By Dick Olsher 

January 23 - It was gratifying to discover that interest in tube audio has not only remained strong year-to-year, but judging from the number of rooms with tube products, appears to be surging at every imaginable price point. A case in point is the release by TEAC Esoteric, a leader in digital technology, of a stereo tube amplifier. “Why a tube product, and why now?� are questions I raised during the Esoteric press function. The official answer was that these decisions were driven by market interest and demand. Click below to read more about the Esoteric A-100 and other tube gear on display at CES 2008.

Tube Gear From:
TEAC Esoteric, LAMM, Trulife Audio, and PrimaLuna
EveAnna Manley, Audio Research, WAVAC Audio Lab, Cary Audio Design
Wavelength Audio, Western Electric, AcousticPlan, Atma-Sphere
Valve Amp Co, VTL, Profundo, Viva Audio, Pathos, Nightingale, Union Research
Dick Olsher’s Best of Show

Next: TEAC Esoteric, LAMM, Trulife Audio, and PrimaLuna

January 23 - Last year I railed against CES 2007’s pervasive sense of stagnation. Rather than emphasizing advanced technologies–like DSP-based room correction, high-resolution source material, or multichannel playback–that hold the promise of substantial gains in sonic realism, manufacturers exhibited ever more expensive fine-tunings of the status quo, with barely incremental fidelity gains to show for them.

This year was different. CES 2008 was exactly what a CES should be: a look into the future. Between what was and, significantly, what wasn’t on display, the shape of next-generation audio has never been clearer.

Next-Gen Audio Is Stereo
True High-Resolution Audio Has Arrived
High-End Audio to Blu-ray and HD DVD: No Thanks!
Music Servers Will Displace CD Players
DACs Are Back
Digital Room Correction Is Reaching Critical Mass
Alan Taffel’s Best of Show

Next: Next-Gen Audio Is Stereo

January 23 - I usually cover all digital products at shows, but this year I split the task with Alan Taffel. I took the disc players, transports, and DACs, and Alan tackled “Next-Gen Audio� (hard-disk-drive storage, Web-based content acquisition, wireless access, and high-end products with Ethernet ports).

This turned out to be a good move as this show saw the introduction of many conventional digital playback products, along with a wide range of next-generation gear that signals a new direction in high-end digital playback, as you’ll see in the links below.

Disc Player with LCD Display by Boulder
PS Audio’s Memory Transport
DACs by Accuphase and Berkley Audio Design Associates
CD/SACD Players from Esoteric Wadia, NAD, Meridian Audio, More
Meridian Audio’s 808.2 CD/DVD-A Player
Amps, Loudspeakers, Cables, More
Robert Harley’s Best of Show

Next: Disc Player with LCD Display by Boulder

January 23 - If there’s one constant that I take away from Las Vegas every January it’s that CES exhibitors and attendees are a hardy lot. It takes a lot more than the darkening clouds of a sub-prime mortgage crisis, recession worries, or hundred-buck-a-barrel oil to dampen their optimistic spirits. But that’s not to say there wasn’t a fair share of nail-biting, particularly for importers stung by the weakening U.S. dollar.

Throughout the high end, this show represented the broadest contrasts in gear that I can remember, particularly at the front-end of the chain. From unimaginably exotic analog rigs to The Tape Project–a subscription only mastertape club–to iPod docks and hard-drive media servers, there was a level of diversity I’ve not seen before. Click on the links below to see what I mean.

Wadia and Krell Meet iPod
Desktop High End and Combi-Receivers
Now Shipping from Boulder, NuForce
Super Separates and Ascendant Integrated Amplification
Neil Gader’s Best of Show

Next: Wadia and Krell Meet iPod