Jadis has been at it since 1983 - unlike Samsung, they are not a newbie at using valves!
Andre Calmettes, the founder, invented the JA80 at that time (hence the name, I guess...)
Although certainly not looking Danish, this product produced such an extraordinary sound that it became an instant hit.
Perfectionism is certainly a reason for its success:
The valves are tested and paired before being used in production, components are carefully selected and have been improved over time, and the "piece de resistance" (or should I say "no resistance"...) is the output transformer produced in house and capable of withstanding 2500 watts without distortion!
Currently, the most powerful Jadis amp is rated at 350w, so far away from that specification.
Since then, the product range has grown to include phono stages, preamps, amps, DACs, CD players and cables. And the look! well definitely matching the internal beauty - check the wiring: magnfique!
Jadis was one of the few French companies present in Vegas: good on you!
Check the photos below

Ken Kessler will have a heart attack!
The South Korean Electronics giant Samsung turn to valves (and Apple...) to spruce up their audio business. The new iPod/iPhone/iPad ghetto blaster uses a valve-based digital amplifier in this modern-retro combo, complete with integral sub and Apple Airplay!
They have not forgotten their own Android clients, as this product is also compatible with the Galaxy range.
C'est le monde a l'envers!

Since we started with electronics, I thought we would continue by categories, rather than name. It just happened as well that Parasound booth was almost next to Bryston, so it is fitting.
I have known of Parasound for a while but never had a chance to look at their products seriously.
Well, what best introduction than their top of the range "HALO" series: these are extremely well built products in California, with their main characteristic being the absence of capacitors in the signal path, something they share with my beloved Bryston.
They share also a very good reputation in the Pro business, Parasound being a darling of the film industry. Check their website for the full story.
On display were the JC2 BP preamp, new JC3 phono preamp ($2000) with new three-channel A31 amp (at $3000, it is a bargain...) and an impressive CD player, called, you guess, the CD1!

I will take a break from my review of the CES 2012 to talk about an iconic French brand of electronics: YBA
By a twist of fate, Jullien Thaler redesigned the look of these products before he joined Elipson to design the look of the new 4260, and now the new CEO of YBA Hifi happens to be my good Australian friend Jacki Pugh!. Let me quote their new website:
 "Founded in 1981 by Yves Bernard André, an electronics professor, YBA was quickly recognised for its unusual products.
Unusual in that they were so typically French and therefore seen by some hi-fi journalists and consumers alike to be a little quirky, a quirkiness however which gave them great appeal.
No-one denied the brilliance of the designs.
The growing success of the brand through the 80’s, 90’s and well into the 2000’s attested to Yves’ philosophy to produce the reality of absolute true sound as accurately as possible. To do this successfully meant that the manufacture of all products bearing the YBA name was based on discipline, precision and patience.  
In designing and manufacturing so many models, Yves never wavered from his philosophy to have owners of his products actually forget the product and hear only the music. There were simple but key objectives in the design of every product, irrespective of its technical capabilities......every piece had to be durable, and importantly, they had to have a clarity and purity of sound which resulted in extraordinary musicality.
Numerous awards were heaped upon YBA, not only it its own French market but from many respected international bodies.
The demand for YBA products continued to grow through the years and so it was that Yves began to consider the advantages of a major manufacturing company involving itself to secure the future. Such an alliance would provide the best of both worlds - financial capabilities together with the manufacturing ability to produce in greater numbers in order to satisfy the ever growing demand, whilst always retaining the French heritage and design parameters.
In 2009 one of  China’s leading high end audio equipment manufacturers purchased a significant shareholding stake in YBA. Already manufacturing for some of the most iconic and well respected UK and European companies, Shanling had built a reputation for its quality of product.
Taking time to learn about the products, the market, and importantly to understand what it is that has made YBA such a sought after brand, Shanling has taken time to re-launch internationally. A new CEO who has a lifetime of experience in the audio industry has been appointed to drive YBA forward and to rightfully reclaim its position as a market leader in the hi-fi world.
The first public showing of the new YBA products will be at the High End Show in Munich in early May 2012."

And, if you so happen to read the French version of the site, then have a little thought for me, as I was appointed to translate it from the English version! small world, isn't it?
If you are interested, then book yourself a ticket to Munich for the High End Show there in May!

Well, you know my addiction for Bryston, hence why they were my first visit - and also because they had a spread of 4 meeting rooms on Level 2.
They were introducing their new headphone amp, and also featuring their surround sound processor and DAC.
The headphone amp is quite something else, built like you could send it to the moon and back in one piece, but mainly designed for us, mere mortals on Earth, and capable to drive ANY headphones, including the famously difficult to drive Stax.
What impressed me most though, was the demos conducted by Mark Waldrep, of Aix Records, using five channels HD recordings of his own making on Blu-Ray, and played via an OPPO player and appropriate (lots of...) gear from Bryston and a new Thiel speaker CS2 paired with an USS/PX05 subwoofer and passive crossover for each of the five channels (5.0 combination, rather that the popular home theater setup of 5.1).
The way the music is recorded and then played back via such a system completely alleviate the sweet spot syndrome, and gives the listener a DIFFERENT perspective depending where you are in the room.
It is like being in the studio with the musicians, completely immersed in what they are playing, and capturing every nuances of the music and every detail of the ambience in the room.
Very difficult to put in words, but certainly some of the most rewarding listening of recorded live music I have experienced so far. 
I will take the liberty to quote Mark from an email correspondance we had after the Show, relating to his experiments with DACs (OPPO vs BRYSTON). Interesting to say the least:

" I was very interested in the Bryston converters and especially the multichannel version that resides in the SP-3 processor. I didn’t realize that the converters in that new box are the same as in the stereo dedicated box. After speaking with James Tanner about a multichannel piece, we hooked up the Oppo via HDMI to their SP-3 and I listened again to many of my tracks using their conversion rather than the Oppo Sabre ESS DACs of the previous few days. I cannot say definitively that they were better but knowing Bryston gear (I’ve owned their power amps for decades), I look forward to getting a unit in my studio to check it out."

More recently, Mark teamed up with Bryston again and B&W speakers at the AXPONA Show in Jacksonville earlier this month. I was not there, but this interesting and friendly "competitor" was there:
you can read his report here: http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2012/03/14/axpona-2012-aix-bw-bryston/ 


And below some more photos of the Bryston gear and Thiel speakers.