Audio Products At CES 2009

Thanks AN !

Nice link.

The pages are very informative.
I went through 5 of them.

Anything particularly interesting ?

The sennheiser HD800 for one...lot of buzz going around in the head-fi forum

I found these 3 very interesting.

1. Ayre USB Dac . has an Async transfer to reduce Jitter
http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2009/ayres_qb-9_usb_dac_revealed

2. Esoteric Wireless DAC
http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2009/esoteric_wireless_wonder

3. Tiny USB Dacs !
http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2009/screamin_streamers

The sennheiser HD800 for one...lot of buzz going around in the head-fi forum

YES !

Even at 2x Price of the earlier flagship 650s, its geeting rave reviews.

Offered as an Audiophile rather than Pro product.

Freq Response :

6 Hz to 51 KHz ( -10 dB) and
13 Hz to 44100 KHz ( -3dB)

This probably BETTERS the STAX Specs ( and are Open not sealed design like most of the STAX )

Very Efficient at 102 dB ! ( and less than 0.02% distortion at this level ! )

Geez !

http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/home_en.nsf/root/spec_hd800

Anything new from Pass Labs?

aks07 schrieb:

Anything new from Pass Labs?

Baby Rushmore.
Seas driver based.

Looks 'better' than the older model.

It was released 4 months back.

It made an entry @ CES 2009.

Arj Said :

I found these 3 very interesting. 1. Ayre USB Dac . has an Async transfer to reduce Jitter http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2009/ayres_qb-9_usb_dac_revealed 2. Esoteric Wireless DAC http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2009/esoteric_wireless_wonder 3. Tiny USB Dacs ! http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2009/screamin_streamers

Computer Interfaced DACs are my area of current interest.

For the past 3 years or so, DACs had become "Out Of Fashion"... the High End preferring CD players rather than the separate DACs and CD Transport trend earlier.

Almost no new DAC were released for CD transports, during the past 2 years.

Now Computer Audio has the spot light, and High Res ( 24 Bit / 96 KHz ) music files have made the earlier DACs obsolete, atleast for this application.

The CES showed several Computer Audio products, and thankfully, almost ALL new DAC sport a USB or Firewire interface.


One that has particularly caught my attention is the new PS Audio DAC with an External I2S interface also.


PS Audio DAC With HDMI For I2S Interface


http://www.soundstage2.com/lasvegas2009/ss01.html



Innovatively, its using the now widely adopted HDMI connector and cord for I2S.

I2S neds a 4 wire, High Speed connector and cable, and HDMI has all the speed required, ( USB starts running out of steam ) for even Higher res future formats.

HDMI is relatively in-expensive and freely available.

I bet that many other DAC manufactures will be saying to themselves "Why Did I Not Think Of This ! "

Anyways, hope this sets a trend to move towards I2S... the Ideal DAC interface..

... from a message that Bhagwan69 sent me a few days ago :

Jeff Fritz - January 8, 2009 The first day of the 2009 CES made it clear just how much the computer has integrated its way into the audiophile mindset. USB DACs were everywhere today. Music servers were coming out of the woodwork. Products designed for wireless integration of various electronic components were seen around each corner. Computer-based systems were ubiquitous. It’s honestly hard to keep up with, but it’s also an exciting time if you’re open to adopting new technologies that are designed for slick user interface and, in some cases, advancing audio performance. I can’t imagine how much the digital landscape will change in the next five years. I have a feeling that some of the products we’ll be writing about at the 2015 CES would be almost unfathomable right now. Consider this: Presently we have the Reference Recordings HRx series of DVD-Data discs -- these are unique in that they hold 24-bit/176.4kHz digital masters and are playable only on a computer-based system. The sound is amazing. What if that level of resolution is the norm for computer playback in five years? We’ll all be several steps closer to the live performance than we ever were with Red Book CD. Will the 2009 CES be the one we look back on and say, "That’s when it really all started?" Maybe so.

