CES - Never mistake a clear view for a short distance

[MWP]

There seemed to be six dominant themes emerging at the 2003 International Consumer Electronics Show: <p>1. Wear comfortable shoes. <p>2. Pay attention when all the buzzwords point in the same direction.<p>3. Claims that synergy is important to make all these new computer toys work in harmony.<p>4. Home DVD recorders & HDTV''''s of all shapes and sizes.<p>5. "Technology is a Girl''''s Best Friend" and<p>6. Connecting consumer electronics into a home entertainment network. <p>Let''''s address Number 5 first:<br />The attendance ratio was stated to be about 60-40 in favor of men. (I counted maybe 1 in 60 conventioneers were women.) Yet Karen Chupka, a vice president with the Consumer Electronics Association stated during a Friday panel discussion on the topic, that they believe in 2003, women are expected to spend about $55 billion of the projected $100 billion U.S. consumer electronics market. In addition, women initiate nearly 75 percent of such purchases on their own or with a spouse. <i>"Consumer electronics companies are realizing it''''s a demographic that''''s worth paying attention to." "More women are taking an active role in buying (consumer electronics) products,"</i> Chupka said. Thiel Audio Products President Kathy Gornick said she''''s still disappointed more manufacturers and retailers aren''''t targeting female consumers.<p><b>I''''ve seen some of these patterns before. The industry is talking to itself more than consumers at this early stage, trying to screw up its courage for a leap into the unknown that more than likely will incur hundreds of millions of dollars in losses before manufacturers collectively figure out how to make home entertainment networking a success. <p>The first round of products on display last week, again in keeping with the familiar pattern, are mostly too expensive or too complicated or too limited in what they do. But they sure do look pretty!</b> -LOL-<p><b>Much more to follow...</b>

[saea501]

Quote from Ms. P.<br />=================================================<br />The first round of products on display last week, again in keeping with the familiar pattern, are mostly too expensive or too complicated or too limited in what they do. But they sure do look pretty! <br />=================================================<br />Every CE show I attended was just exactly like this. A boatload of extreme tech stuff with lots of wow power that never make into the hands of consumers. That is actually one of the reasons I stopped going. <p>I also think Karen Chupka is being <i>very</i> optimistic. The <i>vast</i> majority of women I saw at these shows were the "look at me" ones passing out literature at the booths. I don''t know too many women that are audiophiles, except you Ms. P. <p>Did you go to Alexis Park? Specifically, did you see (hear) James Bongiorno''s Ampzilla 2000? I know, I know, corny name, but he has always designed great sounding power amps. <p>Anyway, thanks for the report.<p>Bob

[Barney]

All the more reason for IEEE FireWire......

[MWP]

Yes, I saw Son of Ampzilla 2000. -LOL-<p>http://www.ampzilla2000.com/2000face.jpg<p>Yet, spent more time, however, with Conrad-Johnson, Joseph Audio, Quad, S.A.P., VMAX Services, and Music Hall with their Shanling tube SACD player.<p>http://www.harmonia-audio.com/images/SCD-T200A.JPG<p>Must have walked 20 miles in the last few days! Actually dropped down to my pre-holiday weight after gaining nearly 10 pounds since Thanksgiving! -LOL- CES is a great place to exercise one''s eyes, mind, & legs. tongue.gif border=0 <p>Spent most of Saturday afternoon & early Sunday morning at Alexis Park touring the "High-End" equipment manufactures suites. I''m sure you won''t be surprised to note I visited the Mac display more than once & learned something new with each trip. What I appreciated most was confirming the fact that it''s the Japanese audiophiles that cherish Mac audio gear above all other consumer groups. They are why McIntosh is still in business. <p>I briefly exchanged words with Charles Randall who was recently appointed President of McIntosh Labs after serving as VP of Engineering from 1999 to 2001. I like the fact that McIntosh is once again headed by an engineer! It renews & underscores their mission: emphasis on design and creativity, a mission established in 1949 by the company''s brilliant founder, Frank McIntosh. Charles was quite busy overseeing the awesome four suite display & quietly slipped in & out of closed door meetings with their dealers & overseas clients. IMO, Mac had the best real estate at the Alexis Park show site! Their second floor Executive Suites were overlooking the pool with their Equipment Manager Chuck displaying the often seen silver BMW 530i custom mobile display car. The audio gear inside the Bimmer cost more than the car! -LOL- Not one factory speaker placement space was used.<p>In their closed door home theater display room, we listened to most passages using three 1200 watt mono block MC1201''s each with its large gorgeous sky blue VU meter smoothly & accurately showing that we were only using 1.2 watts on Mac''s new speaker line. That''s right <b>"one point two watts!"</b> They only turned it up the MX134 pre/pro to 51% to get the building to vibrate while watching an "Attack of the Clones" passage. I enjoyed the first passage the most as we listened to a relatively obscure song from the <i>"Dead Can Dance"</i> CD entittled <i>"Into the Labyrinth"</i> called <i>"The Wind that Shakes the Barley."</i> I''d never really noticed the cathedral-like acoustics before. Come to think of it, I''d never played this CD at home with my new Mac MC206. -LOL-<p>Much more to follow...

