The Rega RP-8 turntable comes with a dust cover, tonearm, interconnects, and an Apheta MC cartridge, and is priced at $3995 for the complete package. Without the cartridge the unit is $2995. One of the design objectives of the RP-8 was to provide an all-in-one solution that's a snap to set up.
Tri-Planar's new Ultimate 12 tonearm is made from coaxial-damped carbon fiber. The 'arm is wired with pure silver and has avionic bearings. The Ultimate 12's price is $9800, and it's available now.
Calyx Audio, maker of the outstanding Femto DAC that Doug Schneider reviewed on SoundStage! Hi-Fi, showed the new Femti stereo/mono power amplifiers at CES 2013. Each Femti is $2500 and can be switched . . .
. . . between stereo and mono operation with a rear-mounted control. It also has single-ended and balanced inputs. The Femti is said to deliver 125Wpc as a stereo amp, and a whopping 500W as a monoblock.
Naim Audio released two new products at CES 2013: the DAC-V1 digital-to-analog converter (left), priced at $2495, and the NAP 100 stereo power amplifier, priced at $1295. The DAC-V1 features a high-speed asynchronous USB input that will accept resolutions up to 24-bit/384kHz, and five S/PDIF inputs that will play up to 24/192. The NAP 100 is a dual-mono design that's said to deliver 50Wpc into 8 ohms or 100Wpc into 4 ohms.
Shunyata Research showed a prototype of their new eight-outlet Hydra AV power conditioner, which they designed to be placed behind the equipment rack. Although not many details were available, we do know that the unit will be priced around $3000.
The Alpha Design Labs H118 headphones feature neodymium-based drivers and high-quality materials throughout. The price is $299. ADL also showed the . . .
. . . X1 portable headphone amplifier and DAC. The X1 will accept a digital signal from iPhone and Android devices and will sell for $549.
The Micromega MyZic headphone amplifier is priced at $299 and is designed to be a companion piece to the MyDAC released last year. The attractive, compact MyZic is made in France.
The Rogue Audio Sphinx is a hybrid integrated amplifier (tube-based input stage and class-D-based output stage with a linear power supply) that is rated to deliver 100Wpc into 8 ohms or 200Wpc into 4 ohms. It has a built-in phono stage and a headphone amplifier. The price is a very reasonable $1295, particularly since it features an all-metal case, high-quality parts, and is made entirely in the USA.
EgglestonWorks demonstrated the Nine Signature loudspeaker, a three-way design that features a 1" soft-dome tweeter, dual carbon-fiber midrange drivers, and an 8” Scan-Speak woofer. The price for the Nine Signature is $18,900/pr.
The DeVore Fidelity Gibbon X loudspeaker is a three-way design that incorporates a transmission-line-loaded midrange (to bring its crossover point to the woofers lower), a .75” dome tweeter, and two 7” woofers. The price is $11,000/pr.
Dynaudio showed a prototype of the Evidence Platinum loudspeaker at High End 2012 in Munich, Germany, last year. At CES 2013 the company played the production version. This model features some key features over the original Evidence model: an aluminum faceplate for the dual midrange and tweeter drivers, as well as improved crossover. The Evidence Platinum retails for $85,000/pr. and is available now.
The great-looking, tube-based Octave Audio MRE220 mono amplifiers, both designed and made in Germany, were driving the new Dynaudio Evidence Platinum speakers to great effect. The MRE220s are rated at 220W into 4 ohms, which Octave designer Andreas Hoffman feels is more than adequate for most loudspeakers. The MRE220's price is $22,000/pr.
The new Vincent SV-800 hybrid integrated amplifier (tube input stage, solid-state output stage) is rated at 100Wpc into 8 ohms and 160Wpc into 4 ohms. It has five RCA inputs and a single XLR input. It uses a complement of four 12AX7 and four 12AU7 tubes, along with 16 Toshiba output transistors. The power supply has 80,000uF of filtering. The . . .
. . . SV-800 is priced at $4995 and is already available.
The new Arcam FMJ A19 integrated amplifier replaces their previous A18 model and is said to use components and design techniques usually found in their top-range products. It is rated at 50Wpc into 8 ohms and 90Wpc into 4 ohms. There are six inputs, an MM phono input, and a preamp output, as well as a new “audiophile grade” headphone output. The A19 is currently available at a price of $1000, which seems like a great bargain.
DH Labs was showing their new pure-silver Deity loudspeaker cable, their most expensive to date. It utilizes 12 solid-core silver conductors with a wrapped-Teflon tape dielectric surrounding two 14-gauge stranded-silver conductors that run down the center of the cable. It is available now and priced at $5900 for an 8' pair.
The floorstanding Penaudio Sinfonietta loudspeaker from Finland has high-quality SEAS drivers: a 1” tweeter, 6” midrange, and 10” paper-cone woofer. The demo model's cabinet had an attractive laminated-birch-veneer finish. Pricing for the Sinfonietta is to be announced.
NAD introduced a series of affordable digital components that use technology similar to their much more expensive Direct Digital components. The $499 D 1050 USB DAC has an asynchronous USB input, along with XLR, coax, and optical inputs that support up to 24-bit/192kHz music files. The D 1050 also has a high-performance headphone output. The $399 D 3020 digital DAC/amp is rated at 30Wpc and supports 24/96 data through its USB input. It also has coax and optical digital inputs, Bluetooth capability, and a high-performance headphone output. The $899 D 7050 digital network receiver adds AirPlay, Wi-Fi, Ethernet connectivity, Internet radio, and a tuner. It is rated at 50Wpc. All three models are expected to be available this summer.
