| Audiophiles on a
budget will be pleased to learn that not everything on display
at Alexis Park requires a second mortgage. We were
particularly impressed by the Audes model 037 loudspeaker, of
similar size and sound to Revel's excellent Performa F-30. At
$1200/pair, the Audes offers extraordinary value. All the
company's products, including the drivers, are made in Estonia
for export to North and South America, Western (and parts of
Eastern) Europe, and Asia. The company has yet to establish a
dealer network in nearby Russia because of economic
uncertainties there, according to an Audes executive, who
cited Russian prejudice against Eastern European products as
another discouraging factor.
Pacific Grove, CA–based Birdland Audio is once again
showing its Odeon-lite, a 24-bit/96kHz upsampling DAC with
analog volume control for direct connection to a power
amplifier. The $980 unit includes RCA, AES/EBU, BNC, and
optical inputs; separate transformers and power supplies for
the analog and digital circuits; and high quality parts
throughout. The Odeon sounded very good upstream from speakers
by Vince Christian Ltd., of Moss Landing, CA. Christian's
products sounded very well balanced and forgiving in our brief
audition, without any of the flaws (overly bright treble,
recessed midrange, bloated bass) typical of speakers from new
companies.
Chicago's TLG Acoustical Design, Inc., is showing several
models of oversize horn loudspeakers suitable for large rooms
and auditoriums. TLG's horns are extremely sensitive—all of
them are rated above 105dB at 1W—and visually arresting. The
Series I, for example, combines two 12" McCauley bass drivers,
two Pioneer 6.5" professional midrange drivers, and four
Pioneer high-frequency compression drivers in a complex and
imposing cabinet that's 5' tall, 10' wide, and weighs 2500
lbs. This is not a product for apartment dwellers.
From the UK comes Chapter Audio—a new company formed by
previous Chord designer Mike Gregory—debuting its "Chapter
Two" MOSFET power amplifier, which produces 200Wpc into eight
ohms and 300W into four. With a "universal" switched-mode
power supply and balanced-ground layout, the Chapter Two is
said to be phase coherent throughout its bandwidth
(5Hz-95kHz;+0,-0.5dB); its -3dB point is 400kHz. The Chapter
Two will sell in the US for $6700.
Other unusual products include Greybeard Audio's slate-clad
loudspeakers and "Holographic Sound" from a Hungarian company
called GreenWave Audio, whose speakers feature standard
drivers mounted vertically magnet-to-magnet atop large ported
cabinets. Belgium's Venture b.v.b.a. (no clue here as to the
meaning of the abbreviation) has a lovely 20W single-ended
tube amplifier on display, the "Reference One." Curiously, the
company's flagship loudspeaker, a multi-driver tower known as
"L'Excellence III" has a sensitivity rating of 89dB, making it
less than ideal for use with the Reference
One. |
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