Any member feedback from C.E.S. 2006?

Nordost gave an excellent demo of their cables, swapping in interconnects up their entire line, with obvious sonic improvements with each swap. He said there are no plans to replace Valhalla at this time.

The Gaylord maps were memorable, although they are oil cooled, not water cooled. Water would evaporate too quickly, probably short something out.

Overall, I noticed a couple things:
1. People were playing music way too loud. An acoustic bass being bowed should not be too loud to shout over; the decay at the end of a cymbal strike should not sound like a shop vac.
2. Most systems sounded vry good with the demo discs that most people were using. These were typically high quality recordings of intimate jazz ensembles - piano, drums, vocalist, maybe horn(s). But I noticed that when I played my non-audiophile discs, many systems had an aggressive upper midrange. I don't know if this was due to the rooms, the equipment, or just not enough time to tweek.
3. There were a couple standout rooms in which even my lowly recordings sounded very good, and the audiophile stuff was even better:

AUDIOPAX - They were demoing new solid state monoblocks and new speakers. This was a standout room last year, and was even better this year. Last year, I thought their sound was a good blend of analytical and musical sound. This year, the sound was more musical in that it had all the resolution, frequency extension and analytical qualities, yet didn't make you think "this is a bit analytical" Just musical with the rich qualities of real music.

BURMESTER - Very powerful, clean and musical, while being highly resolving. This is some of the most impressive gear I've come across. The casework has to be seen to be appreciated, and musically one of the best in the show (IMHO).

ASCENDO - There were a couple systems set up. One had a Reimyo CD player, CAT JL2 (I think) monoblocks, cna't remember pre. This system had excellent sound. I made a note that it might not have gotten the very, very deepest of bass notes, but it got awfully close. The other systems were set up in an upstairs room, and sounded good, but not quite so impressive. I blame the room for this, as the floor was quite flexible. I could lift my heels a half inch off the floor, and let myself drop, and the whole room would shake, and I only weigh 150 lbs.

All of the above systems were very powerful, able to handle large-scale music with finesse, were natural sounding with more intimate music, and could play my non-audiophile CDs musically. They are also terribly expensive. I couldn't pick out a favorite based on sound, but since the entire Audiopax system cost a fraction of the others, it has to be the standout. Plus, they were some of the nicest people there.

One other standout room was the Von Schweikert hall, with VR-7SEs being driven with an Oracle CD player and VAC amps. Similar sound to the onews mentioned above, but I didn't get a chance to use my CDs.

Also, if anyone heard the Joseph Audio room early in the show, the sound got a lot better later on. On my first listen, I couldn' tstay in the room. I went back later, and the sound was very good. Apparently something had not been set properly, causing the amplifiers to be overdriven.

The Quattros sounded great also. One of the most natural and coherent at the show

I thought the sound, as usual, was best at THE Show. I heard four speakers that impressed me. First the Zen Acoustics little guys with the Red Dragon switching amp. Second the Tonian $1500 speakers which have to be the best buy for the money. Third were the Ars Aures big speakers. With low phase distortion, they gave an excellent sound stage and realism. I could listen all day with the Art Audio 845 amps. Fourth and best, were the Cerious Technologies satellite speakers with powered subwoofers. They were no doubt helped by the H-Cat, but their sound stage realism was dumbfounding. I have never heard such accurate bass. They are also incredibly priced at $7800.

The Acapella Violon Mk IIIs were also excellent, but their price is offputting. The little one, also pricy, were also excellent.

APL had a complete system. The sound and the price was outstanding. It is very difficult to consider a $20k mod of the Esoteric player which removes everything except the transport and chassis. It would be worth very little used.

I heard the Australian, megabuck turntable. It was very good, and I would be very interested were it to cost $7500 total.

The big MacIntosh 110 drivers speakers were awful. I would take them if they paid me enough.

I heard the DartZeel preamp and amps but could not really get a feel for the sound given that the speakers were overloading the room. The sound was much better at the RMAF. I would love to have them in my home to find out what the fuss is about and whether I agree.

