WINTER	2001
Page Four

BENZ MICRO: Benz debuted a series of three new phono cartridges, all clad in cool, semi-transparent, colored acrylic bodies. The ACE (for Advance Cartridge Engineering) series has been designed by Albert Lukascheck using many of the advancements found in higher priced Benz cartridges. The hand made Swiss cartridges are available in three output levels: ACE Low at .3mV (in a red tinted body), ACE Medium at .8mV (clear acrylic body) and the ACE High with 2.5mV output (in a blue body). From what we hear, the ACE cartridges share a great resemblance to the popular Glider. At a price of $550.00, the ACE models will surely impress.

Here is a twist, Benz has introduced a wristwatch! Yep, that’s right, Benz decided to commission a special edition wristwatch. The handsome military style design features a self-winding mechanism, 21 jewel Swiss (what did you expect?) movement, housed in an all titanium case with titanium wristband. The large face has easy to read numerals and sports the Benz logo. A clear observation back allows the curious to peer inside at the workings. 

For five hundred clams you can have yourself a really cool looking watch that I guarantee you no one else on your block will have (unless you happen to live down the street from me!). Or better yet, order a Basis 2001, Graham 2.2 and Benz Ruby cartridge, and I’ll give you one. I will also offer any of our Benz, Graham or Basis customers a very special accommodation price as a thank you for your business. 

BASIS: A.J. Conti, builder of the wonderful Basis turntables, has turned his attention to another part of the analog playback system, the tonearm. According to the Basis press release, “The Vector tonearm is designed to attain maximum performance by utilizing innovative concepts, the proper choice of materials and the appropriate level of viscous damping.” We’ll have to wait until the arm is released later this year for more details. Projected price, $2495.00.

MUSIC HALL: Filling out their line of turntables, Music Hall is adding a new model at the top of the range. The MMF-7 features a freestanding motor (no physical contact with the plinth), adjustable spiked  leveling feet, upgraded tonearm and the excellent Goldring Eroica ($400.00!) cartridge pre-mounted for your convenience. It’s about as plug and play a ‘table available today.

How they can do this for $899.00 is beyond me, but let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. Looks cool, sounded cool, priced right.

HOME THEATER

CALIFORNIA AUDIO: The ultra-knowledgeable, ultra-cool dudes from California Audio Labs were demonstrating and educating in their suite. On hand, the complete 2500 line of gear – DVD, Surround Processor, new Video Processor and Amplifier.

In an interesting twist, they had a turntable connected to their CL-2500 SSP Surround processor! An appropriate and unique way to highlight the analog bypass and demonstrate the superb sonic abilities of the processor and power amplifier.

The sound was indeed excellent, and although the CAL guys were not totally satisfied, it was far better than would be expected from such limiting surroundings and significantly better than 99% of the rooms.

Just released is the CL-2500VP Video Processor/switcher. The new unit features the ultra-high (100mHz) circuitry from the video switcher, and adds a sophisticated video processor capable of some amazing visual improvements. At $2500.00, a real value.

If you've not yet had the opportunity to experience the CAL gear, please do so. If you are planning a state of the art home theater/music system, you simply must place the CAL gear at the top of your short list, for they represent the best home theater electronics these ears have had the pleasure to know. 

ELECTROGRAPH: I was blown away by the pictures these guys were showing in their booth. A prototype system featuring their own plasma display and DVD player presented the cleanest, highest resolution picture I saw at the show. 

Their rig was unique in that they were transmitting a digital signal from the DVD player to the display, bypassing the normal analog conversion that happens inside the DVD player. You would be stunned at the clarity and depth this set-up offered. Amazing!

Though prototypes, Electrograph fully intends to market the two products. The 40" plasma display will be in the $16,000.00 range, the DVD player, about $3000.00.

SONY: Soon to arrive will be the hotly anticipated Sony PFM-42B1 plasma display. This device has shattered the price barrier for ultra-resolution plasma sets, with a retail of only $7995.00.

The super-slim design features a 42-inch screen with a high resolution 1024 x 1024 pixel display that offers a 160 degree viewing angle. Users can change aspect ratios from standard 4:3 to widescreen 16:9 format to accommodate DVD presentations and widescreen broadcasts. The monitor is equipped with an advanced scan converter that can reproduce a wide range of digital video signals including SDTV, HDTV and UXGA computer signals. The new unit is a scant 3-1/4" thick and weighs just 65.5 pounds

DREAM VISION: Debuted here, a host of new models. The long anticipated high definition unit, Movie Star Plus, saw the light of day, along with the Movie Star and Dream Scaler.

New top of the line Movie Star Plus uses a Zeiss projection engine and 150 watt high efficiency lamp producing a bright (1100 ANSI lumens) high resolution 1024-768 XGA (1280 x 1024 compressed) picture. $10995.00.

Movie Star employs a Minolta engine (modified by Dream Vision) to produce a highly refined picture with excellent brightness. 800 x 600 resolution. $7995.00.

The Dream Scaler is a scaler/multiplier which significantly increases resolution and brightness of video images. Highly adaptive, the Dream Scaler functions with all modern display devices including LCD, DLP, DILA, Plasma and CRT. $4995.00.

ENLIGHTENED AUDIO DESIGN: EAD has revised the optically faceted faceplate design, giving it a bit more unique look than other components using the same technique. Also new is the Ultra CD/DVD/DVD-A player. This device can be had with or without the DVDO progressive scan output card and represents one of the first high-end DVD-A players on the market. Price will be $4000.00 without the DVDO card, $5000.00 with.  

Please give us ring if you questions about any of the products you've read about here. 
210-805-9927

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