SSI 2012

Analog stalwart Naim is now heavily into computer audio; new at SSI 2012 was their NDS streamer/DAC, which is to start shipping in May. This is their reference-level network player, which does all the things you expect a product like this to do, including Internet radio. The price of $13,000 does not include a power supply. In true Naim fashion, the NDS offers a choice of three power supplies, which range in price from $3k to $10k.

Kudos to Doug Graham of Naim for bringing so much new music to Plurison Audio's suite at SSI. Especially interesting was the French singer Jehro's Cantina Paradise—seen here on Doug's Apple iPad, running Naim Audio's free controller app—which I intend to buy as soon as I get home.

Grant Fidelity's sign says "No Retail Mark-Up, Free Shipping, 1st Class Service," and "High End, Not High Prices." The products, as you might have guessed, are made in China, but what else is new? At previous shows, most of their products had the Grant Fidelity brand name; this time, it was Opera Audio Consonance. The pictured Consonance LP12.1 Die Walküre turntable can accommodate three tonearms, and, with a single W/T1288 tonearm, sells for $3200. That's not super-cheap—which actually gives me more confidence in the quality of the product. I was told that the turntable and arm are made in the same factory that manufactures the latest version of the Well Tempered turntable/tonearm.

The Rogue Hydra is a 100Wpc amplifier that combines a tube input with a class-D output section (using only the module's MOSFET output, bypassing the rest), with about 2dB of negative feedback. If Rogue is lucky, then this will appeal to both audiophiles that are tube fans and those that are fans of modern digital technology. If they're not lucky, then tube fans will reject it because it includes the evil of digital, and digital fans will reject it because it includes technology that they regard as obsolete. Ultimately, it's the sound that matters—and, according to Rogue's Mark O'Brien, it's an effective combination of the tube sound with the power of solid-state.

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

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

This year's SSI included a Canada Pavilion exhibit, honoring Canadian manufacturers of audio products. One of these was Simaudio. This was my first chance to get a close look at the Signature version of their 600i 125Wpc integrated amp. It's $14,200 in ultra-shiny gold finish that's a photographer's nightmare. I mentioned to Simaudio's Lionel Goodfield my difficulty in getting a decent photo of the 600i Signature, and he said that it took their professional product photographer several hours of fiddling with various lighting accessories to get a product picture that they could use. That made me feel better.