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pid: 564-2024/12/04 (v1.2)
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G Lab Design Fidelity's Block integrated amp is an exercise in aesthetics and manufacturing from the designer Mateusz Glowka and the Elzab company. In terms of electronics, it is a tube based, single ended amplifier with one JJ EL34 per channel that delivers 5.5W, and offers a phono and two line level inputs.
Berlina RC11 is Gauder Akustik's top-of-the-range loudspeaker. It is a large four-way floorstander with ceramic woofer and mid/woofer drivers, and diamond midrange and tweeter. It also offers a room equalization circuit.
Showtime for Grado headphones…
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Grimm Audio demonstrated their complete LS1 system including the sub and the upgraded processor that is compatible with DSD streams.
New d/a converter from Hegel. The HD12 is compatible with DSD (up to 128x) and PCM streams (up to 24/192). It uses a DAC chip from AKM, new USB interface and features a headphone amplifier and remote control for inputs selection and level setting.
A small scale rack full of iFi devices. iFi is a company that seems to be extremely interesting both for their product variety and quality as well as for the technology used.
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The always impressive S9900 loudspeaker, a member of JBL's K2 series.
Kef presented their new, larger, Blade, called, quite logically, Blade 2…
… but, much more interesting was their new Reference series. Photo shows the top model, Reference 5, featuring a Uni-Q point source driver array (one-inch tweeter in conjunction with a 5-inch midrange in a coaxial implementation) and four 6.5-inch woofers with aluminum cones. The length of the bass reflex can be changed to fine tune the low cut point between 32Hz and 35Hz.
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German Langerton Configurations showed the Duo Capable, a two-way loudspeaker with separate enclosures for the high and low frequencies that it is possible to create a phase coherent system…
… and gave the visitors the opportunity to see for the first time their new model, the Configuration Holograf, a small stand mounted loudspeaker with mechanically time aligned drivers.
Lansche Audio's 5.1 model was an excellent opportunity to hear the plasma (Corona) tweeter, for which the company is largely known for.
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An impressive, both in appearance and sound quality, system that includes the Magico Q5 and the Soulution 701 monoblocks.
Certainly, even more impressive was Magico's Ultimate III, a loudspeaker system featuring horn loading drivers down to 125Hz, and a 15-inch woofer loaded by a closed box for the lower part of the audio spectrum. The price tag is also impressive, at $ 600,000.
Marantz introduced their new DAC/Headphone amp. HD-DAC1 is compatible with DSD (128x) streams and uses a Cirrus CS4398 chip along with a double clock circuit for better jitter performance.
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New integrated amplifier from Mark Levinson. No.585 includes a digital interface that handles PCM signals up to 32/192 and DSD as well (with an ESS Sabre DAC chip), a discreet R-2R attenuator and an AB class output stage that delivers 200/350W at 8/4 Ohm loads.
A new top loudspeaker from Martin Logan. The Neolith is a hybrid design that uses electrostatic panels (measuring 22x48in, the largest ever built until now by the company) for mid/highs and a 12-inch woofer for the lower part of the audio spectrum.
The Neolith was driven by a pair of Moon 880m monoblocks from Sim Audio.
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To V31 CD player belongs to MBL's Noble series and offers an optically isolated USB port (up to 24/192) and connectivity with iOS devices as well…
… while the N51 integrated amplifier, of the same series, uses MBL's LASA technology that -according to MBL themselves- ensures low distortion and offers the choice of operating at low gain for a lower noise level. Both devices were prototypes. Shipping is expected in the second half of 2014.
McIntosh displayed their combo McAire. It is based on AirPlay for wirelessly streaming files from iTunes running network resources and even includes a pair of three-way loudspeakers.
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The distinctive chassis of the MiZiK series was designed by the Ochoa y Diaz-Llanos agency. Apart from aesthetics, the system includes a DAC (dPlay), a phono preamp with integrated ADC (dVin) and the necessary server/streamer with SSD (dStream). MiZiK features Wadax compensation technology to minimize distortion through a MusIC VLSI chip.
Based on the Hypex NC1200 class D module the Kaluga monoblock power amplifier from Mola-Mola is capable of delivering 400/700W in 8/4 Ohm loads. Published specs are, indeed, impressive.
Mola-Mola also showed the Makua a preamplifier with an extremely flexible signal routing scheme that includes computer defined presets. Makua offers five inputs (single ended and balanced), a stepped attenuator and a series of modular options such as a DAC, a Phono preamplifier and tone control circuitry.
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