Avalons, however, will cost you a lot more, at $49,000/pair -- and the fijnish shown is a $4000 option!
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CES 2010
No, Not a Speaker
Tom Norton  |  Jan 09, 2010  |  First Published: Jan 10, 2010
You can be forgiven if this looks like one of those odd, transparent speaker systems. But it wasn't put in the Avalon room to compete with the Avalon Time. Its a passive room treatment device from Acustica Applicata (sounds like a singing technique, like a capella), an Italian company. The visible "eye" is a mechanical iris diaphragm, which combined with a port in the base with an adjustable opening and an internal membrane can tune the device to between 26Hz and 60Hz. This is said to improve the low frequency resolution by tuning out bass problem areas over a narrow or broad range. $3600 each.
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CES 2010
TAD System
Tom Norton  |  Jan 09, 2010  |  First Published: Jan 10, 2010
TAD was demoing both its flagship Reference One speaker (priced in "if you have to ask" territory) and the smaller Compact reference shown here (at $37,000/pair, it's only in the "say again" price range). It sounds spectacular, however, and while you don't need TAD's new disc player and monboblock amps (see below) to make it sing, it couldn't hurt.
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CES 2010
A TAD Big Amp
Tom Norton  |  Jan 09, 2010  |  First Published: Jan 10, 2010
TAD's new monoblock power amp outputs 300W into 8 ohms and 600 watts into 6 ohms. What looks like an amp stand under the thick aluminum chassis is actually a cast iron piece of the amp's structure that houses some of the components and adds to the rigidity of the piece. Each $26,500 monoblock weighs in at 200 lbs.
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Audio Video News
CES 2010: Four overlooked tech trends from CES
SV Staff  |  Jan 09, 2010
Websites and cable TV channels are packed with news from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But with thousands of exhibitors spread out through several convention halls and hotels, there are always lots of stories that go overlooked. Here...
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CES 2010
TAD Goes CD
Tom Norton  |  Jan 09, 2010  |  First Published: Jan 10, 2010
A proprietary master clock , specially designed disc mechanism, and a rigid, die-cast aluminum chassis are only a few of the reason's why TAD's new D600 CD/SACD (2-channel) CD and (two-channel) SACD disc spinner commands a price of $26,500. Available in spring 2010.
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CES 2010
Magico Q5
Tom Norton  |  Jan 09, 2010  |  First Published: Jan 10, 2010
Magico's Q5 loudspeaker is composed entirely of one-half inch thick aluminum, and while the speaker isn't very larga as high-end floor-standers go, each one weighs 400 lbs. There are two 9" woofers, one 9" mid-woofer, one 6A" midrange, and a beryllium tweeter. The latter is new for a for Magico; the other drivers are similar in design to the drivers in other Magico speakers. $54,000 a pair, if you have to ask! For five channels, that's...never mind.
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CES 2010
Magico Magic
Tom Norton  |  Jan 09, 2010  |  First Published: Jan 10, 2010
Here is a cutaway shot of the insides of Magico's Q5. The damping material and crossover have been removed. According to Magico, the speaker is made entirely in-house.
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CES 2010
Atlantic Technology Gets aH PAS
Tom Norton  |  Jan 09, 2010  |  First Published: Jan 10, 2010
Atlantic Technology was showing a near finished prototype of its H-PAS speaker, first seen in early form at CEDIA. H-PAS stands for Hybrid Pressure Acceleration System, a fancy name for what is claimed to be a breakthrough in bass loading. It combines several speaker technologies, including bass reflex, inverse horn, and transmission line. The system is purely passive;there is no subwoofer hidden in the box and the only drivers in the design are the two 5.25" woofers and soft dome tweeter seen in the photo (which does not do the gloss black design justice).
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Audio Video News
CES 2010: Get ready for GoldenEar Technology
SV Staff  |  Jan 09, 2010
One of the best things about big trade shows like CES is running into old friends. I was glad to get the chance to catch up with Definitive Technology founder Sandy Gross, who recently parted ways with the company that he founded in 1990 (and...
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