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Details: Written by: Jason Thorpe; Category: Features; Created: 23 March 2013

There were a few systems on display that genuinely retailed for less than $5000. Here are three of the standouts.

Details: Written by: Jason Thorpe; Category: Features; Created: 23 March 2013

The rules governing the sub-$5000 system challenge weren't exactly clear. Was that $5000 at full retail price, or could it be considered the actual selling price for which retailers were willing to let it go?

Details: Written by: Jason Thorpe; Category: Features; Created: 23 March 2013

Here's a unique idea for high-end audio -- value! The proliferation of cost-no-object systems at audio shows no doubt leaves the average consumer feeling somewhat left out. While featuring monstrous conglomerations of absurdly expensive gear helps to draw a crowd, that same crowd needs to see something affordable that might just work well in a real home. Of course, exhibitors do bring affordable gear with them, but it's usually stuffed in a corner, probably not even hooked up.

Details: Written by: Jason Thorpe; Category: Features; Created: 23 March 2013

Welcome to the 21st century. I left my home in Toronto, heading to Montreal with a five-hour drive ahead of me. That's no big deal, really, as I love long-distance driving; I have a fun, fast car (Subaru STI) and a good stereo system (JL Audio sub, Morel speakers, and US Amps tube-hybrid amplifiers). Part of my pre-drive preparation involved copying over a bunch of high-resolution music files to my Android phone. Once in the car, I hooked the phone up via Bluetooth to my car deck and used the system for a number of tasks. I made phone calls using hands-free access, used the phone's GPS to guide me right to my hotel, and listened to music through the car system.

Details: Written by: Doug Schneider; Category: Features; Created: 23 March 2013

Several years ago I started dreaming about what I thought a perfect Windows-based laptop of the future would look like -- extremely fast (including boot-up), big screen, super thin, ultra light, durable, and without a traditional hard drive (eventually, they always fail in a bad, bad way). A couple months ago the computer I fantasized about came to life: a Samsung Series 9 ultrabook-type computer with a super-good 15" display, near-instant boot-up, and a solid-state drive. The moment I saw it arrive at the store, I bought it and have had no second thoughts since.

Details: Written by: Administrator; Category: Photos; Created: 23 March 2013

On March 22 the SoundStage! Network's publisher, Doug Schneider, moderated a panel discussion focused on the topic of women in audio. Invited to the panel were four women deeply involved in the industry: Anna Popva from Conceptas O2A (Switzerland), Agata Mossop from Lenbrook Industries (Canada), Gabi Rijnveld from Crystal Cable (the Netherlands), and Angie Lisi from American Sound and Angie's Audio Corner (Canada).

Details: Written by: Jason Thorpe; Category: Features; Created: 22 March 2013

That show conditions are not ideal for the reproduction of recorded sound is not in question. A hotel room is an unknown quantity, and I've seen exhibitors struggle for days to try and optimize the sound of their components. Add a crowd of audiophiles who -- in the best of times -- aren't exactly cognizant of their surroundings, and things can go from bad to worse.

Details: Written by: Jason Thorpe; Category: Features; Created: 22 March 2013

I sit down and listen to DeVore Fidelity speakers every chance I get (read: once a year at the Salon Son & Image show). There's something intensely intimate about the sound of these highly efficient, elegant speakers that makes me feel comfortable and warm.

Details: Written by: Administrator; Category: Photos; Created: 22 March 2013

The first day of Salon Son & Image is open only to the trade: dealers, distributors, manufacturers, and press. It's so the industry insiders can get together and do their work and not have to worry about interfering with the members of the public when they arrive on the following day.

