For whatever reason I didn't hear many word-of-mouth recommendations as I wandered the halls during the first two days of SSI; the few that did break through the haze pointed to two products: the Eclipse TD-M1 desktop loudspeakers in one of Coup de Foudre's rooms, and the Muraudio Domain floorstanding loudspeakers ($58,000 per pair): about as different as different can be. Just as I discovered with the Eclipses, the Muraudio speakers deserved the buzz.
In contrast to other ESL manufacturers, Muraudio claims to have configured their electrostatic midrange/treble unit—which extends down to about 450Hz—as an omnidirectional monopole, below which a self-powered pair of dynamic bass units takes over. Heard with an EMM Labs TSDX CD/SACD transport ($17,000), EMM Labs DAC2X converter ($15,000), EMM Labs Pre2 preamp ($15,000), and Bryston 7BSST mono amplifiers ($5100 each), the Domains were indeed impressive, with an exceptionally large, spacious, and convincing soundfield, plus a treble range that was explicit without the slightest trace of harshness or artifice.
