CES 2016 - Final Thoughts - Findings, Musings and Awards

Mike

Mike

Audioshark
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Going to CES in Vegas is a little like walking into the amusement park, looking at the biggest roller coaster and thinking "that doesn't look so bad!" Half way through the ride you're hanging on for dear life and wondering why you did this to yourself.

CES is a crazy show in a nutty town. The motto for Vegas should be "objects are not as close as they appear". Everything in Vegas is a big walk. During CES, you can add mass amounts of people, crazy traffic and long lines for anything and everything.

Attendance this year seemed down. Vendor participation was still very strong. I saw a LOT more static display rooms than ever before, and heard more than a few dealers voice their complaints "I come to these shows to hear products I'm interested in carrying!" My sentiments exactly.

But on the flip side, manufacturers have to strategically partner together, which isn't always easy. If you walk into a room sponsored by a new amp company and they are playing the new B&W 803D3's, what do you think is going to get all the attention?

It's also clear that despite CES' best intentions, the Consumer Electronics Show still has a lot of consumers. GASP! The horror! Well, in reality, I witnessed many times someone who had likely got into CES on a friends badge asking the stupidest questions. One guy walked up to a large, well established tube electronics manufacturing company, pointed at the glowing KT88's and shouted, "are those really tubes?"

This year I found less rooms sounding truly "bad", but also found fewer rooms which sounded really good either. I think the level of sound at this years show was overall pretty good - for a show. From a source standpoint, vinyl ruled the roost by a large margin. I heard a few good DAC's as well, but analog was king of the castle at this years show.

So on to my thoughts:

Best Budget Product:

ELAC bookshelf speakers. Hands down a no brainer at $499.

Best System under ~$50,000:

VAC 160iSE with Focal Sopra No. 2's, Transrotor turntable and Air Tight cartridge. If someone had this system at home, I can't see them wanting for anything else.

Best Price-No-Object System:

Magico S7/Soulution 700 series Room.

Runner-up: Big Kharma/LAMM room.

Best New Phonostage:
ARC REF 3. In fact, the entire Audio Research room sounded amazing. REF 250 SE amps, with REF 6 Preamp and REF 3 phonostage. Damn it all! I wanted to take it home. All of it!

Runner-up: VAC

Best Turntable:

Kronos Sparta. Yes I'm biased! But I heard a lot of turntables this year - but the Kronos Sparta was truly sounding special as always. Using the Air Tight cartridge, it sounded quiet and musical.

Best DAC:

MSB Select DAC. This was my first time hearing this wonderful product. I had seen it at RMAF, but it was on static display. It produced a smooth, big, bold, detailed, yet never fatiguing sound.

I'm heading back to the Nagra room today to check out their new DAC and give it another listen.

Best Headphones:

What the heck is a "best headphones" doing in my show report? You all know I'm not a big headphone guy. BUT - this year, I heard the new Audeze LCD-4's with the Chord headphone amp and was BLOWN AWAY! The LCD-4 is a BIG BIG step-up on my previous favorite headphone - the LCD-3.

Best Speakers:

Magico S7's. The Magico S7's were paired with the big Soulution 701's and 725, using the Soulution phonostage, Transrotor Turntable and Air Tight Cartridge.

Runner up:

Kharma Extreme Grand


Most Exciting New Product:

The Micromega M1. This product is going to be a giant killer. $3999 MSRP and does everything AND MORE other more expensive products do.

Runner-Up (tie): Lumin U1/Aurender A10

Honorable Mention: B&W 803D3's

The Brand to Watch in 2016:

VAC. Let me tell you, their new amps, new preamp and new phonostage are priced right, sound great and look fantastic.

Product I Would Most Like To Take Home:

Any of the Kondo or LAMM amps, thank you very much. Either will do nicely. :)

Best Overall Room:

Magico S7/Soulution 700 series. When I first walked into this room they were playing Pink Floyd. I stayed for almost an hour. Every song sounded big, bold, rich, deep and had incredible 3D with attack and beautiful decay. Did I mention I love Soulution? :)

Runner-Up:

Kharma/Lamm Room(s)

Honorable Mention goes to the YG/Boulder room.
 
Mike
Nice summary.

I agree with you on the MSB Select DAC. The best digital I have heard especially from PCM sources. I am a bit jealous of those fortunate few that can afford ~$90k for the incremental improvement they will get.

I was never a fan of Magico until my local dealer started carrying Soulution. They are meant to be paired up.
 
