Tom Norton

Hyperion (not to be confused with Aperion) may be a small speaker manufacturer, but expect to hear more from them and about them in the future if their new HPS-968 speakers are any indication of what they're up to. Yes, like most exhibitors at the show, they were demonstrating 2-channel only, and with 35W monoblock tube amps to boot. (I didn't catch the amp brand, but wasn't looking closely at amplifiers at the show). Judging speakers with tube amps if you plan on using them with solid state can be dicey. Apart from any inherent sonic signature the amp may have, the output impedance of many tube designs often interacts with the impedance of a speaker to produce very real frequency response deviations that can be both measured and heard. That's fine if you plan on using tube amps with the speakers (even more appropriate if you plan to use the <I>same</I> tube amp you listened to in the audition), but solid state amps are generally far more neutral in the way they interact with speakers. That's why if I'm auditioning speakers at a show, I prefer that they be driven by a good solid-state amp. Nevertheless, the Hyperion HPS-968s sounded wonderful&mdash;in my opinion one of the best sounds at the show. And yes, Hyperion does make both a center channel and smaller models, the latter suitable for use as surrounds.

Vandersteen does build center channel speakers, subwoofers, and hang-on-the-wall speakers suitable for surrounds, and began as a company that specialized in high performance but surprisingly affordable speakers. They still do build less expensive models that compete strongly in that market segment,, but their flagship Model 5As, at around $15,000 and driven by Audio Research's $40,000/pair Reference 610T, 610W (!!) tube amp (sporting 36 viswible tubes in its two channels and warming up the room quite nicely) weren't designed for the beer-budget crowd. And surrounds, subs, and center channels weren't on the wine-list at the show, either.

These space-age model K1 speakers from Vivid Audio of South Africa will stop traffic in your listening room. At $20,000/pair in a variety of finishes like the Copper shown here, they may alswo put a stop on your bank account. But for a mere $13,500 you can have the smaller B1, which won't go as low but should leave room in the budget for your choice of subwoofers (Vivid does not yet make one). The setup, like most of those I saw on the first day, was strictly 2-channel. But Vivid also makes the matching, 4-way, C1 center channel for $6500. A smaller center is also available, and smaller stand-mounters are said to be in development for surrounds.

The product of a joint effort between Onkyo and an unnamed but (said to be) renouned guitar maker, the Onkyo A-OMF combines a 10cm deiameter woofer and ring-drive tweeter in a cabinet just over 10" high and weighing about 7 lbs. The cabinet's side panels, not much thicker than the shell of a guitar, were vibrating quite lustily during the demo. But a knuckle rap test suggested that they are also well damped. Leo Kottke fans rejoice.