Vandersteen Announces the Mk.II Model Seven
Richard Vandersteen points to the detailed improvements to his flagship Model Seven speaker, which produced one of my best sounds at the 2015 CES.
Wadia di122 DAC/Headphone Amp
I've always enjoyed Wadia's industrial design and the di122 is no exception with their new Series 1 compact casework. Meant to stack with other components in the line, the di122 is a straightforward DAC design with two SPDIF and two optical plus USB inputs on the back along with both balanced and unbalanced audio outputs.
WBT's Organic Carbon Connector
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.
Wes Bender Studio, EAR, & Hansen
Brooklyn, NY-based Wes Bender Studio was demming the new leather-covered Hansen The Dragon Legend E speakers $60,000/pair), driven by EAR 509 monoblocks ($15,700/pair), an EAR 912 preamp ($13,000 with phono stage), and an EAR Disc Master turntable ($28,500) fitted with a Helius Silver Ruby tonearm ($5225) and Transfiguration Proteus ($6000) or SteinMusic Aventurin 6 Mk.2 ($6500) cartridges. Cabling was all Waveform Fidelity; racks were the impressively made Stillpoints.
Wilson Audio Sabrina
Wilson Audio’s Peter McGrath and John Giolas walked me through the design of the new $15,000/pair Sabrina. The loudspeaker has same general form factor and is slightly taller than their original WATT-Puppy, which was also a $15,000/pair speaker when it was first produced more than 20 years ago.
Wilson Revisits the WAMM
In two small, private presentations in the Mirage, Dave Wilson joined several other indispensible members of his teamhis son Daryl and wife Sheryl Lee, as well as Peter McGrath and John Giolasto present a jaw-dropping mock up of the proposed, superhumanly proportioned successor to the original WAMM.
Wow from Nagra & the Wilson Alexias
"What kills me is that in my own showroom I have the same Wilson Alexia loudspeakers that Nagra is using, but they sound better in their set-up, and they aren't even using room treatment," lamented a retailer whose identity shall forever remain unspoken. What better compliment can one pay to Nagra's forthcoming HD amplifiers?
YG Acoustics Carmel 2 loudspeaker
YG Acoustics introduced the second edition of their original 2-way Carmel loudspeaker, the Carmel 2. It is said to bring the sound of the more expensive $72,800/pair Sonja 1.2 at a more reasonable price, $24,500/pair.