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CES Show - What I found... (long)

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I am going to start by saying that all I really saw was the High End Audio show at the Luxor and part of T.H.E. SHOW. I would have to say that what I honestly enjoyed most, was meeting the people.

I was able to meet my customer and friend from Costa Rica, Jim Saxon who is a wonderful human being and a lot of fun to crash the show with. I also enjoyed meeting Mark Schifter and two of his partners Peter and Walter...true gentlemen with great ideas, passion for the industry and a bright eye on the future. Jim introduced me to Max Rochlin of Enjoy The Music - check out his DIY digital cable on tnt-audio.com. I also had the pleasure of meeting Greg Weaver, previously of Soundstage - I have enjoyed his articles for a while now and was delighted to talk shop with him at the Harmonic Technologies booth. There were also many other audio nuts like myself with whom I had the pleasure of sharing ideas. All of these people made the show a real success for me....

Now, about the toys :>).

1) Sexiest Amp (IMHO - of course) - Undoubtedly the Cary V-12...ohhh man...some day I hope to make a home for one of these babys in my "man's room".

2) Sexiest Speakers - This is easy! - Avantgard Uno's and Duo's. I had the pleasure of hearing a multi-channel DTS presentation of a live Peter Frampton concert through BAT's multi-channel amp loafing along, making the Avantgards simply sizzle. In full high-quality video and amazing audio surround (and I am NOT a surround sound fan BTW), I practically wept...Jim Saxon beside me just about lost all bodily control, judging by the obscene noises he was making. This was probably the most impressive demos of the show for me, but not necessarily the sweetest sounding...it was however simply awesome.

3) Sexiest Cables - This would have to be Harmonic Tech's line of I.C.'s and digital cables. These cables are truly a work of art. The connectors are of very high quality appear very well made...it was impossible to doubt the "Magic" sound of the cabling in their demo system at the show also.

4) Hottest digital front end: Okay, I know I don't need to say this...but I will :). The P-1A and P-3A were represented at the Perpetual Tech offsite show, along with their new digital power cells and their new P-5A - WOW! The P-5A is not released yet, but it is a MONSTER. It includes the abilities of the P-1A, P-3A, and the optional addition of all current software upgrades. It also was also well equipped with dual DAC's, balanced digital processing and a class A linestage with remote control....good heck! It is going to be a world beater and at $3500 - projected retail price - will represent a new level of performance at a price point that will still represent amazing value. They will also be offering very attractive trade-in options for current P-1A/P-3A customers.

5) My Favorite Upgrade and most moving demo: The Perpetual Technologies speaker correction demonstration. I stopped at Perpetual Tech.'s place first, as they started at 8:00am and the rest of the show didn't start until 10:00am. They served an excellent breakfast and showed us all of their new toys. The one that I was most anxious to hear was the speaker correction.

Okay, let me catch my breath and try to contain myself before going on. I am a bit of a realist when it comes to audio improvements and if I have to strain to hear a "possible" or "slight" improvement, then I don't consider it worthwhile...especially if it cost more than a few $$$. I expected the speaker improvement upgrade offered by the P-1A to be an obvious improvement, but I was not prepared for HOW OBVIOUS.

The guys did a cool thing. They set up two systems in the same room with speakers side by side and the ability to switch easily between them from the same transport. The transport used for both systems was a stock Pioneer DV-333.

System 1: $40,000 approximate system value - P-5A DAC, Classe Omega amplifier, top quality audiophile cabling throughout (not sure exactly which ones, but matched system) and driving a pair of $12,000 B&W 801's. The P-5A was utilizing the speaker correction software specifically written for these particular B&W speakers - $400 upgrade.

System 2: $4,000 approximate system value - P-3A DAC w/P-1A, Outlaw audio HT receiver, radio shack I.C.'s and radio shack speaker wire out to a pair of $1,300 Diva 6.1's. The P-1A was utilizing speaker correction software specifically written for these Diva 6.1's - $400 upgrade.

I don't remember which Peter played first. I believe it was the $40k system with no speaker correction. It sounded very good with Patricia Barber's Modern Cool...duh! Okay, she's awesome and the system is pretty much killer. Okay, on with the speaker correction...Jim and I both bolted upright in our chairs...this sounded sweeeet. Despite the admittedly horrible room - a banquet room in a golf club with zero room treatment - the speakers melted away and their was bloom, warmth, dynamics and detail that I have never heard before. Okay, so you take a $40,000 system, feed it state of the art digital 24/96 audio with speaker amplitude and phase correction and Patricia Barber and it sounds unfreakin'believable... Peter takes the speaker correction away and the soundstage collapses while different frequencies now seem to jab and thump out at your aural senses...admittedly it still sounds very good, but after what you have just heard, your mind just goes TILT! Okay, back on with the speaker correction and we all breathe a sigh of relief.

