My CES 2010 Show Report

[RGA]

Page 19 is up and they say I don't like panels

Covered some of the best panels you'll find and ones most audiophiles can afford. The Prince II from King Sound. Also covered truly great speakers from Acoustic Zen matched with affordable tubes from Triode Corp out of Japan and Acapella which are priced above $80,000 and sounded it.

http://www.dagogo.com/View-Article.asp?hArticle=717

Next Up:
Wilson Audio MAXX3
Lamm Industries
PBN Audio
Edge Electronics
Silbatone Acoustics
Classic Audio

Coming Soon:

Soundlabs
Trenner and Freidl
Viva Audio
Heed Audio
Gershman Acoustics
VAC
Manley Laboratories

[RGA]

Yup me again

Page 20 is up covering one of the best rooms at the show and one that I might take grief on for nopt really loving despite the well over $200k price tag.

http://www.dagogo.com/View-Article.asp?hArticle=718

What didn't make the show report is the Silbatone group which is purely a millionaire's (actually they're in the billionaire camp I believe) toy company. A group of mega rich South Koreans got together to make a no holds bar system of musical pleasure based on their love of old horns - no doubt the Altec living voice which you will see in a number of high end shops in and around Seoul. I can't describe how gorgeous the sound here was on female vocals on a turntable that most would kill for and they were saying probably won't make the grade as a final production unit.

Next Up:

Soundlabs
Trenner and Freidl
Viva Audio
Heed Audio
Gershman Acoustics
VAC
Manley Laboratories
Classic Audio

Coming Soon:

MSB
Harbeth
Spender
Exposure
Scaena Loudspeakers
McIntosh
Kronzilla
Peak Consultant

And then the final rooms and favorite 5 budget rooms (under $10k based on speakers) and favorite 5 rooms (>$10k based on speaker price).

[RGA]

We're nearing the end - this section had some absolutely great gear. Not really affordable gear but anyway. And one of the top five speakers I have ever auditioned - the RA box.

http://www.dagogo.com/View-Article.asp?hArticle=721

Next Up

MSB
Harbeth
Spender
Exposure
Scaena Loudspeakers
McIntosh
Kronzilla
Peak Consultant

Coming Soon - final rooms

EMM Labs
Sony Loudspeakers
Kimber Cable
Pass Labs
Boulder
Focal (JM Labs) Loudspeakers
Audio Note (The half million dollar+ system)
Cary Audio
Marten Loudspeakers

[unit]

Hi Richard-
Awesome report on CES. Your impressions were detailed and give prospective buyers something to go on.
I am close to a speaker purchase. It's between the Usher BE-10 and Acoustic Zen Crescendo. I heard the Crescendo in Denver and liked it very much. I heard the Usher at another time and place and liked it a lot as well. They both appear to be in same ballpark in price.
Based on what you heard in Vegas, which one would you go with if you were me?
Also, would you mind saying how they differ and what strengths they offer?

[RGA]

Choosing between the two really comes down to personal preference and based on just a show coverage I would not take it TOO seriously because the front end plays a huge role here. That's the diplomatic cover the ass comment.

I preferred the Acoustic Zen room and it the speakers almost made my top 5 (it was the runner up). To be fair to Usher they were still not quite set-up with their desired source but I liked the sound immensely. I personally just prefer the 3 dimensionality offered by tube front ends and the Acoustic Zen speakers are easier to accommodate lower powered front ends. They were close it should be said and I really liked the female vocals of the Ushers and I liked that they sounded cohesive (generally the bigger multi-ways don't). The Acoustic Zens may not have quite the impact the Ushers would be able to muster - not absolute but that's the impression I get.

It's not like either speaker outclasses the other - both were some of the best at the show IMO and far from being the priciest. I think the Usher has a higher impact sound while the Zen is a little more organic and perhaps lusher - but remember that the Zen had a tube front end while the Usher was using big SS and running state of the art recordings.

[unit]

Thanks Richard!
I actually have the Tri 845 amp that was being paired with the Crescendo. I like it a lot.
So I guess it makes sense to go with the AZ.
Is the AZ resolving enough?
I'm sure I missed it here, but what were your Top 5 speakers at the show?

[RGA]

Yeah I really liked the Tri gear - it also looks sexy and the prices are actually sane.

I don't want to give away my top five at this time because Dagogo is posting a couple of more of my reports where I divulge.

Though it is not a stretch to say that one of them is the Audio Note AN E/Spe HE at $7,600. I liked it more than either the Usher or Acoustic Zen - but people find me incredibly biased - I find me biased because of the sound. :-)

It should be noted that the US Audio Note importer apparently has also picked up Acoustic Zen - I find Mike and I agree on most things audio.

http://audiofederation.com/blog/cate.../acoustic-zen/

The AN E/Spe HE with Jinro amp - had just as much bass and volume capability as anything I heard at CES - they actually played them at serious levels. At the end of the day I desire cohesiveness is first priority - larger speakers have larger problems to overcome. The speakers in my top five just sound a little more cohesive and less like a loudspeaker is in the room. The single drivers and two ways typically have the advantage and you will see those in my top five than the larger loudspeakers which may have deeper bass or play louder but which sound more "speaker like" than life like. I also like the AN E/Spe HE because it's about half the price of the Usher or Acoustic Zen and even if they were all the same price I buy the AN E. But I also have a system that was designed for the AN E so it plays a major factor.

Another one to look at between the price points are the Teresonic Ingeniums - one of my fellow writers purchased them. But the bass of the Usher, Acoutcic Zen dig deeper but the midrange up on the Teresonic is better IMO. And 100db sensitive is pretty nice. They also look pretty cool which is somewhat of a consideration to some. The RA Box is absolutely awesome here as well but it costs $25k damn it.

I don't want my preferences to persuade you - There are piles of great loudspeakers and ultimately we all have a preference at the end of the day. The great Tannoy Prestige line was not at CES and the Kensington SE is a terrific loudspeaker for about $8,500 and they have upper models to consider as well.