High End Society 2002 Show Frankfurt Germany

Sunday

  World-renowned loudspeaker company Dynaudio featured their Confidence C4 floorstanding loudspeaker ($16,000, left). This new design employs a pair of Dynaudio's new Esotar² one inch tweeter, a pair of 5.25 inch midrange divers, and a pair of 7 inch woofers. Paying close attention to every detail, a special 40mm thick floating construction front baffle combined with the tweeters being mounted on their own aluminum plate for added stability/rigidity. Sharing much of the same construction techniques, Dynaudio's Confidence C2 ($12,000, right) with the same tweeter and two 6 inch midrange/woofers. Both models have Dynaudio's Directivity Control (DDC) that controls the dispersion pattern within the vertical plane (floor/ceiling).

 

TacT's M2150 digital integrated amplifier makes use of only one coil and one capacitor within the audio path. The internal digital mechanism of this unit is claimed to operate at 2048 times faster than that of the16-bit/44.1kHz compact disc. In fact the signal is upsampled to 384kHz while the internal software for the DSP is fully upgradeable. Built in 24-bit/192kHz digital to analog converters are complimented by a digital pre-amplification stage with full 24-bit resolution. The amplification stage provides 300 watts per channel, two channels. There is no usage of feedback locally or globally in this design.

 

Those of you Lehmann Audio Black Cube owners looking for the next level of performance, their new Silver Cube Phono Stage (€2,500) may be the next logical step. Mundorf foil MKP capacitors in the RIAA stage are combined with a discrete FET output stage. No negative feedback is used with this design. Each gain stage has fast parallel voltage regulators while overall gain can be set in four steps (to upwards of 66dB). Insuring rigidity, the case is made from a single block of aluminum that also doubles as a heat sink. Gold plated female RCA connectors by WBT provide a secure connection. As for the power supply... 120 watts torroid, isolation coil between primary and secondary stage... ultra-fast recovering diodes... low noise regulators...

 

The JVC XV-9000 DVD-Audio/Video player (€5,000) includes their "Extended K2" technology with plenty of flexibility and outputs.

 

Gryphon's new Cantata loudspeaker (€19,000) includes an active Q controller that adapts the loudspeaker to your listening room for improved lower frequency response. Divers are two 5 inch woofers mated with 1 inch tweeter. A specialized crossover insures phase linear frequency response from 35Hz to 22kHz, yet with the included Q controller it can go down to 24Hz. Gryphon's new Prelude pre-amplifier (€7,000) provides one balanced and five single-ended stereo inputs. Remote controllable, overall construction is a dual mono design. A home theater pass through is also provided for. Lastly, their new Encore stereo amplifier (€12,000) produces 500 watts per channel at 8 ohms (1,000 watts at four ohms). Both balanced and single-ended inputs appear at the rear of the unit.

 

Avantgarde Acoustic's Solo hornspeaker (€5,000) features a dual-concentric loudspeaker array with a four inch horn for highs with a twelve inch paper cone midrange/woofer. The entire loudspeaker is self-amplified with a built-in 150-watt amplifier.

 

Garrard's new 601 turntable (approximately €8,000) has a two-speed power supply for 33.3 and 45rpm. This new model uses the same motor, bearing, platter, and drive system of their 501, though the entire unit is in an open chassis following the lines of their skeletal plinths offered for the 301 and 401.

 

GamuT's new M-250 monoblock amplifier (€12,000 with chrome faceplate, €11,000 brush aluminum) produces 250 watts and has both balanced and single-ended inputs. Two sets of high quality gold plated WBT loudspeaker posts are included for those who enjoy bi-wiring their loudspeakers.

 

GamuT also had their CD1 (€3,495 in chrome, €2,995 in brushed aluminum).

 

Swiss company Ensemble, known for great accessories such as their ever-popular Tube Sox, is now offering a complete line of electronics! From top to bottom... The Previvo pre-amplifier, older DAC unit soon to be replaced, Dichrono hi*dac 24-bit/96kHz that also provides volume adjustment, Evivo 150 watt stereo power amplifier, and Isolink Duo isolation transformer. Not shown, Ensemble also has their very own floorstanding loudspeaker called the Figura. Something is afoot at Ensemble!

 

Bösendorfer, yes the piano manufacture, now produces other musical instruments. Specifically, a new line of impressive loudspeakers for music lovers worldwide. Naturally offered in piano black (and other wood finishes), the top range M7 (€8,720) has two 1 inch silk soft-dome tweeters and four 13cm midrange/woofers (two per side) in a transmission-type loading. The rear vertical side pieces act as a soundboard, like one finds in a piano.

 

While Linn was showcasing their new Movie system in one showroom, their LP12 Sondek was happily spinning vinyl within the other.

 

Going under the "is it analog or is it digital" heading comes the ELP laser turntable (from €13,500 to €15,900 depending on model). With a frequency response from 10Hz to 25kHz, a laser beam reads the vinyl grooves and converts the information in to an analog signal.

 

 

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