WINTER	2005
Page Two

SHUNYATA: If you haven’t heard, we have a limited edition power cable from Shunyata, the Snake Bite. Very similar to the early Diamondback, the Snake Bite offers outstanding performance at the bargain basement price of just $95! If you never thought you could afford a Shunyata cable, here’s your chance. You’ll need to move fast though, there were only a limited number made and the cable will not be offered again.
          New goodies were announced at CES; let’s have a look.
          The Gemini speaker cable is their new entry level offering. At just $995 for a 2M pair, the Gemini brings the patented Matrix geometry to a very affordable range. We received the cable prior to CES and can confirm that it is an outstanding product.
          The Altair interconnect ($995) takes its place between the Aeries ($595) and top of the line Antares ($1995). I have the Altair coming shortly and welcome your inquiries.
          A new flagship speaker cable, the Orion, was a featured guest. The cable utilizes the patented Matrix geometry in a beefy 6 gauge configuration. Unlike other cables of this size, the Orion remains light and extremely flexible thanks to the Matrix braiding. Braiding of this cable can only be done by hand; the complex lay of the Matrix design cannot be accomplished by and existing machine. A single pair of 8’ Orion cables takes fours hours to braid, not to mention the extra time required for jacketing and termination. They’re expensive at $4995 per pair, but cheap by comparison to some of the speaker cables out there.

          I’ve never seen the Shunyata guys as enthusiastic about a product as they were about the Altair and Orion. To a man, each felt the addition of these two cables to a high resolution system can have an absolutely transformational effect. Much bigger, they say, than the addition of a component.
          Shunyata was absolutely everywhere at the CES. The list is a veritable who’s who in the business proving that Shunyata products really work. Seen at: Halcro, Edge, Stereovox, VTL, Meitner, Wilson Audio and ARC.

JOLIDA: The new JD-9A is sure to gladden the hearts of anyone on the prowl for a modestly priced tube phono stage. Highly regarded for their great sounding and affordable offerings, Jolida continues that heritage with the JD-9A. Based on what I heard at CES, it should be a great sounding piece, and a killer value.
          The versatile JD-9A has gain enough to work with a wide range of phono cartridges including many low output moving coil designs. While I wouldn’t recommend it with extremely low output cartridges, it was being used at CES with a low output MC and there seemed to be no dynamic compression (the most common side effect when too low an output cartridge is used with tubes).
          At just $450, the JD-9 looks like another slam dunk for Jolida.

MBL: Our friends from Germany arrived with an all new speaker and some changes to the existing line up.
          The latest edition to the line, the mbl 116E, employs the same driver compliment found in the 111E, but combines them into a single enclosure (the 111E uses separate woofer and midrange cabinets). The move reduces the cost, bringing the 116E in at $17900 in black or Arctic Silver.
          The mbl 111E gets a bit of a facelift, refining the lines for a bit more angular appearance. $23600 in black or Arctic Silver.
          I didn’t think the sound at this year’s show was as good as last year (which was breathtaking), but still evident was the incredible soundstage (like no other speaker I’ve heard) with depth and layering that’s astounding. Transparency is as good as any planar. It’s a speaker that combines incredible dynamics with finesse and inner detail. Rare indeed and quite addictive!

CARY: Cary CD players have long been prized for their smooth, refined sound. I guess you could say digital with a decided analog bend. Their first players used tubes, but subsequent generations went solid state (with the exception of the 308-T). The hew and cry from the masses convinced Cary to again offer a tube based unit. So here it is, the 303/300.
          More than just a rehash of its predecessor, the 303/300 includes substantial improvements in many areas. The digital section features the Burr Brown DAC 1792 chip set and the machine can up-sample to 768kHz! A digital input is also available that will up-sample external sources to 192kHz. Both RCA and XLR outputs are provided. Further, the 303/300 has both tubed and solid sate outputs, allowing one to choose which best suits their system and preferences. Maybe most interesting is the inclusion of an analog volume control, allowing one to bypass the preamp. $4000

PASS: The latest versions of some of the company’s most popular amplifier designs were on display. The “point five” upgrades offer improved resolution, lower grain and more spacious soundstage.
       At $4500 is the  X150.5,producing 150 watts per channel into 8 Ohms and 300 into 4 Ohms. The X250.5, priced at $6500, is a 250 watt unit that jumps to 500 per channel in 4 Ohms,  the X350.5 pumps out 350 into eight and 700 into four. For massive power reserves that provide a remarkable sense of stability and speaker control, try the X600.5 ($18k per pair) which delivers a massive 1200 watts per channel into 4 Ohms, and is eclipsed only by the gargantuan X1000.5 ($28k a pair) that pumps out a mind blowing 2000 watts into four Ohms!
      All of the new models are ultra high current designs, stable driving any speaker, and feature the patented Pass Super-Symmetry™ circuitry that dramatically reduces distortion and noise.
      Eggleston, TAD and Kimber each used Pass amplification to power their exhibits. The sound in these rooms was powerful and dynamic when the music required muscle, yet displayed the ability to preserve the delicate nuances.

SHANLING: Home of the most space age looking audio gear around, Shanling picks it up a notch with their new CD-T300 CD player. Even more exotic styling and loaded with features, the limited edition CD-T300 commands a much higher price tag than its siblings. Priced at $6500, the CD-T300 enters a new realm for Shanling at the upper end of the market. If the specs are any indication, it should be an outstanding performer.
          Eight Burr-Brown DACs, four per channel, twelve Burr-Brown OPA627 chips for I/V conversion, completely isolated Phillips CDM-4 drive mechanism all powered by a fully regulated outboard supply.
          Production is limited to just three hundred players worldwide. Grab one quick!

MUSICAL FIDELITY: The all new A5 line represents a significant step up from the previous 3.2 product. Borrowing heavily from the Nu-Vista and Tri-Vista line, the A5 gear comes very, very close to those previous top of the line offerings at a fraction of the cost.
           As per usual, the aesthetics and finish are exquisite. The beefy front panel and hefty chassis support the massive transformers used in the dual mono power supply. With a rating of 250 watts per channel in 8 Ohms (400 into 4 Ohms), the A5 Integrated is a real power house, capable of driving virtually any speaker in existence.
          Equally impressive on the digital side of the ledger is the A5 CD player. Inside you’ll find the digital wizardry and tube output stage that have made Musical Fidelity CD players so well liked.
          At $2500 for either the CD player or integrated, the A5 series will be making waves. Guaranteed.
          The X-10v3 active tube buffer provides a theoretically ideal match between a CD player and preamp or integrated. For best signal transmission, the source should have an output impedance far higher than the input impedance of the load. That’s true whether it’s a preamp driving an amplifier or a source component (like a CD player) driving an integrated amplifier (or preamplifier). The X-10v3 has been designed to provide that interface.
          The X-10v3 circuit configuration is exactly the same as the Tri-Vista SACD's output stage, but updated with the incredible mu-vista tube. Musical Fidelity writes: “Pair the X-10v3 with any good quality CD player and be prepared to be astonished by the results. It turns any good CD player into something virtually indistinguishable from the Tri-Vista SACD.”
          The X-10v3 is a limited production unit, with only 4800 available worldwide. Musical Fidelity expects them to be gone soon. $399

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