Bhagwan69 sent me these links on the Hi End Audio show, that got me to start this thread :

http://www.soundstage2.com/lasvegas2009/ss05.html

http://www.soundstage2.com/lasvegas2009/ss07.html

http://www.soundstage2.com/lasvegas2009/ss01.html

http://www.soundstage2.com/lasvegas2009/ss03.html

http://www.soundstage2.com/lasvegas2009/dh_jan09b.html

http://www.soundstage2.com/lasvegas2009/dh_jan08a.html

http://www.soundstage2.com/lasvegas2009/dh_jan08b.html

Thanks, Bhagwan69

Hitachi Gesture Remote Control TV

The Coolest Gizmo At CES 2009 ?

http://www.soundstage2.com/lasvegas2009/sd10.html

Amp_Nut schrieb:

One that has particularly caught my attention is the new PS Audio DAC with an External I2S interface also. PS Audio DAC With HDMI For I2S Interface http://www.soundstage2.com/lasvegas2009/ss01.html Innovatively, its using the now widely adopted HDMI connector and cord for I2S. I2S neds a 4 wire, High Speed connector and cable, and HDMI has all the speed required, ( USB starts running out of steam ) for even Higher res future formats. HDMI is relatively in-expensive and freely available. I bet that many other DAC manufactures will be saying to themselves "Why Did I Not Think Of This ! " Anyways, hope this sets a trend to move towards I2S... the Ideal DAC interface.. :)

true..but currently this seems to be proprietary to PS audio and am really a little bit sceptical on the DAC performance itself. will be interesting to see who else uses this standard.
BTWt the following is the entry on this product at Stereophile

PS Audio is also showing a prototype of the new PerfectWave DAC/pre, also slated for around $2999, and sporting a touch screen. There are four HDMI imputs on the back (only compatible with their I2S flavor of HDMI) and a touchscreen on the front for controlling volume and such. On the back is a slot for the $500 "Bridge" which would enable the DAC/pre to interface with a NAS drive and iPhone/Touch controller and become a full-fledged music server. McGowan promises several future products to fillup the HDMI ports on the back.

could you understand what they might have meant by the sentence in bold ? does it mean it is proprietary ?

HDMI is not an invention by PS Audio.

IMHO - If its use as an I2S connector has been licenced to PS Addio ( If a licence is required ? ) then it will be licenced to any one else too.

I feel that the sentence in bold " (only compatible with their I2S flavor of HDMI) " referefs to the Fact that As Of Now PS Audio are the only ones...

The northstar M192 DAC has an I2S input ...

I know of a user on head-fi using this with this ESI Juli@(modded to run I2S).

THe interface chosen in the northstar though is a ethernet plug.

Amp_Nut schrieb:

HDMI is not an invention by PS Audio. IMHO - If its use as an I2S connector has been licenced to PS Addio ( If a licence is required ? ) then it will be licenced to any one else too. I feel that the sentence in bold " (only compatible with their I2S flavor of HDMI) " referefs to the Fact that As Of Now PS Audio are the only ones...

Thanks AN.
I did some reading on this ..they use standard cables and connectors. What I am not sure of is if there is a standard form of transfer for audio on HDMI, or is this something very specific to PS Audio

Savyasaachi

THe interface chosen in the northstar though is a ethernet plug.

Thanks for the info. I did not think of that.

Its COOL

cheap and more universal than HDMI....

Even Empirical Audio uses the RJ45 as its I2s interface of choice.

another site
http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/ces2009/

check out the second entry on the Paradigm sub

Arj schrieb:

another site http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/ces2009/ check out the second entry on the Paradigm sub :)

Sorry ARJ, but this is of no use.
It is a Video blog. So it seems.

"No Use " ?? you do hate AV

Try this Spintricity

the GUI sucks although the pics are high rez.

need to click on the Right arrow on the top with the label "Pages" to navigate forward

For all the vinyl lovers in this forum (if you have not already seen this) here is an exotic TT debuted at CES 2009:
exotic Italian turntable

choice of materials seems to be judicious as most of them are synonymous w/ reducing vibrations.

The Tone Arm + Cartridge + Cable cost will kill you !

I like this quote on who would buy this

"You'd have to be very wealthy, very much into vinyl or very crazy," he said. "Or all three."

The new mini-Maggies have got rave reviews:-)
Apparently better than the 20.1s, although that could just be the shock and awe factor of the small size..

some very good photos here
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue41/ces1.htm
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue41/ces6.htm

This looked interesting;

Just came across this website. Coverage is to be continued: http://www.dagogo.com/Events/2009CES/Coverage-I.html

Regards,
Jochen