Avantgarde Acoustic

Avantgarde has been a very regular exhibitor at the CES, and this year, they were demonstrating a pair of their new DUO Omega horn loudspeakers and driven by their own all DC powered amplification – the ONE Control pre-amplifier and the ONE Power monoblocks.

A beautiful sense of ease is often associated with these high sensitivity speakers, but these were something else! Apart from all the things you think you know about these speakers, they demonstrated a sense of coherency that has to be heard to fully appreciate.

Art Audio

Art Audio amplifiers were seen in 3 rooms at T.H.E. Show. The most impressive demo being the one with a pair of Adagio parallel single-ended monoblocks (with lust-inducing glow-in-the-dark illumination from the glass funnels) driving a huge pair of luxurious looking Bosendorfer loudspeakers. The sound quality was rich, warm and truly full-bodied. Piano tones in particular were reproduced with excellent tonal accuracy.

Elsewhere, they had a trio of Carissa power amplifiers on static display – one of them equipped with the optional input attenuator for those who want to do without a preamp. They looked stunning in their shiny brushed aluminum finish and I believe that plays a big part in their popularity here.

Bluenote

Bluenote of Italy had a strong presence this year, with their highly reviewed Stibbert MKII Tube Reference CD player in evidence in a number of rooms. They also had a full system setup in one room, consisting of the Stibbert and Koala Tube CD players; the Demidoff Signature integrated amplifier and a pair of their Reale 3-way tower loudspeakers, incorporating Accuton ceramic tweeters, among other goodies.

My tip for this year is, keep a close lookout for Bluenote’s tube CD players! I have been looking for a good (meaning musical and tonally accurate) CD player to bring in ever since Audio Note stopped making integrated players, and I believe that I have finally hit pay dirt! Both the Stibbert and its smaller brother the Koala Tube, sound organic and sweet with musicality in spades; definitely good enough to trash many transport/DAC combos at twice their price!

Harmonix

Harmonix was out in full force, with founder and chief designer Mr. Kuzuo Kuichi in attendance. One room was filled with a static display of their exotic accessories and another room with an active demo of their full system, which includes his widely acclaimed Reimyo range of electronics. Though I did not have an opportunity for a detailed listening session, whatever music I heard left me impressed, to say the least. I have a strong feeling that this range of equipment has tremendous potential, and that is why we are the new distributor for this brand in Singapore!

Moerch

Hans Moerch was demonstrating a prototype version of a new top-of-the-line arm (as yet unnamed) this year. According to Mr. Moerch, this new design will cure whatever weaknesses that his less expensive tonearms exhibit, and will also have the ability to achieve deeper bass extension. A 24K gold-plated version of this arm was being used on a Eurolab turntable and judging from first impressions, it sounded mighty promising. That, combined with its jewel-like plating makes you wonder why you need to spend more on another tonearm!