WINTER	2001
Page Two

TOTEM: The guys from North of the border arrived with three new speakers. First up is the Hawk, which,  in true Totem form, is a two-way design. The small floor-stander is positioned between the Sttaf and Forest in the line, at $2399.00. Hawk uses a new tweeter from MB Quart and a San-Speak Revelator woofer. (Hawk pictured here in Mahogany finish).

I was much impressed with the sound of their modest set-up which partnered the Hawk with the new Rega Mira integrated amp and Planet 2000 CD player. Interestingly, there appeared to be a rather casual attempt at speaker positioning. Designer Vince Brusezze, said the Hawk was intended to be a “no fuss” speaker, requiring very little tweaking to produce savory tunes. Further, the speakers seem happy with placement near the rear wall, as you can see in the photo. Looks like a great little speaker that will partner well with a wide variety of gear.

On hand too was the pinnacle of the Totem line, the Wind. The three-way, four-driver design is a bit of a departure from the modus operandi at Totem (known for simple two-way’s). The Wind has been designed to establish a new level of performance in both quality and scale for Totem. Price $6600.00.

Lastly, Totem offers the Lightning. This powered subwoofer uses a special carbon fiber, cast frame driver powered by an internal 200 watt amplifier. Billed as a “musical” sounding subwoofer, the Lightning was designed to partner any of the Totem designs. I did not get a chance to give it a listen. Projected price is under $1500.00.

PLINIUS:  Formal release of the new Plinius CD-LAD line stage preamplifier took place at this year’s CES. The CD Line Amplification Device borrows the tried and true circuitry from the respected “M” series Plinius preamps, adapting it into a more cost-effective line only configuration. At $2995.00, the CD-LAD would make a great centerpiece in any turntable-less system.

NORDOST: These guys had show goers buzzing with the release of their new Valhalla cables. These insanely expensive wires may just be worth the asking price, as everyone who heard them compared to the (already expensive) SPM Reference were amazed at the difference. Include me in that group, as I too was shocked at just how much difference changing the speaker leads would make.

Termed Extreme Reference cable, Nordost has developed a proprietary process that dramatically reduces dielectric contact with the conductors. According to their information, Valhalla has a propagation speed of 96% the speed of light, and a dielectric constant of 1.12, with the theoretical ideal of a vacuum at 1.

Health warning: Anyone with a weak ticker should skip to the next paragraph, and the rest of you should sit. Ok, the price on a 2M pair of Valhalla speakers cables is $6100.00. Clearly not for the entry-level system, and frankly, god-awful expensive, but I must tell you, after hearing the demo, I am tempted, very tempted! Hold me back friends, I’m slipping off the edge!

Also debuted here was the new Nordost cable burn-in device, the CBID-1. Without a doubt the best device of its kind ever produced, the CBID-1 is the most flexible and effective cable-burner I have ever tried. 

Nicknamed the "Cable Toaster," CBID-1 accepts single-ended RCA cables, balanced XLR cables and a pair of speaker cables (even bi-wired cables!). Included are adapters that allow daisy-chaining of several RCA cables at once, reducing burn-in time required for a system-full of cables. A 24 hour automatic cycle is activated at the push of a button (Nordost recommends 2 – 3 full cycles). Effective? I’ll say! The Cable Toaster is dramatically quicker than playing music through the cables. A review in Hi-Fi+, reported a huge difference between “toasted” cables and those used in the system (playing the XLO break-in CD) for the same amount of time. $1199.00.

SCHROERS & SCHROERS: Strolling through the displays at the Las Vegas Hilton, I came upon a very attractive and well built line of audio/video furniture from Germany. Little known in the U.S., Schroers & Schroers of Berlin make the number one selling line of entertainment furniture in Europe. It’s easy to see why when you gaze upon the lovely, unique and practical designs. The build quality is outstanding, with typical German attention to detail.

Most popular in their line-up is the Alpahstatic. The triangular design (pictured left in Silver with clear glass shelves)) is stunning. I was surprised to find that the unit is very sturdy, and I would have no qualms about racking my gear on this stand. Alpastatic $869.00 - $1149.00 depending on finish.

I gravitated toward the Focus Maxi Series, attracted to the apparent rigidity and mass. This series use extremely heavy gauge, large cross-section metal tubing (all fully welded), to produce and ultra-rigid framework. Massive ¾” glass shelves offer attractive and extremely solid support for equipment. While  normally not a big fan of glass shelving for components, the thickness of the stock employed here causes me to make an exception. 

Also very intriguing was the Archos. This glass and beech wood unit features five shelves hung by stainless steel tensioning wires from the top of the frame (not unlike what Arcici does with their suspense rack, but without the pneumatic bladder). Suspending the shelves this way effectively isolates them from structure-borne vibrations, and this rack should offer significant sonic improvement over more traditional designs.      

Visually the Archos is stunning, as you can see from the photo. Archos $2100.00.

As much a work of art as a practical way to support your gear, S & S furniture is a rare combination of beauty and functionality. Here is a way to improve the sound of your system while enhancing the look of your equipment and the environment.

PASS LABS: Nelson Pass and friends have begun shipping the long awaited X-250 amplifier. The “X” Series gear has quickly established an enviable reputation, combining power and authority with refinement and grace. The X-250 continues that tradition, falling in between the X-150 and X-600 models.

With a dynamic range in excess of 150dB, the X-250 easily swings from total silence to explosive transient and back to silence. As you might guess by the model number, the X-250 produces 250 beefy watts per channel (into an 8 Ohm load), 500 into 4 Ohms. The X-250 has enough juice to make any speaker dance!

The simple two gain stage circuit found in the X-250  (and all “X” series designs) embodies Nelson Pass’ design philosophy of less is more. Patented Super Symmetry circuit topology reduces distortion by an order of magnitude over convention designs. One listen and I’m sure you’ll agree, the X-250 is a great sounding amp. The X-250 is priced at $6000.00.

Those lamenting the extinction of the Aleph clan will be heartened by the release of the new Volksamp 60 watt monos. With circuitry identical to that of the Aleph series, the Volksamp monos offer the same sweet, liquid qualities so appreciated in their predecessors. Actually, the Volksamp products go a bit further than the Aleph, with larger power supplies for greater current delivery, their outputs now doubling into a 4 Ohm load.

So, if you are looking for 60 watts of pure class A sound, you’ll find no better bargain out there than the 60 watt mono blocks from Volksamp at only $3790.00.

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