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January 28, 2012 by Michael

CES 2012 – Venture, Weiss

[Finished with floor 29 of the Venetian… now onward and upward, to floor 30!]

Venture brought their ‘Grand Ultimate’ speakers this year and put them on Venture amplification.

This was by far the best I’ve heard the Venture sound. Much more midi-dynamics and separation than their traditional laid back and kind of euphonic yet muddy sound.

I attributed it to the use of the Venture amps.

However, I talked to a Venture dealer about this and they thought it was the new design of these speakers that made them perform like this.

But then I looked at the website, and these have been around for a few years, so…. a mystery.

I didn’t stay long enough to evaluate more deeply the other aspects of the sound and ascertain the system’s true quality – I was just happy that Venture had apparently joined the ‘game’.

The Venture Grand Ultimate speakers and Venture amps

The Venture ‘Grand Ultimate’ loudspeakers

The Venture ‘Grand Ultimate’ loudspeakers. Yes they ARE deep. And about 6+ feet tall.

The Venture V100A+ Reference amplifier

The Venture V100A+ Reference amplifier. 100 watts class A – work, look and, I bet, feel like the old Levinson 20.5 and 20.6

The Venture VP100 Reference preamp and Weiss digital

The rear of the electronics, and Venture’s own branded cables

January 28, 2012 by Michael

This system was a more downscale, affordable version of the system last year; the AMG turntable instead of a big Clearaudio, the Vandersteen Treo speaker instead of their ‘7’, the HRS RXR rack instead of their ‘SXR’ – although the Aesthetix components seem to still be on the relatively expensive side.

The sound was pleasant and, the way Vandersteen-fronted systems often do, scratches the surface of several different types of sound (Enjoyable, Impressive, Sophisticated, Sweet, Real, Emotional) without actually really being any one of them.

The Vandersteen ‘Treo’ speaker

The AMG (formerly Benz AMG) turntable (see more photos of this table previously in this report in the Musical Surroundings rooms)

The AMG (formerly Benz AMG) turntable

The dark version of the AMG turntable, Aesthetix gear all on the prototype HRS ‘RXR’ equipment rack

Stopping the LP on the top of the Harmonic Resolution System’s RXR equipment rack

Another look at the stack of equipment on the HRS RXR rack.

The Aesthetix ‘Janus’ tube preamp and phono stage [i.e. it is a preamp not a linestage]

The Aesthetix ‘Romulus’ CD player and USB DAC

The Aesthetix ‘Atlas’ power amp

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January 28, 2012 by Michael

CES 2012 – Straight Wire, HD Tracks, Living Sounds Audio (LSA)

The Straight Wire room had a display of their cables.

The room also featured a small system with LSA (Living Sounds Audio) electronics

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January 28, 2012 by Michael

CES 2012 – AudioQuest

AudioQuest had a large cable display in their room, along with a small system.

The AudioQuest system used Vandersteen ‘Treo’ loudspeakers

The Vandersteen Treo speaker

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January 28, 2012 by Michael

CES 2012 – AudioQuest, Lyra

Neli spent a lot of time here – apparently there was some interesting information and displays of Lyra cartridges.

Unfortunately, the way in was crowded and I only saw these Peachtree listening stations? Seems like it can’t be the same room, but…

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January 28, 2012 by Michael

CES 2012 – Quest Brands

The room featured a static display of the Pipeline cables

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January 28, 2012 by Michael

CES 2012 – Teac / Esoteric

A fully decked-out Esoteric system with extra everything

On static display: Esoteric, Teac, Tascam, and 12tech

Teac SR-80i table top audio systems

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January 28, 2012 by Michael

CES 2012 – Cary Audio Design

Cary featured their electronics on TAD monitor speakers in this room.

The TAD monitor loudspeaker

TAD stand-mounted speaker

TAD monitor loudspeaker

TAD monitor loudspeaker from above

The Cary SA 500.1 amplifier

The Cary CD-303T SACD player

Cary SLP-05 preamplifier

The Cary SLP-05 preamplifier

The Cary SLP-05 power supply

On static display: the Cary 300-SEI integrated amplifier

The Cary 300-SEI integrated amplifier

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January 28, 2012 by Michael

CES 2012 – Muse Electronics, High Resolution Technologies

The Muse Electronics system featured High Resolution Technologies’ streaming components, all on Avalon Ascendant speakers

A closeup of the Muse and Avalon system

Not sure what this ‘Clear’ component on the window-sill is Presumably they would want to connect through the hotel’s wireless network to stream music from the internet, and positioning near a window should not be an issue.