One other comment after perusing your photos in the other thread. It seems that more audio manufacturers are upping their industrial design game. Just one such example was Bryston and the direction Audio Research is moving.
 
still-one said:
One other comment after perusing your photos in the other thread. It seems that more audio manufacturers are upping their industrial design game. Just one such example was Bryston and the direction Audio Research is moving.
Click to expand...

Yes. I would agree. Beautiful aesthetics tells the mind to sit your ass down and listen!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Mike,

After attending CES 8 times, I have some observations. I did not attend this year or last. CES and Vegas have seen the last of me. I don't miss the long, cold hikes from the Flamingo to the Venetian to cover the, now extinct, T.H.E. Show-Vegas. I don't miss the attitudes of security at the Venetian. I don't miss the 10 hour drive through possible rain, fog, or snow. I don't miss the Vegas attitude of being different. I have never been to any other city where I had to pay for the first night's stay when I booked months in advance. I don't miss the 72 hour cancellation requirement. Vegas is truly its own world with its own rules. I much prefer the smaller, public, regional shows.

The split-level rooms at the Venetian are horrible. Neither level provides a good venue for an audio system. I am surprised that more vendors did not go "static" sooner.

Yes, people with connected friends can fudge their way in but anybody with access to CES for any reason can also get into the Venetian towers for the high-end audio. That means someone representing the AMAZING NEW CAN OPENER company (Wait, that's not all! Order now and we will send you a second one absolutely free!! + shipping and handling) can ask dumb tube questions.

I am glad someone else is doing the leg work this year. Mike, Thank you for all the great pictures and commentary. :congrats: Because despite Vegas's bad attitude, I miss the excitement. Most of the vendors are fun to be around.
 
Mike,

Thank you so much for all your hard work and beautiful photos. You've done an amazing job and have gone above and beyond in the call of duty. Nobody works harder, you are the Energizer Bunny of Audio!
 
joeinid said:
Mike,

Thank you so much for all your hard work and beautiful photos. You've done an amazing job and have gone above and beyond in the call of duty. Nobody works harder, you are the Energizer Bunny of Audio!
Click to expand...

Thanks Joe!! My feets are tired. :P
 
Dizzie said:
Mike,

After attending CES 8 times, I have some observations. I did not attend this year or last. CES and Vegas have seen the last of me. I don't miss the long, cold hikes from the Flamingo to the Venetian to cover the, now extinct, T.H.E. Show-Vegas. I don't miss the attitudes of security at the Venetian. I don't miss the 10 hour drive through possible rain, fog, or snow. I don't miss the Vegas attitude of being different. I have never been to any other city where I had to pay for the first night's stay when I booked months in advance. I don't miss the 72 hour cancellation requirement. Vegas is truly its own world with its own rules. I much prefer the smaller, public, regional shows.

The split-level rooms at the Venetian are horrible. Neither level provides a good venue for an audio system. I am surprised that more vendors did not go "static" sooner.

Yes, people with connected friends can fudge their way in but anybody with access to CES for any reason can also get into the Venetian towers for the high-end audio. That means someone representing the AMAZING NEW CAN OPENER company (Wait, that's not all! Order now and we will send you a second one absolutely free!! + shipping and handling) can ask dumb tube questions.

I am glad someone else is doing the leg work this year. Mike, Thank you for all the great pictures and commentary. :congrats: Because despite Vegas's bad attitude, I miss the excitement. Most of the vendors are fun to be around.
Click to expand...

Dizzie - I hear you! It's a lot of work. I'm wondering if these blisters on my feet will ever go away. I have aching muscles in my legs I didn't even know I had.

But I will say, I had fun. Sure, the listening sessions were a mixed bag (but truly more good than average), but it's great to meet all the people you talk to on the phone. Whether it's hanging out with James on the comfy sofa in the Bryston room and listening to a dizzying, but very impressive array of new products or talking to Louis from Kronos about different systems he's heard with the Kronos in it to hanging with my neighbors in the VAC room and seeing the proud smiles on their faces as they explain to everyone their new modestly priced products, it's all fun and important too.

These are all experiences. Whether it's sitting down with Bill Conrad to hear about the new GAT 2 preamp and discuss KT150 tube options in their amps or to strategize on future product development with the guys at Aurender or Lumin or just to go and hear potential future brands for Suncoast Audio, it's all experiences I value.

RMAF and Axpona are definitely more "fun" and easy going, but CES brings a bigger broader group of manufacturers together.


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Mike, great summary. Thanks for all the walking and writing, u da man!:thumbsup:
 
Oh, you was here Mike ?
I'm here since last Tuesday
For me also , Soulution was the Cost no object room

But you know me
ARC4Life
 
highEndguy said:
Oh, you was here Mike ?
I'm here since last Tuesday
For me also , Soulution was the Cost no object room

But you know me
ARC4Life
Click to expand...

