LATEST ADDITIONS

When I saw the Escalante Design Fremont speaker at <a href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/he2007/051207fremont/" target="new">HE 2007</a>, I was mightily impressed with their neutrality and precise bass. Fast forward to CES 2008, and things were different. While the midrange and upper frequencies were still sublime, the switch to KR Audio tube monoblocks, from the VTL Reference S-400 stereo amplifier were a mistake as for all of KR's other virtues, bass control was not one of them. Still, one of the better sounds at the show.

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For one of my last demos of CES2008, I stopped by the Definitive Technology room in the Venetian. There, in addition to showing off the newest Mythos ST speakers, they were putting on demos of the company’s new Solo Surround Array speakers. The SSAs join the growing number of single speaker simul-surround thingees that reduce the multiple speakers of the traditional surround system to one slim one. Of all the slender systems I’ve heard, the Definitive SSA-50 is by far the most impressive, the most surrounding, and the most amazing. Regardless of whether I was standing in the back of the room or in the middle of the room’s “sweet spot”, the effect was stunningly immersive. It certainly won’t replace a full-blown 5.1-channel system, but for the rear-speaker challenged, wire-averse, or stubbornly dcor-driven, this is a single-speaker solution that will make you sit up and listen.

TAD has a new Compact Monitor under development, and while it's still a year or so away from commercial availability, it was on demo at this year's CES. Driven by prototypes of new TAD class A monoblock amplifiers (150Wpc into 8 ohms, 600WPC into 2 ohms), it sounded sensational, with the apparent ability to convincingly replicate the weight and power of a full symphony orchestra, an ability that escapes most loudspeakers.