WINTER	2008

2008 CES Show Report

2008 brings with it a host of newfound delights courtesy of the Consumer Electronics Show. We’ve got the inside scoop on the latest and greatest in the world of audio for all you fellow junkies.

As in years past, the high-end exhibits in Las Vegas are split into to factions covering three venues; the “official” show is CES, which is parked at the Venetian and the upstarts over at T.H.E Show who occupy the St. Tropez and Alexis Park (the former home of the CES). There were over 170 rooms at the Venetian towers and a good many over at T.H.E. Show.
Let’s dig in!

SHUNYATA: First up, let’s talk about the new Shunyata Dark Field Cable Elevators. Yes, I know, there are a lot of similar products on the market, but let me tell you why this Patent Pending design is unique.
          Conventional cable isolation theory holds that optimal cable performance can be achieved by elevating cables from the floor in an attempt to control vibrations and manage static fields. Most cable elevators are made from electrically insulating materials such as wood, glass, plastic or ceramics. The central problem with the conventional model is that elevating a cable from the floor with an electrical insulator creates a relative static charge differential between the cable and floor. Over a period of time this static differential can become enormous -- sometimes exceeding tens of thousands of volts. When an electrical signal is sent through the cable, the signal can become distorted or inter-modulated by this static field. The distortion that results is quite audible, easily detected on any quality entertainment system.
           The Dark Field Cable Elevator is based upon a patent-pending static-field-unification principle. The elevator is constructed from expensive, multiple layers of electrically conductive foam. This allows static charges to migrate through the elevator eliminating the buildup of static field differentials between the floor and cable that would otherwise create noticeable signal degradation.
            In addition to eliminating static-field differential effects, Dark Field Elevators minimize the transmission of vibrations by combining two soft layers of vibration absorbent foam with a third rigid layer that has a different resonant frequency. This not only minimizes floor-borne vibration, but also breaks up standing-wave vibrations within the elevator itself. The Dark Field Elevator’s extremely narrow inner layer is formed into a V shape that limits the surface contact area with the cable. This minimizes the transmission of vibrational energy from the floor to the cable, while providing a stable and firm support.
          Interestingly, and counter to the norm, Shunyata recommends you begin by placing Dark Field Elevators behind the equipment to separate cables from one another, and then extend out into the room to deal with the speaker cables. The crisscrossed tangle of wires behind your rack creates an electromagnetic nightmare that can do serious damage to the fragile signal carried by these cables.
          The Dark Field Elevator’s lightweight, flexible structure makes them easy to use and place in a system. Whether behind a crowded rack system, tipped sideways on a shelf or suspended in between two cables - Dark Field Elevators provide impressive performance at an attractive price.

Set of 4 is $115, a set of 12 (recommended) goes for $315.

** Shunyata had some very intriguing prototype signal cables on display at CES. Details have not been released (some aspects of the design are still being finalized), but I do know that Caelin has discovered new applied wire technologies that promise significant performance advances. Stay tuned, these should be especially interesting! **

BASIS: Usually a silent display, Basis decided in favor of an active demonstration this year. A.J. Conti felt that the significant number of introductions and improvements released this past year deserve to be heard and not just seen.
     The Basis Revolution Belt, Synchro-Wave Power Supply, Vector 4 Tonearm and refinements in bearing and platters, have combined to push the limits of turntable performance by achieving levels of silence and speed stability to new levels. As testament, recent reviews have compared the sound of Basis systems to that of the master tape, rather than to other turntables.
     To allow show goers to experience the Basis “experience,” A.J. demonstrated the rig that drew so much praise from Robert Harley in the Absolute Sound review - 2800 vacuum ‘table with Vector 4 tonearm, Synchro Wave power supply and Calibrator Base.
     And an awesome demo it was! Only one other time have I heard background silence like this from a turntable, and that rig cost almost $100k. The absence of background noise was so unexpected I found myself “listening” to the nothingness and forgetting about the music! For a few minutes, the interval between notes became more captivating than the music itself. It took a bit of “recalibration” on my part to then begin to reconstruct the song and the silence. About that A.J. mentioned I was listening without the vacuum! Holy smokes! A background as black as this without vacuum?  So effective is the platter and suspension that the 2800 has a noise floor lower than most ‘tables with vacuum hold down. God only knows what the sound would have been like with the vacuum on. Probably best he didn’t show me - I was on my last pair of underwear.
     Basis turntables impressed listeners around the show, enjoying the spotlight in a number of displays including Pass Labs, Naim USA, Nagra/Verity, Profundo, and Gershman Acoustics. Needless to say, those rooms had great sound.

     Be sure and check out the phenomenal review of the 2200/Vector combo in March 2008 issue of The Absolute Sound. "...the 2200/Vector has for me redefined what is possible in the playback of vinyl sources." - Paul Seydor

     Did you know Basis makes cables? If you’re a regular reader you do, but most people assume only turntables and tonearms exit the Basis factory. But cables they do make, and what a line of cables they are.
     There is a great deal of science behind the Basis design, way more than I can deal with here. I highly recommend you read the Whitepaper found on the Basis site for the full story. Frankly, I’m not much on theory, especially when it comes to cabling. I suppose partly because the technical details are beyond me and, more importantly, the most robust theories on the Planet are worthless if the product doesn’t sing in my system. But I will share this; Basis cables are built on proven transmission line principles and offer extremely accurate phase coherence. To prove the relevance of this fact, A.J. put together a rather dramatic demonstration.
     Ok, we all know that longer cables degrade the sound. Right? It’s audio 101 – the shorter the cable the better and I’ve proven that to myself time and time again, which is why the demo was so impressive.
      On the left channel of the system was a 1.9M speaker cable and on the right was a 19M length. I kid you not, a 10:1 difference between the channels! I’m here to tell you there was no perceptible difference! No image shift, no loss of focus or resolution, no loss of bass control or dynamics.
      Basis cables have caught the ears of manufacturers in the industry prompting the likes of Pass Labs and Verity Audio who use them at the CES to demonstrate their own products. Julien Pelchat of Verity Audio said upon testing the Basis cables for the first time: “I love these cables… as detailed as any on the market, but also with perfect tonal balance and perfect bass integration.” Nelson Pass is so passionate about the product that all Pass amps are wired internally with Basis cable!
      A 1M interconnect is $2450 and an 8’ speaker cables goes for $3500. The 6’ power cord is priced at $1200.

A reminder: If you’re a Basis owner and have not upgraded to the Revolution Belt, do so immediately. This $80 purchase returns for more performance gains than you would ever expect.

FURUTECH: First shown at the 2007 CES, Furutech is now shipping the DeStat static eliminator. Simply hold the DeStat over the media of your choice (LPs, CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray, etc.), press the button and its Balanced Ion Flow Generator produces a shower of positive and negative ions (it’s the specific ratio that appears to be the key). Ten seconds later, presto, no more static!
      According to Furutech, almost every system component benefits from eliminating its static charge. Use DeStat to remove static from audio/video equipment (best to turn them off during treatment), power cords, interconnects and speaker cables. I’ve even used it on the carpet in front of the equipment stand to prevent those nasty static discharges when touching a component.
      The DeStat works - really, really well! I’ve been surprised at how many comments I’ve received from customers regarding their positive experiences with the DeStat. Here is a couple: "Galen, This is indeed an incredible tool. Every LP I played after the treatment made a huge improvement. Using DeStat on a LP his like adding a master clock to CD player.  It really is a mandatory product." "Thank you Galen: the DeStat arrived today and it's amazing. Worth its price and indispensable for audio."  We’ve got them on special for $325.

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