Details: Written by: Administrator; Category: Photos; Created: 21 March 2013

Companies featured in gallery below: Arteluthe, Advance Acoustic, Aurum, Bryston, Ledoux Acoustics, Tannoy, Simaudio Moon, AIX Recordings, MA Recordings, Octave Audio, Dynaudio, Woo Audio

Details: Written by: Administrator; Category: Photos; Created: 11 January 2013

Candid photos at CES 2013

Details: Written by: Hans Wetzel; Category: Features; Created: 11 January 2013

I hardly intended to write a piece about Magico. The California-based company has received a great deal of exposure on our Ultra Audio website. No, I resolved to profile something high-performance that had heretofore flown under the proverbial radar. Yet as I stopped by the Magico room and took in their newest offering -- the two-way S1 loudspeaker -- I suddenly had no interest in writing about anything else.

Details: Written by: Administrator; Category: Photos; Created: 11 January 2013

Companies featured in gallery below: Silverline Audio, Verity Audio, AudioQuest, TechDAS, Vertere, Genesis Advanced Technologies, Auralic, Vitus Audio, AVM-Tec, Chord Electronics, Van den Hul, Zanden Audio Systems, Kondo Audio Note, Jamo, Polk Audio

All prices in US dollars unless otherwise indicated

Details: Written by: Administrator; Category: Photos; Created: 11 January 2013

Companies featured in gallery below: Crystal Cable, EMM Labs, PSB, Audio-Technica, Beyerdynamic, HiFiMAN, NuForce, Samsung, Harmonic Resolution Systems, Vandersteen, Raidho Acoustics, Bel Canto Design, T+A, Esoteric, Krell, Rockport Technologies

All prices in US dollars unless otherwise indicated

Details: Written by: Aron Garrecht; Category: Features; Created: 11 January 2013

Earlier in my CES coverage I highlighted the Parasound Halo P5 and Primare Pre32 as examples of a growing trend in the audio industry: the combination of an analog preamp and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). I came across three more of these evolutionary components, but at considerably higher prices.

Details: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Features; Created: 11 January 2013

System 2 price: $30,799

Simplicity can be a beautiful thing -- in this case, both in form and function, and in sound. In this virtual system -- a combination of new products that I dreamed up while walking around CES -- I start with the elegantly slim Magico S1 ($12,600/pr.), the new entry-level two-way floorstander from the Berkeley, California-based company. The S1 features the company's Nano-Tec cone material, this time in an all-new 7-incher that handles bass and midrange duties. The beryllium tweeter is the same as seen and heard in the larger S5. This speaker sounds huge compared to many speakers I heard at CES that were much larger -- jaws dropped when these babies were cranked up. Perfect start.

Details: Written by: Roger Kanno; Category: Features; Created: 11 January 2013

Call me a cheapskate, but I'm always on the lookout for great budget gear. When my colleagues at the SoundStage! Network start talking about $20,000 power amplifiers or $50,000 speakers that offer good value, I am usually not as enthused as they are. So when I come across a high-quality component that has been designed and manufactured by a specialty audio company and costs less than $1000, I can't help getting excited.

Details: Written by: Hans Wetzel; Category: Features; Created: 10 January 2013

Klippel GmbH is not a name that most audiophiles will recognize, but it's one whose work most will have heard. Klippel, started in 1997, is the brainchild of Professor Wolfgang Klippel. The company sells two products, the R&D System and QC System, both of which are evaluation tools that have been sold to hundreds of professional customers in the audio industry over the past several years.

Details: Written by: Hans Wetzel; Category: Features; Created: 10 January 2013

I meandered into room 30-225 here at the Venetian, and with two names that I was unfamiliar with hanging over the door, I hardly expected to see something that would occupy me for the next 15 minutes -- an eternity here at CES.

Details: Written by: Administrator; Category: Photos; Created: 10 January 2013

Companies featured in gallery below: Rega, Tri-Planar, Calyx Audio, Naim Audio, Shunyata Research, Alpha Design Labs, Micromega, Rogue Audio, EgglestonWorks, DeVore Fidelity, Dynaudio, Octave Audio, Vincent, Arcam, DH Labs, Penaudio, NAD

All prices in US dollars unless otherwise indicated