CES 2013

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CES 2013

New Chorus from Focal

Robert Deutsch Jan 11, 2013 First Published: Jan 11, 2013 0 comments

At shows like CES, audio writers are always looking for new products to report on, but some manufacturers have a very self-serving definition of what they tell you is a "new" product. More than once, I've been told by a rep that they have a new product, but it looked familiar. "Wasn't this at last year's show, and didn't I even report on it?" "Yes, but now it's actually in production."

CES 2013

Nola & Nordost

Robert Deutsch, Jason Victor Serinus Jan 11, 2013 First Published: Jan 11, 2013 0 comments

I had a quick look in Nola's room, and as soon as I saw their giant speakers, I knew that these were not going to be in my designated "Under $15k" price range. Indeed, the speakers (whose name escapes me, but it has something to do with boxing) were just under $200k/pair. They sounded great, with tremendous dynamics, but I have trouble relating to speakers in that price range. "Do you have anything new and relatively affordable?" Yes, said Nola's Marilyn Marchisotto. The $9998/pair KO (another boxing reference) was being used in another room in demos by Nordost.

CES 2013

Motorheadphones!

Stephen Mejias Jan 10, 2013 First Published: Jan 10, 2013 0 comments

It seems like everyone and their grandma is releasing a headphone these days. If you’ve got a brand (or a band), you might as well add a line of headphones. One of the latest to join the trend is the English rock band, Motorhead, famous for their jukebox wonder, “Ace of Spades.” Lead singer, Lemmy, was on hand to introduce his Motorheadphones. (Hee hee.)

CES 2013

Sennheiser Momentum

Stephen Mejias Jan 10, 2013 First Published: Jan 10, 2013 0 comments

With all the headphone options out there, it might be hard to find the one that’s right for you. If quality, rather than superficial associations with aging rock bands, is what you want, one outstanding option would be Sennheiser&#151a company that’s been perfecting the art of headphones even longer than Motorhead’s been playing “Ace of Spades.”

And that's a long time.

CES 2013

NAD VISO HP50

Stephen Mejias Jan 10, 2013 First Published: Jan 10, 2013 0 comments

NAD has jumped into the headphone arena with their VISO HP50 ($279), an extremely lightweight and comfortable, noise-isolating, over-the-ear design. The detachable cable plugs into either the right or left earcup and has smart phone and microphone controls. NAD’s “RoomFeel” technology is said to improve stereo sound.

CES 2013

Sony Goes Big on 4K

Robert Deutsch Jan 10, 2013 First Published: Jan 10, 2013 0 comments

The Sony press conference is arguably the most prestigious at CESand the largest. It would have been even larger if Sony did not have the policy of allowing only select invited members of the media to attend. Having a Press badge by itself does not guarantee admission. Even so, I overheard a Sony rep saying to one of his colleagues that attendance at the Sony press conference was over 1600.

CES 2013

Noel Lee

Robert Deutsch Jan 10, 2013 First Published: Jan 10, 2013 0 comments

"Head Monster" Noel Lee is known as a shrewd, successful businessman, but I think that if he had taken a different career path he could have made a great evangelist. His CES press conferences have very much feeling of revival meetings, and, like an evangelist, he works hard at whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Given the largely skeptical audience of media representatives, Lee is not always successful in this, but you certainly can't fault his enthusiasm. (Consumer electronics journalists are a tough crowd.)

CES 2013

HRT Music Streamer HD

Jon Iverson Jan 10, 2013 First Published: Jan 10, 2013 0 comments

The Music Streamer HD has been upgraded to include both balanced and unbalanced output jacks (the previous model had one jack with a special adaptor) and can stream up to 24/192 via USB2. Retail price is $449.95

CES 2013

HRT microStreamer

Jon Iverson Jan 10, 2013 First Published: Jan 10, 2013 0 comments

USB Dongle DACs are taking off, and companies like HRT are attempting to combine small form factor with features and sound quality. Unlike Audioquest's Dragonfly, the microStreamer sports two output jacks, one fixed and optimized for line level destinations and the other with variable out for headphones.

The microStreamer will retail for $189.95, can handle streams up to 24/96 and is connected to your computer or source with a short USB cable. The company explains that this approach prevents mishaps where the dongle could damage your computer's USB connector if it was plugged straight in like the Dragonfly.

CES 2013

Light Harmonic Da Vinci Source

Jon Iverson Jan 10, 2013 First Published: Jan 10, 2013 0 comments

Not content to stick with DACs, Light Harmonic is adding a new music server to the line up. The Source chassis is comprised of two parts: The bottom section contains the company's proprietary digital power supply, a hard drive bay that can accept four 2TB drives in a RAID array and also a Blu-ray disc player. The top half contains all of the processing circuitry and music server software.

Price is stil to be determined but I was told that the Blu-ray drive will be able to rip up to 24/192 PCM off of any Blu-ray disc inserted in the machine. Additionally, an iPad mini will be included with each purchase, loaded with a custom remote control app suite and a pre-configured wireless access point for plug-and-play setup. Ship date is estimated to be around the middle of the year.