CES 2009

Miguel Alvareaz of Point St. Lucie, Florida, is a defector for the cause. A self-confessed former marketing rep for Bose who always had a passion for audiophile products, he eventually left the company to develop the Tripoint Troy power product ($8000). Based on a new concept, the device uses passive filtration in the form of magnetism and layers of different materials (brass, copper, and proprietary products) to eliminate and reduce EMI and RFI. Rather than a line conditioner per se—one is in the works—the Troy is a grounding device to which you attach ground wires from the various components in your system. (If a component lacks a ground wire, Miguel can explain how to determine the right place to affix one).

Sonneteer first">http://blog.stereophile.com/he2006/060306bard/">first popped up on our radar at the 2006 Home Entertainment Show with their Bardone TX wireless audio transmitter. Three years later they've produced some real eye and ear candy with the Morpheus "music centre" which functions as an integrated amp and control center for all manner of digital media.

A different take on an integrated is the two-chassis 1000Wpc Uniwave Tek Digital Anaco 2 stereo amplifiers ($6800). The switch-mode power supply is in a separate chassis from the signal-carrying elements. That 1000Wpc rating, by the way, is at 4 ohms. Bandwidth is claimed to be 250kHz.