Teresonic
Teresonic was showing two loudspeakers, the Ingenium and the Magus, as well as running their Reference 2a3 integrated amplifier. The Speakers are high-efficient single-drivers and have outstanding midrange sonics producing some of the very best vocals at CES. Transients and decay was top notch, and it is very easy to fall for the perspective that this room provided. The Teresonics have utterly cohesive sound, extended treble response, solid bass depth (from the large Ingeniums) with very high sensitivity making them ideal for low powered tube amplifiers. They are not ideal for rock or harder hitting music – the Delerium track “Silence” had them running out of drive and speed in the bass registers which would have me lean away from this type of music, although it should be noted that the midband and treble were incredibly fast and open and uncongested. Despite the lack of bass drive, the midrange up was all-day listenable, and even beguiling. At prices that range from $9,975 to $14,475 depending on driver choices etc, the Teresonic room was one of my favourites at getting the beauty of the music across, and isn’t that the point? The little Magus speakers were no slouch either. They did not have quite the bass depth, but from my short audition they were on par in the other respects. It would be interesting to hear the Magus speakers augmented to a subwoofer or two. They range from under $4,000 to just under $6,000 and also have 98dB+ sensitivity. I came back to this room on a few occasions and each time I left thinking – beautiful.
Avalon Acoustics/Karan Acoustics/Zanden Audio Systems
Karen brought massive monoblocks and preamp along with Zanden handling the digital front-end. This room sounded relaxed and laid back – but had some giddy up when called upon. Many would undoubtedly find this to be the anti-thesis to overly analytical solid-state designs.
Sibatech
This room had some interesting sound but every time I went I could not get a good listening position so I will have to reserve comment on this room – too bad because I loved their look and craftsmanship.
Sonist Loudspeakers/Glow Audio
This room was one of, if not the star budget room, of CES. The smaller floorstanding speaker was playing and is called the Recital 3 with 6-inch woofer and ribbon tweeter with a sensitivity of 93dB – 8ohms and priced at $2,195.00 (pair). The speakers were driven with a massive 5-watt-per-channel Glow audio 832 amp retailing for $795. The larger speaker is called the Concerto 3 priced at $4,195. The source was a Cary 306 Pro SACD-CD player and they were running an Acoustic Revive Power conditioner, and Cable Research labs provided the power cords, interconnects and speaker cables. The sound was open, lively and maintained a surprising level of resolution. A little box noise and some degree of directionality; but those are minor quibbles in a very easy-on-the-ears sound with some drive. The speakers were smooth, detailed, and very easy to listen to – a winner especially at these prices.
Meridian
The Meridian room was packed when I went as they were running several demos and explanations of their Soolos interface system. Fortunately, my local dealer carries Meridian and the Soolos interface and it is quite an interface. Unfortunately, I could not comment on the sound of this room too much.
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