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Chord was one of the few to join Vincent in non-Ford colors. In the upper mezzanine, a bevy of Chord Chordette Gem Bluetooth transceivers looked enticing and harmless yet one does wonder how friendly all that extra electromagnetic radiation is to human health. Also at the show we found a large variety of software either on optical disc or black PVC. People may not go out as much these days as they did before the eco crunch but listening to music in the home remains a popular activity as show sales proved.



Static displays have pros and cons. The cons are obviously that the product can't be heard. But the pros do you one better by offering more room for interpersonal contact, evidence of which was aplenty. Everywhere we looked there was interaction between visitors and exhibitors. With one of the main themes for the presentations by various industry members being room acoustics, the new DEQX room-correction electronics attracted plenty of attention.

Over in the active exhibits, Dynaudio presented a black version of their Sapphire speaker next to the Excite and new self-powered Focus models.

In the large Totem room, another novelty clamored for our attention - a single red box that replaced the usual gear stack, hopefully signaling an emerging trend to dress up hifi kit in colorful skins. Underneath the high-gloss red lacquer sat beChocolate's all-in-one electronics module dubbed Puroh. As one might guess, beChocolate is Belgian and the Puroh system is fully modular. For the very classily styled box, the customer can specify a stereo amp, DVD/CD player, DAB tuner, Internet tuner - you name it, the options are there.

Large display systems included the Wilson WATT/Puppy and Thiel CS 3.7 speakers powered by Ayre amplifiers and leashed up with Transparent cables.

Just one room away were smaller systems in an even bigger room. Distributor Daluso had left his Reimyo electronics at home to showcase two different rigs. One was built around French Isem Audio electronics which offer a wide range from CD transport to mono amplifiers, most of them distinguished by a single control knob protruding from the front. In combination with a pair of Reimyo Bravo monitors on Dinosaur stands, the system sounded well balanced and attractive even in the very big room.