Steve McCormack of McCormack Audio, sensing my reluctance when offered to listen to a surround-sound demo, unceremoniously pulled rank and made me sit down. I'm glad he did. You see, the flat-panel screen between the Wilson System 7s was purely for accessing the DVD's menu. And what did Steve elect to play for me? Rain and thunder. I kid you not. I could have zoned out right there on the spot, feeling immersed in a drenching downpour, with the occasional violent rumble of lightning striking, hopefully, the McCarran airport and its noisy takeoffs. The swaying palm trees, animated by the air conditioning to tremble and shake as though hit by water droplets, were icing on the cake of the perfect illusion. Thanks, Steve, for a very clever, thoroughly pleasant and convincing demonstration. You're the man. Our own Chip Stern is already hard at work to tell us about your DNA-500 amplifier!

Former McCormack neighbor Pat McGinty of Meadowlark Audio once again showed with Rogue Audio to introduce his new Heron replacement, the $6,495/pr NightHawk. With its intricately sculpted baffle (the picture to the right doesn't quite do certain details justice), the woodworking on these was quite the sight to behold.

Though I didn't spend a lot of time to listening seriously -- leaving this to our John Potis who just dotted the last 'i' on his Thiel 2.4 review and is awaiting the arrival of his NightHawk loaner -- I got the distinct impression that the older Heron's propensity for slightly prominent bass heft and thickness has been transcended while upping the heat in the dynamic whomp department. Mark O'Brian's $3,995/pr Model-150 monos, with their potent quartets of KT-88s, also seemed like another bargain from the rogues who brought us the mighty Zeus at last year's CES.
Mobile Fidelity's new 24KT gold-layer recordable CD-R is tenatively priced at $99.98 for a 50-pack of raw discs, with a 10-pack including their trademark deluxe lift-lock cases $29.98. Unique features are instantaneous pit or burst rather than "melt" burning for superior pit formation and extremely low or no error rate; a patented, scratch-resistant protective surface; a patented photosensitive dye; resistance to the usual 20-year aging cycle by a factor of 25; and an ultra-anal four-level QC protocol to back up their unprecedented lifetime guarantee which should make this new blank media the weapon of choice for critical archival applications. Note to premium recording labels: If these blanks prove too expensive to do your thing profitably, could you at least transition to MoFi's lift-lock case? There simply isn't a better choice, and premium CD/DVD offerings deserve to be presented in the best-case scenario possible. Yes? Please?

Meanwhile, the elves and gnomes in them thar California Redwoods of MSB seem destined to become a complete systems provider with the introduction of their prototype new speakers, which follow hard on the heels of last year's amplifier launch. Add the volume control provisions in their top-line DACs or CD player, and you'll soon be able to assemble an entire MSB system front-to-back. Hold your horses though - these transducers were still in the development phase. Don't harass the engineers until they have signed off on this project, or there'll be hell to pay for me.


In the raw sex division -- adult convention in Las Vegas notwithstanding -- the new Oracle CD1000/1500 oozed the right stuff, with the DAC-Pre 1000 not far behind [right]. In integrated 1500 form, the Oracle CD player uses the Crystal CS4390 24/96 delta-sigma converter with 128-times oversampling and an unusually low 0.5V analog output. In CD1000 transport guise, it adds to the player's connectivity AES/EBU and AT&T optical digital outputs. The flagship CD2000/2500 with active suspension naturally remains in the line, but what you may not know of is the existence of the more conventionally shaped CD 550 CD/DAC and Si500 integrated amplifier models. Visit their site to check out the current lineup.

Marc Chablaix of Swiss Orpheus Lab distinguished himself by making a very short yet formal presentation of his company and the products Ivette and I were about to listen to. I thus learned to my great surprise that his firm was originally founded purely as a demonstrator showcase, to introduce Anagram's digital engineering expertise to prospective OEM partners worldwide. To launch an entire brand merely to prove that your own technical inventions work, initially solely concerned with soliciting outsourcing opportunities... that's quite an example of being serious about what you're up to, wouldn't you agree?

Alas, reception especially in Europe convinced the Orpheus maestros that they had more than just technology demonstrators on their hands. The brand is now a completely separate and autonomous entity from Anagram whose digital conversion modules have since found their way into some of the most highly regarded digital SOTA products - from Audio Aero to Audiomeca and many others who don't immediately spring to mind. The Orpheus Lab Model Zero/One transport/DAC combination has been promised for review to allow our readers more insight into this Swiss engineering-driven outfit.
Volkmar Druebbisch's latest pARTicular invention was on active display in the BAT exhibit and on static showcase in his own. Using slip-on wood elements to dress up the massive metal framing added an elegant mark of distinction - and the complete suspension principle (none of the H-bar threads that support the shelves touch the floor) promise audible besides just aesthetic performance. Cookies, drinks and sundry entertainments merely added to the sense of respite which this soundless room provided amidst the din of rising dB levels in the surrounding showrooms.

The Penaudio/Portal room (for once, somebody actually catered to my alphabetical scheme) combined Finnish ingenuity -- their country's ".fi" extension on the web somewhat predisposes them to our industry, no? -- and American value consciousness. Penaudio showed their $2/995/pr Charisma two-way monitor atop the matching $2,495 Chara subwoofer while Portal Audio launched their new Paladin fully-balanced monoblocks [$3,500/pr].
On the more luxury-oriented side of the equation resides Joe Cohen's Prana Wire inventory. Despite being an easy target for expensive-cable-ridicule, it has made most excellent sound in the DeHavilland/Alon [HE2003/CES 2004] and DeHavilland/Rethm [VSAC 2003] rooms one too many times to be considered meaningless coincidence now.

The Prana cables divide into Cosmos and Nataraj constituents, the modestly-priced Deva Series currently under development for 2004. Based on pure silver ribbon technology and complicated internal geometries that mandate extensive handcrafting (hence the pricing), the Cosmos Series starts at $3,350/$1,750/$3,750 for analog/digital/speaker cables respectively. The Nataraj mirrors this with $2,450/$1,250/$2,250, pricing naturally contingent on desired lengths.

Premium Sound Design from Japan had some absolutely exquisite woodworking which even underneath the flawless lacquers showed super-robust construction and first-rate CNC machining. Being in typical speed-freak frantic mode to see as much as possible, I learned nothing of note except for the price on the PS4580B 4-way 5-driver speaker displayed: $34,000/pr, with an upfiring Murata super tweeter hidden from front view, stratified Finland Birch cabinetry and air-core foil inductors in the crossover network.