Of course, in the few days it takes for these reports to be published, most of the product announcements will be old news. Therefore, the reports will tend to provide an analysis of trends and developments rather than be a product showcase.
Because the many images in these reports make the HeadWize homepage slow to load with telephone-line modems, I will move the reports to the Announcements and News page a few days after the last report is published.
1/8/01: CES 2001 Report: It is not possible to see the entire CES is less than a month. This was my last day at the CES, and I had a long list of "must-see" exhibits yet to visit. Since my flight was scheduled to depart in the early afternoon, I slept only a few hours to make the most of the morning. The first stop was the St. Tropez Hotel, where The Home Entertainment Show 2001 was taking place. I discovered THE Show when I saw banners for PS Audio and Antique Sound Labs hanging from St. Tropez windows during my trip yesterday to the Alexis Park.
When I got to the St. Tropez, it was about 8:30 AM. Most of the exhibits were not open yet. I took the quiet time to survey the complex and discovered that Antique Sound Labs was indeed showing here as well as Audio Advancements. ASL's room was open. When I walked in, I found one of their reps sitting on the floor, hunched over a black box chassis, a soldering iron in one hand, and an assortment of electronic parts spread out in front of him. He was doing some last minute assembly work before the show crowds arrived.
The ASL rep looked up and told me there were no new headphone-related products, so I did not have high expectations. While he worked, I browsed. The famous MG-Head headphone amplifier was there. ASL was demoing the amp with a pair of AKG K240 headphones. As I scanned shelf after shelf of tube preamps and power amps, I gasped when I saw their new AV-8, a 10W tube push-pull monoblock amplifier. The cause of my astonishment was the retail price - just $99! The amp uses two ECL-82 tubes and custom transformers made by ASL. A pair of these monoblocks could be great for driving inefficient phones like the AKG K1000 or very efficient loudspeakers. DIYers: the amp is easily worth $99 just for the chassis and parts alone. Think of the modification possibilities. What a bargain!
Next, it was onto Audio Advancements - the US distributor/retailer for the EarMax headphone amplifiers manufactured by Firma Brocksieper in Germany. Brocksieper has just released the PhonoMax, a tube phono preamp for moving-magnet and low-output moving coil cartridges that has the same form factor as its headphone amp sibling. In the picture, the EarMax is shown on the left in a light African hardwood finish. The PhonoMax is on the right in a matte black finish and sports 2 sets of RCA jacks, a set of 6922 vacuum tubes and no headphone jack. It retails for $1200 US and comes in black and blue finishes (custom finished available on request). What a lovely pair they make!
Before leaving the St. Tropez, I had to step into the Wisdom Audio room, after their imposing M75 speaker system caught my eye through the doorway. The planar line sources stand 80" tall, and the matching subwoofers contain two 12" drivers each. I only listened for a few minutes, but liked what I heard. The M75s projected a big, wide soundstage with a fine sense of depth and smooth, seamless sound. For those who can afford the $25,000 US price tag (and have a large listening room), I recommend auditioning these speakers.
In my roaming tour of the Alexis Park yesterday, I had probably seen less than two-thirds of the exhibitors there. Since my flight was leaving in less than 3 hours, I picked specific vendors to visit this time. The first stop was room 1712 where Esoteric Audio Research had taken up residence. Ever since the review of the EAR headphone amp in The Absolute Sound, I have been trying to find a picture of it. Tim de Paravicini, EAR's engineer and founder, went into the backroom to get it.
EAR's HP4 headphone amp had still not been unpacked! When TP took it out of the box and put it on the marble counter, I saw that it was much larger and heavier than I expected. The thick faceplate was polished to a mirror finish. TP presented the features on the headphone amp of which he was very proud, such as the balanced inputs, the dual impedance headphone outputs, the "Power Amp" switch that mutes speakers and the massive construction. The HP4 retails for about $3500 US. A custom version for electrostatic headphones is available for about $5000 US.
