“Do you have anything new?” is the most popular and most annoying question asked at hifi shows.
Popular because everyone that attends a trade show wants to see, and in this case hear, the new stuff. But our focus, and by “our” I mean the reviewing community which is hardly a community at all, has a tendency to place so much emphasis on the new in show coverage and reviews you’d think any piece of gear that’s more than a year old isn’t worth talking about.
If you look at my ‘reference system‘, the stuff I own, you’ll see I not only disagree but relish, love, and choose to live with and listen through a bunch of gear that’s not at all new with some dating back to the 1970s. Building things that last is an honorable and good thing, imo, although I am long overdue for an MK2 version of me.
With that being aired, let’s get to work and look at some new and interesting hifi gear on display at CAF 2024.
New on the scene distributor True Source Audio Distribution was showing off the G.I.P. 4165 open baffle system ($72,000/pair with the non field-coil tweeter, $87,000/pair with the 597A field-coil tweeter)—”Built in 1933, the 4165 was Western Electric’s ‘entry level’ system for smaller theaters that sat around 200 people.” I happen to be fan of and have lived with open baffle speakers and G.I.P.’s living breathing hommage to our shared hifi history makes me smile.
MBL’s new C41 Network Player ($11,100) was on active display in the MBL North America room and you can color me more than intrigued. Juergen Riess, Chief Engineer of MBL, is the man behind every piece of MBL gear from source to speakers and he is certainly among the most creative (and generous) souls in the hifi industry and it’s been my experience that creativity in his hands leads to the unexpected and sonically wondrous.
Pictured up top and here is the new MRC Series of loudspeakers from Canada’s Acora Acoustics. Acora makes their cabinets from natural stone and the relatively simple shape and marble used in the MRC Series allows for their lower cost as compared to Acora’s other models even though the MRC also house drivers from Accuton (!). From left we have the 4 driver, 2 1/2-way MRC-3 (starts at $15,990/pair), the 3 driver, 2-way MRM-1 Monitor (starts at $5490/each), and the 2 driver, 2-way MRC-1 (starts at $9990 pair). The complete line also includes the 2 driver, 2-way MRB-1 Stand Mount ($7990/pair) and the 3 driver, 2 1/2-way MRC- 2 Floor Stander. My review request is in.
You can read all about the new Focal Diva Utopia Active Wireless Loudspeakers ($39,999/pair) in the press release post but I had a chance to sit and give ’em an albeit brief listen in the House of Stereo room which was kind of an unkind (noisy with lots of people gabbing) listening environment. Unlike some of our more dogmatic hifi brethren, I can appreciate and enjoy the old and the new.
And both! Audiovector’s Trapeze Reimagined Loudspeakers ($19,950/pair), which were on active display in the Command Performance A/V room, are a reworking of the classic Trapeze design from 1979. In brief, the 3-way Trapeze Ri house a proprietary 12″ high-power mid/bass driver, a 5″ high speed midrange driver, and a purpose-designed Audiovector SEC Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeter (more info). I tried to capture the Trapeze’s multifaceted cabinet shape that’s much more complicated and interesting looking in person.
One of my traveling companions on the Fidelity Imports Italy Tour, Jason the “Audiophile Junkie,” pointed me to the Unique Home Audio room where they were playing the new (to me) Popori Acoustics WR2 two-way electrostatic speakers ($34,000/pair) that were making full range room shaking sound driven by the VAC Essence 80 iQ monoblocks and their 85 Watts of output power. Nice!
Greg Roberts’ Volti Audio were showing off the new Lucera High-Sensitivity Horn-Loaded Loudspeakers ($11,750/pair + shipping) which you can read all about in the associated press release post. With a claimed 99dB sensitivity and 8 Ohm nominal impedance swinging from 32Hz – 20kHz according to the company, the Lucera sounded promising driven by a Cary Audio SLI-80 integrated amp ($4995).
I don’t know about you but I’ve been eyeing Accuphase gear for…ever. Their current flagship E-800 Class-A Precision Integrated Stereo Amplifier ($19,975) was playing in one of many rooms hosted by Alma Music & Audio and I’ve expressed my interest and attraction to the appropriate parties at distributor Axiss Audio who carry a number of lust-worthy lines including Soulution and Air Tight. The E-800 offers 50 Watts into 8 Ohms, 100 Watts into 4 Ohms, 200 Watts into 2 Oohms, and 300 Watts of output into a 1 Ohm load. Woof!
Speaking of lust, Command Performance A/V was using a 1980’s era Luxman DP-07 Compact Disk Player in their 1980’s themed room, big hair wigs and all, from the personal collection of Doshi Audio‘s Nick Doshi that sounded silky smooth and inviting.
The UK’s Audio Note had the new Meishu Konzertmeister 300B Single Ended Triode integrated amplifier ($65,000) playing which “takes the Meishu Tonmeister design to full Level 4 performance and component quality”. I’ve long lusted over the Audio Note Meishu which was originally released in the early 1990s. Did I ask for a review sample? (I did)
MC Audiotech introduced their latest loudspeakers at CAF 2024, the TL-12 (starts at $25,000/pair), a two-way design incorporating the company’s proprietary Wide Band drivers. Frequency response is a claimed 28Hz – 20,000kHz with an amp-friendly 93dB efficiency and 8 Ohm nonreactive load. I spent some time listening to the TL-12 driven by the Linear Tube Audio Z40+ integrated amplifier (from $7650) I reviewed back in 2022 with the LTA Aero DAC (review) in charge of D to A conversion and the sound was refined, spacious, full range and well free from the confines of the TL-12’s cabinet.
You’re looking at all 8+ ft. of the Sound Lab G9-7C Electrostatic Loudspeakers ($65,900/pair) with the LTA ZOTL 40 Reference + Monoblocks (from $6800/each), microZOTL Preamplifier (from $5750), Aero DAC (from $3950), and Pear Audio Blue Aras Turntable ($14,000) mounted with the DS Audio Grand Master EX cartridge with Grand Master Energizer DS-E3 ($67,500/system). This room was hosted by Linear Tube Audio and the ever affable Dr. Vinyl and I haven’t seen or heard Sound Lab speakers in decades and am thrilled to see, hear, and feel them light up a large room in their uniquely energetic and graceful way again.
Last but in no way least are the new LC1 Bookshelf Monitor speakers ($498/each) from Chesky Audio. From the website:
- Wide-dispersion 1” dome tweeter surrounded by tessellation diffraction control technology
- High-resolution 6.5” bass/midrange driver with polypropylene cone.
- Dual internally balanced 8-inch fluid coupled subwoofers for robust, extended deep bass
- Breakthrough technology multi-layer high-mass non-resonant cabinet.
- Frequency Response: 40Hz – 20kHz, catering to a wide spectrum of sounds
If you’re thinking—that Chesky?—you’re close; company CEO & Founder Lucca Chesky is the 17-year old son of Grammy nominee David Chesky, owner of some of the finest ears in all of hifi. While I don’t typically mention age in show reports, I was more than impressed with Lucca’s calm and poised presentation and the room-filling coherent and engaging sound coming from his impressive and very moderately-priced LC1’s. Bravo!