I read something about Quad having a new CD player, no DVD-A or SACD, & they reportedly stuck to CD because not only have the format wars not been settled, but relatively few discs have been bought (as opposed to manufactured or announced or planned).<p>< January 13, 2003: Message edited by: meestercleef ></p>

[MWP]

meestercleef: The new Quad 99 CD-P is designed to be a stand alone player vs. the original 99 compact disc player (99CD) that was designed to work only with the 99 pre amp. Smart idea huh!<p>Anyway, Marci & I have been attending CES since the early 90''s. During this time we have come to find that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Yes, there are exceptions, but more often than not, we see too many "new" products that are just another rehash of something from the past � "Hey, listen to my new <i>(insert any amplifier or speaker design here)</i> product." "It is based on <i>(insert any amplifier or speaker design here that has been around for 20 years)</i>." "What do you think?" "I think it has already been done to death, and better! That is what I think." Jaded? Certainly, though like I said there are exceptions. <p>When visiting CES, we look for new products that are at the very least "attempting to try" something new or be new to these shores. Examples are speakers from Marten Design, Morel, & Impact; electronics from Unison, Audio Pax, ASR, Norma, & Opera; cables from Prana Wire, Acoustic Zen, Stealth, & Dynamic Design; and accessories from Stillpoints & Music Tools, to name just a few. <p>But what really makes CES a good time for us is seeing old friends & having great meals. Speaking of which, we had dinners at Charlie Palmer''s, Red Square, Aqua, & Andre''s � four great places to have dinner with friends.<p>Looking at our combined notes:<p>Featuring the tallest speakers with the biggest amp was the Gamut (www.gamutaudio.com) and Pipedreams (www.nearfieldacoustics.com) room. Nice BIG sound, but have heard this sound to death�boring. Great soundstage, but not what I would want to hear on a daily basis.<p>The SAP (www.sap-highend.com) room featured cool amps, speakers, and accessories. Like the new Anniversary integrated and stand pictured below. Not your typical horn sound. Very cool and so Italian!<p>After a few warm hugs from Mr. Mura we were introduced to his new babies. A new 30 watt integrated at around $3000. And check out the new Air Tight statement amps � 340 watts each! Suggested retail should be around $50K for the pair. Sounded very sweet and effortless driving the new Odeon speakers. (www.axiss-usa.com)<p>More from Odeon and Air Tight�the ATM 211 mono-blocks and Tosca speakers. Sounded very open and musical, and some of the nicest people in the business!<p>The Talon Audio (www.talonaudio.com), Joule Electra (www.joule-electra.com), and Elrod power cables room was sounding pretty good. Jud is a great guy and it was nice to meet David Elrod. The new Heaven''s Gate amps sounded and looked fabulous. <p>Wilson Audio (www.wilsonaudio.com) and BAT (www.balanced.com) room sounding like, well, not our cup of tea. Nice, and we do like the BAT stuff, but we still don''t get why everyone jumps onto the Wilson Watt bandwagon. Nice speakers, but for the money, we have heard way better for lots less.<p><b>Much more to follow...</b><p>< March 18, 2003: Message edited by: Ms. William Pecker ></p>

[MWP]

Tannoy: Still looking for my notes on Bryston for ya. They were located in the Convention Center. I did, however find some more notes from Alexis Park.<p>There was a room featuring Audiopax (www.audiopax.com) Model 88 amplifiers, Venture speakers, Sound Application AC filtration (www.soundapplication.com), and Elrod AC cables snaking their way around, sounded very fast and clean. WOW! Good sound and very dynamic. The rest of the electronics were from Goldmund! Yow!<p>The Rogue Audio (www.rogueaudio.com), Acoustic Zen Cables (www.acousticzen.com), and Meadowlark speakers (www.meadowlarkaudio.com) room sounded big and bold�like Mark O''Brian looks! He and Phil are two of the nicer guys around! Rogue showed off their new statement amplifier (muy watts for not so muy cash) with the Blue Herron 2 speakers, which together sounded very effortless and rich. Perhaps a bit too much bass, but with hotel rooms, what do you expect?<p>Also on exhibit in the Rogue/Meadowlark/Acoustic Zen room were the Avid Turntables (www.avidhifi.co.uk). A audio friend is looking forward to getting his new entry level table soon. What a nice table to finally see in the states.<p>Cairn Audio (www.audiomax-ltd.com/cairnezo.htm) offered a nice sound, but nothing to get too excited about. Great stuff at affordable prices, but rather ho-hum. Even so, I would love to hear the line for myself!<p>Sophia (www.sophiaelectric.com) and Galante (www.galanteaudio.com) offered a very relaxed and pleasing sound. The new Baby amplifier (shown in the middle below) is offered at $800! Nice stuff at affordable prices! That is what we need to see more of!