We missed each other? What the heck?That's what I said. Soulution room with S7's was best overall.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Great summary Mike!

Did you get to talk to Dan D'Agostino about the new Progression amps? Also, did you hear the updated Momentum M400s?

Also, Wilson was supposed to have the new Alexx speakers there (passive demo). How did they look?
 
Ritmo said:
Great summary Mike!

Did you get to talk to Dan D'Agostino about the new Progression amps? Also, did you hear the updated Momentum M400s?

Also, Wilson was supposed to have the new Alexx speakers there (passive demo). How did they look?
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike. I did talk to Dan about his new amps. They are truly something to behold. Dan's room was static display. I did hear some Dag amps, but don't recall if they were the originals or M400's.

I didn't bother with the Wilson room. I believe they were at the Mirage. I did go to the Mirage, but I had a lot of rooms playing new gear to cover and needed to avoid as many "static" rooms as possible.

I try to cover the show the best I can. Going into rooms showing off their new "100 inch screen and projector" is avoided like the plague. Rooms full of a new cable brand (and nothing playing), again eats into valuable time. I pop my head in, look around to see if anything looks interesting and then quickly move on. I feel it's important to spend more quality time in 2 channel rooms and going back a second or third time to rooms of keen interest than truly trying to spend time staring at a wall full of new cables from a brand I've never heard of.

I was able to circle through many key rooms many times. I was in the Magico S7/Soulution room many times. Same for the Raidho room and several others.

I went into the Ayre room several times, but every time the reps were busy.

I went into the Constellation/Martin Logan Neolith room a few times. Mostly out of curiosity. I keep trying to figure out how the new Martin Logan models (below the Neolith's) sounded so good, but the statement ones don't - and why? I have a weak show theory: the panels are too big. They oversize and supersize everything. Guitars aren't supposed to sound THAT big. The mouth of the singer isn't supposed to have a circumference of 10 feet! The huge panels also play lower and as such, tend to crossover with the woofer at a lower point and there may be some overlap here, and frankly, it doesn't sound right. Don't know. Again, show conditions. I've heard the Neolith's many times now - with McIntosh, Emm Labs, Constellation, etc. All good gear, and they never sound quite right, but granted, again, all show conditions.
 
Mike-You are to be commended for all of your hard work. Going to shows is supposed to be fun, but it quickly turns into work when you feel like you have to take a zillion photos, shoot videos, post your work, write commentary, and take requests from forum members on rooms they want you to visit and provide feedback on. The good news is that you took the time to go back to your favorite rooms as often as you could to enjoy the sound and it sounds like the Magico S7 speakers made quite the impression on you with the Solution gear.
 
Mike said:
RMAF and Axpona are definitely more "fun" and easy going, but CES brings a bigger broader group of manufacturers together.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

T.H.E. Show Newport Beach is also major fun and a very serious event. About 165 rooms in 2015.
 
Mike, thanks for the summary, pictures and videos. Amazing number of shots to take and put up in double time.

Wrt the Micromega M1, it is quite a resurrection, if they manage deliver and on time.

What was it about the M1 that makes it a potential giant killer? Sound (it was only on static display at (was it?) Munich 2015) - did you manage to hear it - or a combination of all the goodies in a compact package with a reasonable price tag?
 
nfnc said:
Mike, thanks for the summary, pictures and videos. Amazing number of shots to take and put up in double time.

Wrt the Micromega M1, it is quite a resurrection, if they manage deliver and on time.

What was it about the M1 that makes it a potential giant killer? Sound (it was only on static display at (was it?) Munich 2015) - did you manage to hear it - or a combination of all the goodies in a compact package with a reasonable price tag?
Click to expand...

Oh, I heard it all right. Many times. With Sopra No. 2's. See the pics thread. It has more functionality than its competitors (with more functionality coming). Handles all file types. Has a killer phonostage. It's a AB amp (no D). I saw a prototype of the new remote (the new remote has a screen on it which mirrors the screen on the top of the unit). DSP room correction is coming (probably Munich launch). I also heard all the planned developments for this year. I can't get into details, but let's just say, users will have tremendous flexibility of power.

And it retails for $3999!!!!!! You can get ANY color. You can get every color in the Focal line up. Fit and finish is top notch.

It's an astounding looking, sounding integrated that oozes functionality and features.

I ordered one and I'm picking up the brand.
 
Mike, did you hear the Soulution 760 DAC playing in the room? Did it make the same impression on you that it did at RMAF?

I noticed in one of your pics that it was playing thru its Network connection DSD 128.
 
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