Much to my disappointment, the Consonance 211 amps were not at the show.

Finally, I thought the Soaring Audio system with their Falcon media center hard drive running their amp sounded quite good. Overall, there were many hard drive digital systems there and all sounded good. There was no comparison with better players, such as the Reimyo or Exemplar, however.

THE Show needs to make an agreement with Hooters who now owns the San Remo hotel. That would be a hoot.

Overall I thought it was a good show. A few high level observations;

1. The music being played this year was not as good as last year. I walked away with only 3 new (to me) artists.

2. There were more good sounding rooms this year than last.

3. My most repeated comment was "Sure it sounds pretty good, but how much did you say that costs!?"

A few specific impressions

Nordost power cables, swapping a stock power cord to a Vishnu on a plasma display made the images simply come alive. Color, texture, motion capture and blacks all improved. This really makes me wonder what they could do for audio.

Continuum / Peak Consult room had really good sound, one of the better rooms at THE Show and CES. An assessment of value varies, but it should have sounded that good for what the system cost. Continuum table, Boulder phono stage, WAVAC mono block amps, WAVAC pre-amp (I think), Empress speakers (Peak Consults $25 or $30k offering) not sure what cartridge or cables. I went in this room with high expectations and was not dissappointed.

Danish (Swiss?) Statement room: For $500k this system should have rocked...and it did. Best I've ever heard a four tower speaker system integrate.

Von Schweikert V9SE / Dartzeel / EMM Labs: Awesome sound that got better on day 2 of the show (smoother mids and highs w/less bass overload). The new pre-amp is a stunning piece of gear and in my experience you'll not find better guys in the biz than the Dartzeel guys. New Grand Prix 'table seemed to be promising and I'm sure it was helped by the Dartzeel pre-amps built in phono stage. One of the best rooms at the show.

MBL room: Two years in a row now these guys cranked the volume up to 21 and its only enough for me to say...yup, awesome bass...yup they play loud...yup, big soundstage...next.

Usher room: Awesome sound and my pick for biggest surprise and one of the best sounds at the show. The big $16k Dancers and their little $7k brother are simply a stunning speaker. The (full!) line of Usher electronics also seemed to exhibit great promise. Finally a room with killer sound that is relatively affordable and simply spanked a lot of the big buck rooms.

Nuforce room: Again using Usher Dancers (the $7k ones)...ahh...now I get what everyone is raving about. This room simply rocked. One of my favorites and...GASP...its affordable!

Accappela / Chapter audio: Great sound but forget the models displayed.

Prima Luna / Upscale Audio room: If I ever were to buy a speaker based on looks it would be the Sonus Faber Amati Anniversarios (sp?) in this room. Oh and the sound was not bad either! The Prima Luna pre-amp and mono-blocks(!) sounded good. Source was the Ah! CD player.

Vandy Quattros / ARC: Good sound, can't go wrong with that combo but $3k for the wood finish! We'll see how that goes with the consumers.

BAT room: Good sound, Wilson Max 2s were a little slow and thick in the bass. Maybe a room problem?

Audio Note Japan room: Awesome sound, but I would have expected that from a $160k pair of mono blocks driven by a $85k pre-amp and a $25k (47 labs Pi tracer) CD player. The value(!?) in this room was the speakers...Art Audio (I think) 2 ways for $30k.

JAS Audio: Totally new to me company with full line of electronics and good sounding speakers using all ceramic drivers.

Boulder actually had an active display with their new (affordable) electronics and B&W 802Ds and sounded good.

Apogee's were reincarnated and being displayed in some room with good sound

Dissappointments:
Did I miss the Walker 'table anywhere!?
Never did get into the Magico room

Ok, I'm done playing reviewer for now. There was much more of course, but its escaping me at the moment Perhaps more later.

I was wondering if anyone heard the Merlins?Thanks,Bob