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LATEST ADDITIONS

SSI 2012

Constellation

Art Dudley Mar 24, 2012

California-based Constellation Audio, represented by the well-known engineer Peter Madnick, supplied the amplification for the Magico Q3 loudspeakers. On audition were their Virgo preamplifier ($19,000) and Centaur amplifier ($24,000), set up with elegant looking (and apparently effective) loudspeaker cables and interconnects from Argento Audio of Denmark. Source components were the C1 D/A converter and D1 disc transport from CH Precision of Switzerland.

SSI 2012

The SSI Cocktail Party

Robert Deutsch Mar 23, 2012

The party on the Trade Day of the show, hosted by SSI, is always well attended, and provides a good indication of the general mood. This time the mood was decidedly upbeat: people in the trade looking forward to having a good show.

SSI 2012

Sarah Tremblay

Robert Deutsch Mar 23, 2012

With the title of Director, Sarah Tremblay is Michel Plante's partner in the SSI enterprise.

SSI 2012

Caroline St. Louis

Robert Deutsch Mar 23, 2012

SSI staff member and singer/flute player Caroline St. Louis took some time off from her career to have a baby, but she was back in top form at SSI 2012, singing with her Give Band.

SSI 2012

Sheldon Ginn

Robert Deutsch Mar 23, 2012

Seen at the party: Monitor Audio's Sheldon Ginn, winner of the Chris Pine Lookalike Contest.

SSI 2012

Vince Scalzitti

Robert Deutsch Mar 23, 2012

Partygoer Vince Scalzitti's Tri-Cell Enterprises is Canadian distributor for no fewer than 19 product lines, from Acapella to Vandersteen. Vince is so low-key that he hardly seems to be in a business that involves sales, but he's highly successful at it.

SSI 2012

Gerard and Lionel

Robert Deutsch Mar 23, 2012

Gerard Rejskind (left), editor of UHF magazine, and last year's recipient of the SSI Lifetime Achievement Award, is pictured here with Simaudio's Lionel Goodfield (right).

SSI 2012

Lifetime Achievement Award: Richard Petit

Robert Deutsch Mar 23, 2012

One of the two Lifetime Achievement Awards was given to Richard Petit, President of KeébecSon. The presentation was made by Richard's daughter, Marie-Eve, and was the most touching event at the party.

SSI 2012

Lifetime Achievement Award: Marc Denis

Robert Deutsch Mar 23, 2012

As B&W's Doug Henderson pointed out in his presentation speech, being a manufacturer's rep in audio is often a thankless job. If sales are slow, the rep gets blamed, but it they're going well, that's just taken for granted. But not this time: the Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Marc Denis (pictured), rep for B&W, Rotel, and Classé.

SSI 2012

Audioville and KEF

Art Dudley Mar 23, 2012

The speaker of choice in the Audioville room was the brand new KEF Blade ($30,000/pair): a consumer-friendly version of something that started life as a KEF concept speaker. (In particular, in order to reduce costs, the latter's carbon-fiber enclosure has been replaced with one made of a composite resin.) Mid frequencies and treble are handled by the metal-diaphragm KEF UNI-Q array, while low frequencies are given over to two pairs of side-mounted 9" drivers, working in tandem so that bass energy is neither wasted nor allowed to travel through the enclosure structure to modulate the higher frequencies.