Now, Peter smirks inwardly to himself and switches over to the $4,000 system. I notice a slight change - a very slight loss of detail and clarity, but otherwise the same great sound. I ask him which speakers we are listening to and Peter smiles and quietly points at the Divas...he switches back to the $40k system and there is a barely perceptable increase in resolution. Jim couldn't tell that there was any difference at all. Okay, back to the Diva's...my mouth is hanging dumbly open at this point and Jim is just shaking his head. Peter turns off the speaker correction and we all cry out in protest...again, the system still sounds good, but compared to how good the speaker correction sounded, your brain just throws a tantrum.

Peter just smiled a deservedly proud smile and didn't have to say a thing. Meanwhile, I don't know about Jim, but I am trying to figure out how I am going to explain the purchase of a new pair of Diva 6.1 speakers and speaker correction software for my P-1A to my wife...

The speaker correction software is simply THAT GOOD. I WILL be purchasing a pair of the $1300 Diva speakers and the $400 speaker correction software for my own personal system as soon as a I find a good home for my beloved nOrh 6.5's and Osiris stands. The Diva's are a HUGE value at their price point and the speaker correction is easily the best value and largest price to benefit value that I have ever heard first-hand. The speaker correction simply levels the playing field where the speakers are concerned...very cool.

The CES show also brought some exciting new changes for me personally...it is time for me to be a bit self-serving here and explain a few things about myself and my participation on The Asylum.

First of all, I am just another Audio Nut like the rest of you and I work as a Mechanical Engineer for a consulting firm by day. I love this hobby, I love the music and I also love modifying the gear to get the most music out of the best value equipment without taking out a second mortgage on the house.

Many of you have heard me express my enthusiasm for the Pioneer DVD players, Jolida tube amps, Link DACs, Monarchy DIPs and now Perpetual Technologies products. I am enthusiastic about these products because I have owned them, heard them in my system and have become intimately familiar with most of them by opening them up and seeing what could be done to make them better...I love this stuff! I started doing some mods for other inmates here and there. I received good reviews and by word of mouth, I started doing even more mods. I have also tried to be very open about what I am doing...there is no snake oil here and if I don't hear a NOTICEABLE improvement in the sound, I don't bother saying anything about it. Several people have asked me if I am affiliated with MSB, Pioneer or Perpetual Tech. and the answer has always been no. I am just an enthusiastic owner of the equipment.

What I am leading up to here is that due to an arrangement made with Perpetual Technologies at the show and a new undertaking in my life, I will be changing the nature of my posts to The Asylum. I am forming my own mods business and it is called ModWright.

From the time that I first bought my own P-3A and started sharing my ideas for improving it, Mark Schifter followed my ideas with great interest and open encouragement. He answered my questions that weren't too invasive and made suggestions along the way. He suggested the OPA-627 op-amps and I must say that they are sweet. My exploration of the P-3A was out of self interest, just like the rest of my mod explorations and were due in no way to my having any affiliation with Perpetual Technologies, aside from and amiable exchange of ideas with Mark Schifter via e-mail. I am excited with how the mods sound and have turned out and shared this information with The Asylum. As a result, people started asking me if I would modify their P-3As and I have since done a few and have several others currently under way.

A short while ago, the guys at Perpetual Tech. asked me how I would feel about offering my mods as a factory approved upgrade, with their support and approval. I was intrigued by the idea and decided to fly to CES at the last minute and meet with them to explore this possibility.

The long and short of it is that we reached an agreement that results in me being the only factory approved mod specialist for the P-3A DAC. If a P-3A is sold with my mods or is modified by me after it is sold, the mods will not void the factory warranty. Any unit with my mods, performed by me, will be covered by the full extensive factory warranty. The details and pricing will be covered on Perpetual Tech's web page soon and I won't say any more about it than that.

I simply want to clear the air and say that until Saturday at the CES when we shook hands on a new relationship, I was in NO WAY affiliated with Perpetual Tech. or any other manufacurer for that matter. I will now be starting ModWright as a company and the P-3A work will be one of mods I will be offering. I will still be Dan Wright, I will still be sharing my crazy ideas, asking random questions and answering questions as well, but out of respect for The Asylum, will be aware of my responses and will not overtly advertise my work. I will however still rave about products that I feel are superior. I trust that if I cross any boundaries, that The Bored will let me know. I love this Asylum and very much, and enjoy the intelligent and mature sharing of ideas that takes place here. I plan to respect its foundations and rules.

Okay, I am through now... The show was really great and you can bet I'll be back there next year.

Take care and thanks for reading,

Dan Wright


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Topic - CES Show - What I found... (long) - Dan W 21:41:19 01/08/01 (38)


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