I had not visited the CES Show in 16 years, so during that time Las Vegas had a chance to change quite a bit, and although some of the iconic buildings are still there by name, most have been significantly upgraded, and many more have been built since!
From an architectural point of view, you have to give credit to the architects and builders involved, as the quality of construction is second to none, and in particular the quality of the finishes, the "Palme d'Or" going to the Bellagio and the Venetian, with "Honours" for the Paris, although quite tacky, still quite an achievement.
But I hear you say, what this has to do with HiFi?
Well not much really, but my real job takes me to deal with a lot of great architects "down under" and in Europe previously, so these things always catch my eye.
Now, over the next few posts, I will try to give you a good report on what caught my ears, and at time my eyes as well at the CES - only what I saw at the Venetian -and at the more esoteric side show: T.H.E. Show at the nearby Flamingos.
Stay tuned!

I happened to be in Carmel, California for New Year'Eve and on New Year's Day, I strolled the beach (almost as good as Sydney...) and browse the numerous shops that were open, thanks to the GFC. And I stumbled upon a beautiful antique shop specialising in music boxes and...old gramophones (I am not sure we should call them turntables just yet...)
And amongst all these treasures, I found what I believe is quite rare: an Edison cylinder machine in perfect working order!
Is it the ancestor of our tangential arm? I let you be the judge...
The Russian lady who owns the shop was quite surprised to find a Frenchman, living in Australia, interested in these old things.
(well, I hear you say, likes attract likes...but we won't go there!)
So, here it is for your enjoyement, plus a couple more photos of gramophones.

In 1987, Alain Wacquet introduced the third and unfortunately last installment of his EA series of electrodynamic panels.
He would later introduce a "Transparence" upgrade, but this product never became a proper commercial reality. I understand Alain still have a few pairs of these magic panels. If anybody is interested, let me know via our "Contact Us" page and we will put you in touch with Alain.

But back to the EA 16 now!
Alain sent me a copy of a review of these products in HIFI Video, June 1987 issue, and I will try to extract the useful information out of it for you in English. I will also give you access to the original text.
So, it is confirmed, as I have suspected from day one, that EA 16, stands for 16 drivers, which implies that the EA 11 and EA 12 had, guess how many, 11 and 12 drivers respectively...
We also get confirmation that all the drivers are in a single vertical line, and in the EA 16 at least, the midrange and tweeter are further back from the woofers. From the impedance curve, we can derive that the panel has its main resonance around 70Hz, which correlates well with the lack of rock-bottom bass. However, because of the small diameter of the drivers, the 94dB/1W/1m efficiency, and the proper time alignement, the impulse response and the dynamic range are second to none.
Even the best electrostatic panels have difficulty to compete with the EA16s, not a mince feast. The closest I have found are actually the Magnepan panels.
Alain is a jazz music guru, and these panels are certainly very well equipped to properly render the small jazz ensembles and the intimate venues that are usually associated with them.
I don't think I have ever heard percussions, and primarily skins rendered with such accuracy and realism.
The EA 16 compare in size with the Martin Logan CLX and the KS-10 from KingSound (out of Honk Kong) at 90cm wide by 140cm high (vs 178.6cm × 65.4cm for the ML and 196cm x 76cm for the KS)

To emphasize that the balance, dynamic range and impulse response are more important to the auditive result than a perfectly flat and extended measured response, it is interesting to note that this is the case for the EA16s.
A slight emphasis in the 200 to 300Hz region improves the subjective impression of enough bass, specially when teamed up with a dip in the midrange and a contolled cut-off in the treble (the curve below may not be accurate in the treble due to the large size of the panel and the positioning of the measuring microphone, however it correlates well with the listening experience...)

These were expensive speakers at the time and also because of their size would sound best in a large room where you could have them well away from all walls, but then you would be rewarded by one, an extraordinary wide, stable and accurate image and two, a dynamic range and timbral accuracy second to none.
The reviewer at HIFI Video concludes: "The system has the efficiency and energy of a compression speaker, the tonal balance of the best electrodynamic system and the "finesse" of an electrostatic panel."
The best of all worlds then? Maybe not, but certainly one of most rewarding listening experience in my book!

see original review below.

Just posted a review of the Decca Sound CD set in my "Music" page, and a video of a private demo of the Cabasse "Ocean" speaker system at Audio Trends , after the show in Melbourne in my "Interviews and Reviews" page.
Check them out!

