Montreal 2001 Show Goodies!
by Rick
Becker
Linn toned down their presentation this year, presenting a surround system with their bookshelf size Tukan speaker
($1,300 CD) augmented with subwoofers ($2,600 each) crossed over at 60 Hz. A Sony S9000 DVD/SACD player played a Tina Turner video of Tina (with Elton John on Piano?) doing "Proud Mary". It was very engaging, as long as I watched the video. The experience became less exciting when I closed my eyes. (At The Analog Shop in Victor, NY, near home, I've watched excellent video with only stereo sound coming from Linn 5140 speakers where the theater experience was just as engaging.
Naim is another British full system manufacturer, but unfortunately, both times I dropped into their room,
nothing seemed to be happening. Chalk one up to bad timing.
Monsoon Audio from British Columbia is best known for their audio systems for the computer with several stereo satellite/subwoofer systems and now a full surround system. The satellites use two 4" X 8" dipole radiating planar magnetic drivers. The powered sub, whose amp also powers the satellites, extends the frequency response down to 50 Hz. The system I saw was priced at $299.
The big news at Monsoon, however, was their trio of floor standing dipolars using Monsoon drivers mounted in very nicely styled wood frames made for them in Asia. Small, medium and large priced at
$1,000, $2,000 and $3,000 CD. These struck me as a very good value, and hopefully some reviews will be forthcoming from someone. I heard the mid-size model, which seemed appropriate for the size of the room. The electronics were from McIntosh.
Mastersound, an Italian company that manufactures amps for other companies showed their impressive Due Venti S.E. integrated.
(two channels X 20 watts, Class A, parallel single ended, zero feedback, output impedances for
four or eight ohms, weighing in at 23 kg. It was very nicely finished at a reasonable
$2,450 CD.
I also saw Mastersound phono and line stages. Their use of wood, chrome and black metal is very handsome.
Sonus Faber, a dealer leaked to me, is preparing a new smaller Amati, which will be a two-way floor stander with one less woofer and be about waist high (approx.
one meter). With the Amati at $22,000 USD, and the economy slowing down, I expect Sonus Faber is looking for action in a lower price range.
Simaudio is breaking ground with the shape of their new processor for surround sound, and the matching DVD player that was shown in prototype form and scheduled for fall production. Looking more like large amplifiers, they are breaking outside the box with curved sides.
Stepping down from the Evidence speakers shown last year, I had a chance to see Dynaudio's Confidence 3 with its Esotar tweeter. This stand-mounted speaker comes in at $12,000 CD.
With a Naim front end, and a Pass amp, I found the Dynaudio Contour 1.8 tower speaker too focused and edgy for my tastes. The system did not seem well balanced.
Audio Analog, who makes some excellent real world amps, went way upstream with their very impressive looking Maestro integrated
amplifier (solid state, 150 wpc., $9,000 CD). A matching CD player will be ready in about a
month. ...yeah, a month, a moon, it's all the same.
In another room I saw a Pathos speaker on display with a quasi-exposed tweeter on top. Possibly it will be called the "Emotion" and the price will be about
$9,000 CD. It was not playing at the time. However, a pair of Pathos monoblocks was powering a pair of Opera tower speakers whose profile from the top looked somewhat like a horseshoe, with the "U" facing the back wall. Not only was this nicely sculpted and finely finished with beautiful woodwork, but it sounded great and was projected to cost in the neighborhood of only
$3,500-3,800, CD.
While on the subject of Pathos, I saw elsewhere, a prototype integrated amp with heat sinks on the side that spelled out "PATHOS" when you looked at them from above. This 150 wpc. hybrid amp with a pair of exposed small tubes nestled in a chrome plated V at the front of the amp will be in the
$5,000 CD range, placing it below the Twin Towers and above the Model One. Very trick!
For New Age dilatants, like me, who prefer to get their fix from National Public Radio's "Hearts of Space" program, Magnum Dynalab created their new MD-100 tuner, which replaces the Etude, I was told. The new model is available with several upgrades of Kimber cable options, and starts about
$1,800 CD.
Gershman Audio's Avant Garde speaker ($5,200 CD) was sounding very good with a $6000 Meridian CD player directly feeding Kora Cosmos monoblocks
($7,000 CD, 100 wpc.). Lots of audio points were everywhere in this system.
Summum is a custom speaker builder who showed another client's custom designed model this year, complete with the custom designed amps for the speakers. Each pair of speakers is made for a specific room. Their woodwork is very good, and becoming increasingly complex as their experience grows. Their angular designs have an architectural flavor.
Cairn made a styling splash with a DVD player prototype that borders on art. The oval face of the player reminds me of some of Picasso's faces of women. You've gotta see it.
Verity Audio always seems to have a great sound with their Parsifal speaker. This year I had the pleasure of hearing it with a Tenor amp. And in another room, their Fidelio put out real music with a Wadia CD player feeding an Audio Research VT-100 amp. Excellent, gentlemen!
A pair of Verity Audio speakers in quilted maple on display in the large ballroom was one of the prettiest speakers at the show. More excellence!
For the second year in a row I heard the Wilson Benesch Bishop speaker--this time with the grilles on (hiding the ugly back sides of the drivers that face the listener). They were sounding mighty fine driven by Jeff Rowland amps.
In a different room I heard the smaller Wilson Benesch floor standing speakers powered by Audio Aero tube monoblocks putting out 40 wpc, single ended, using 211 tubes (VT4C). The amps were $20,000 US/pr. An expensive system, but a good one.
Back to the real world, Visonik had a new pair of $700 monitors on stands. The E352 II speakers were powered by Creek electronics that sounded very nice. Nothing to be ashamed of here!
Two new Epos speakers were on static display: the M12 for $1,399 was on stands, and the M15 floor stander for
$1,899 CD.
And while we're on that side of the Atlantic, Harbeth model 40 studio monitors, featuring upgraded drivers, were sitting on short stands, putting out music that was very easy to listen to. These are monitors in the "studio" tradition with large boxes and a wide, rectangular face--not the narrow, small, stand-mounted monitors that are currently in vogue. They were on stands about a foot tall to bring them up to proper height for the listening chairs. These speakers are for people who like to listen to music for long periods of
time... like say, fifteen or twenty years. ...and not be bothered by equipment changes.
And while on the subject of studio monitors, lets segue to the Bryston room with their British liaison to PMC monitors. The large box PMC's were sounding a little sharp at the top end for a $14,000 speaker.
Perhaps they were not fully broken in. It was really nice to hear Bryston gear actually playing at this show. It hasn't always been so. Their reputation is well deserved.
In speaking with one of their representatives at the cocktail hour on Saturday night, I learned that the silver face is now sold on about 40% of their production, and virtually all of their pieces that are sent to Japan. The Japanese have this thing about the color black, I understand. Nonetheless, as I've reported in past years, the Bryston gear looks great in silver. On silent display I saw their new preamp/processor.
Cliffhanger Audio was sounding better than ever this year powered by a Jolida 1000. The stand-mounted speaker I heard featured a ribbon tweeter, dome midrange and a woofer. I'm not sure if this was the Bulldog model from last year or a new model.
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