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Coverage of HI-FI '99 from Chicago, USA -- May 12-16, 1999
The Impact/E.A.R. system consisted of the Impact satellite/sub System 6, which includes the two-way transmission-line main speakers, stands for the main speakers, and a pair of transmission line subs ($4500). E.A.R.'s 534 amp ($3495 black, $3675 chrome) drove the speakers and was mated with the E.A.R. 834L preamp ($995 black, $1475 chrome). The primary source component was yet another Sony SCD-1 SACD player.
The Sound Application CF-2 power line conditioner (approximately $4000) offers extremely wide-band line filtering and robust construction. It was in use in the E.A.R./Impact room.
Bose showed their Lifestyle 25 system ($2499), which includes five small two-module speakers and a power-center woofer. The control unit for the system includes a six-disc CD changer, AM/FM tuner, and a five-channel surround system that can generate five-channel surround effects from any kind of input, including stereo or mono. The Bose hallmark is simplicity and ease of use. The synthesized surround demo did indeed work as claimed. It is no substitute for the real thing, but would certainly be entertaining for non-critical TV watching and the like.
Monitor Audio and retailer Columbia Audio/Video presented the new Silver Cinema speaker system, consisting of the Silver 5 front-channel pair ($995/pair), the Silver Center ($595) and the Silver 3 rear-channel speakers ($595/pair), all driven by Meridian electronics and a Denon 5000 DVD player. Reportedly, the new Silver Cinema has performance comparable to the more expensive Full Metal Theater recently reviewed in SoundStage! Video Online.
The MAC Grand Platform ($600 in exotic wood) is an especially lovely way to support audio equipment. The company makes equipment racks too.
The NAD Music System ($799) is an all-in-one-box system that includes an integrated CD player/preamp/amplifier/tuner and PSB Alpha Mini speakers. Phoenix Gold speaker wire is included too.
Rick Rosen's and Lonnie Brownell's in-the-hotel-room system (which changes from Show to Show): VTL integrated amp, CAL CD/DVD player, and Gallo Nucleus Micro speaker system.
Some consider John Ötvös' Waveform loudspeakers to be the finest values in high-performance audio. The Canadian-made Mach 17 is priced at $6995/pair and is only available factory-direct.
The Meadowlark Heron speakers ($4200/pair) were making some highly resolved music driven by Nagra amps. They also have the distinction of being the last product we photographed for our Show coverage. |
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