In October last year, after the Paris HiFi Show in Paris, I had a chance to go and listen to the Elipson 4260 and 4050 at the house of Violet of Passion-Elipson.
We had a ball (so to speak...) and you can read all about our adventures on my "Interviews & Reviews" page.
Good reading!

Bruno Gest has been at it for over 25 years and I have spent an inordinate amount of time there in the 80s, investigating drivers, buying samples and components or just listening to the wonderful contraptions Bruno and his team created month after month.
At that stage, they were very much into horns and Fostex drivers, but also keen suppliers of drivers and kits from Audax and Siare, then Focal, and now Atohm, PHL Audio and Davis Acoustics.
I had met Herve Breton on the Atohm stand in 2010, but didn't get a chance to visit the Paris store. In October 2011, I was not going to miss out again...Situated in the 11th arrondissement  at 138 Avenue Parmentier, you can find here a very large assortment of drivers, primarily of high efficiency or/and full range variety, components like inductances, capacitors and resistors as well as accessories like wires, connectors, vents, and also full kits to build your own speakers.
In one word, this is the Ali Baba cavern of the speaker DIYer, and also a plave where one can discuss designs, tricks of the trade or simply share a good listening session and enjoy the camaraderie and the knowledge of the people which is the trademark of the place.
Luckily enough on the day of my visit, Bruno walked in about 15mns after me, and once we had reconnected, Bruno surprised me with two things: one, a smaller version of our Microphase SATs that we thought we would market years ago, and two, amazingly a very rare prototype of our SATs, as we probably made 10 pairs to test the waters before going full speed. Bruno had bought them back from a client - I thought I had given him a pair at the time, but not...
Note the smaller cabinet, the off the shelf drivers and vent, and the first order crossover. also the cabinet maker could not make the chanfreined cabinet, so you can see the edge of the plywood on each corner.
Although quite elegant, it is nothing compared to the shear beauty and perfection of the final cabinets manufactured for us by Jean-Paul Guy of GUY HF in Bourbon-Lancy, now part of the Focal empire!

When in Paris in October for the Paris Hifi Show, I took the time to go and visit two shops specialising in Vintage Hifi, with a great collection of French products from the 70s and 80s, but also some iconic products from Germany, Switzerland, UK, USA and Japan.
Read my review on our "Interviews and Reviews" page and then visit their websites for more photos and technical specs, and who knows, maybe buying the rare amp or speaker or turntable you have been dreaming of for some time...

Happy New Year to all my readers, with a special mention for those of you that are about to Celebrate Chinese New Year in a few days.
Las Vegas had it all ready to go last week already, and in typical Vegas extravaganza, the whole garden at the Bellagio was transformed into a Chinese garden complete with bridge, dragon and music kiosk complete with traditional LIVE Chinese music band!
Tons of red lanterns were hung from the ceilings, in every corridor, with special red lighting hung on trees, etc...
It was really quite spectacular. Let see if Sydney can beat it on Saturday night for the opening ceremony of the festivities!
BTW, the 2012 International CES had a record number of exhibitors (3,100) and visitors (more than 153,000!).
The parallel High End Hifi Show, The Home Entertainement Show (T.H.E. Show) was also well attended (and is organised by the Chester Group, responsible for the Melbourne Show...).
I will report in more details on these two Shows over the next few days.

I thought I was done with you, dear readers for this year...
But I have a Christmas gift for you - and for myself as well!
I was barely out of jetlag after my trip to Paris, that I had to go to Melbourne, for the first Australian HiFi Show in 20 years!
And as an added bonus, I was invited to post my report on 6moons,
so I am over the moon, so to speak!
Here is the link: http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/melbourne2011/1.html

Good reading, and come back here in the New Year, as we will back more into focus with a visit to two vintage hifi shops in Paris, a private listening session of the Cabasse Ocean, and a scoop product review...

This is specially for my Australian readers.
Australian HiFi Magazine in its December issue has published my report on the Show over 5 pages. I am pretty chuffed about that, I have to say!
So rush to your local Newsagent and grab a copy or "if it's not at your local, move!"
Good reading and all the best for the Festive Season.
This might well be my last post before Christmas, as I am flying to California on Sunday for a well deserved holiday - and a detour via the CES and T.H.E. Show in Las Vegas in January. Stay tuned!