Jason Victor Serinus

"The High End needs products that can demonstrate to customers why they should spend more money for the high-end," Dave Nauber, President of Classé, told me. "Thus we've introduced the Sigma Series, a new range of products with prices half those of our other products."

Rotel previewed three new "best ever" models at CES. Although the passive display allowed for little more than photo and note taking, I learned that the brand new RC-1590 DAC/preamplifier ($1749), which ships in March, promises to be "the best stereo preamplifier Rotel has ever made."

In this case, it's the Bowers & Wilkins T-7 battery-operated Bluetooth loudspeaker ($349). Shipping now, this baby holds a charge for 18 hours, and takes four hours to fully recharge. The T-7 can pair with up to eight devices, has two 3" full-range drivers and one passive radiator. "It's just a lot of fun," says regional sales director Marc Schnoll.

A year after they were first announced, WBT CEO Wolfgang B. Thoerner is preparing to release his organic carbon Nano Gen connectors at the 2015 Munich show. As opposed to customary metal connectors, Nano Gen's carbon is claimed to transport signals faster because it does so in only two dimensions, while metal transport transports signals in three dimensions.

I hope not, because it's (presumably indigestible) vibration-damping material from Scotland. Distributed by TWN Audio/Video's Santy Oropel, the Black Ravioli line includes the Big Riser ($190/each), which goes under heavy components such as amplifiers; the Big Pad ($90/each) for preamps, DACs and the like; the Small Pad (4 for $300), which either adheres to a light component's chassis or serves as a footer; and the iMac Vibration Controller ($250—not shown), a base complete with feet that goes under a tablet.

Two components in one, Isotek's Mosaic Genesis ($11,995) is, first of all, a power regenerator. Converting power to DC, and claimed to produce a perfectly clean, time-correct sinewave without sending noise back into the wall, it sends power to outlets isolated via a bus bar.

Yup, they grow 'em big in Pasadena. Stage III's Leviathan power cord ($14,500/1.5m) has much larger silver-palladium conductors than the previous flagship model.