TP's favorite headphones are the top-end Beyerdynamics, Sennheisers and Grados, and he prefers listening to binaural recordings in headphones. I mentioned the new binaural recording techniques that are supposed to be more compatible with loudspeaker playback. TP shook his head and said that it was not possible. He disappeared into the backroom again, and came out with a copy of Inventor of Stereo, The Life And Works of Alan Dower Blumlein by Robert Charles Alexander. After pointing out some of the highlights of Blumlein's short (but highly inventive) life, TP triumphantly held up the page on which were printed Blumlein's equations that defined binaural recording. In accordance with Blumlein's theories, true binaural recordings cannot be played back through loudspeakers without the aid of a "shuffler" (otherwise known as a transaural processor). I plan to add a section on Blumlein to my article "Technologies for Presentation of Surround Sound in Headphones."
There are two North American distributors of Stax products: Morishita & Associates (based in Canada) and Yama's Enterprises (based in the US). I spoke to reps with both distributors. Harold Morishita, whose favorite Stax headphone is the discontinued Sigma, advises purchasers of used Stax headphones to choose carefully. He does not recommend buying older Stax headphones because the electrostatic and electret transducers do age, and it is difficult to tell just by listening whether a transducer is about to fail. However, if the bargain prices are too difficult to resist, he suggests limiting consideration to the top-of-the-line models. Replacement electrostatic and electret elements for all Stax headphones are still available.
Yama's Enterprises had a room at the Alexis Park, which was brilliantly furnished with back-to-back chairs so that every Stax headphone on display could be auditioned at the same time. Although Stax now makes only headphone products, Collin Imai at Yama's says that he gets many requests for Stax to bring back its electrostatic loudspeakers such as the F-81. There are many Stax devotees for whom no other brand of electrostatic headphone or loudspeaker will do. Since its return from bankruptcy, Stax's reputation and its sales have been growing steadily. Nevertheless, Stax phones are often considered luxury goods. Yama's is trying to get Stax to bring back its more affordable electret headphones.
Precide SA was represented at the CES through Lauerman Imports. There were no new headphone-related products, but I did get the chance to try on a pair of Ergo headphones. The circumference of my head is about 22.5". The Ergo was a loose-fit; I could rock it left to right slightly on my head. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to audition them. I rushed out of the St. Tropez and got on a shuttle to the Silver Pavillion at the Las Vegas Convention Center for my last CES exhibit: FreeSystems Ltd.
FreeSystems, based in Singapore, is a developer and manufacturer of wireless and digital signal processing technologies and chipsets that are licensed and sold to OEMs. The new Xdream wireless headphone system transmits digital streams over infrared using their proprietary FreeSpan analog-to-digital conversion technology for the widest dynamic range and highest sound quality.
The transmitter transmits at 2MHz with a 7-meter range. It has standard audio RCA and USB jacks and runs off a 9V battery. The receiver is located atop the headphone headband and operates for 15 hours on 2 AAA batteries. When the transmitter is connected to a PC, the included software offers a 7-band equalizer and a spatial equalizer. The Xdreams system is available in Japan and will be available in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan later this year. FreeSystems is seeking US dealers for this product, which is estimated to sell for about $300 US.
FreeSystems is also collaborating with Grado Labs to produce a limited edition wireless headphone system. It will feature the same infrared-digital transmission technology as the Xdream, but the receiver is housed in a separate enclosure and has the same output circuitry as the Grado RA-1 headphone amplifier. The receiver requires two 9V batteries and will drive any headphone from its standard 1/4" headphone jack. Included with the system is a special edition FreeSystems-Grado headphone. The estimated availability is later in 2001. There is no pricing information yet.
I was hoping to visit the Koss, Earhugger and several other exhibits before leaving Las Vegas, but after taking the pictures of the FreeSystems products, I had less than a hour to return to my hotel, check out and get to the airport. Alas, it was not meant to be. As thrilling as exhibit hopping at the CES was - ensconsed in this land of all-night casinos and relentless promotion, I was happy to be jetting off.
Although this report is describes my last day at the CES, I have gathered more information and taken more pictures than have been published here so far. There will be at least one and possibly two more HeadWize CES reports to be published post-CES.
