Acoustic Sounds’ Chad Kassem provided a wonderful demo of some of his fine
Analogue Productions releases, including Jimmy Lee Robinson’s
All My Life and Elvis’
24 Karat Hits—all sounding absolutely
seductive and
enveloping with an extremely liquid and relaxed sound—through a system featuring a Clearaudio Concept turntable ($1400), which Kassem was particularly fond of—“for the price, this ‘table is hard to beat”—and Sony’s SS-AR1 loudspeakers, seen here.
The speakers are currently only available in Japan. Sony’s marketing director, Michael McCole, explained that the company was showing the speakers at RMAF in an effort to gauge whether there is suitable interest for a US release. “We’re looking for the right partners in the industry to ensure that the speakers will be presented in the way they need and deserve to be presented.”
When I asked about Sony’s motivation to enter the high-end market, another Sony representative explained that the company wants to “protect the music industry” and “reinvigorate a concern for quality” because “good music should last forever.”
