T.H.E. Newport Beach 2014 – Loudspeakers Part II

Hi-Fi+ has long been a firm believer in combining the best in audio with the best in cocktail-based engineering, and Newport Beach affords the best of both worlds. Here is my take on the best martinis, sorry loudspeakers, in California recently.

Magnepan were demonstrating their Mini-Maggie system and sounded particularly resplendent in this environment.

MBL, as always, produced a great sound, coupled with their own electronics. Here we see the Radialstrahler 101 X-treme

PBN Audio Sammy, this product looks, and sounds very sophisticated, it consists of 69 stacked ribbed frames, 2 x 10” Woofers, 2 x 4” mid-range drivers and a 1” Berylium Dome Tweeter.

Perfect 8 Technologies had their striking The Force, the company has received five “Best Sound” awards at CES in the last seven years.

Perla Audio were demonstrating the PRS-2B (Beryllium is the addition from the PRS-2). Including stands you can expect to pay in the region of $11,000 for the pair.

Piraeus Audio.  The Athena is priced at $23,500, I would describe this as an audiophile speaker, a distinct difference from a musical loudspeaker.

PranaFiedlity were playing their strangely named Vayu/fs which at $6950 are a great price, for a speaker with such great dynamic range and musicality.  It competes with many other loud speakers with a much higher price point.

The Raidho C3.1 was, as with all of Raidho’s speakers, extremely impressive.  The pair pictured were the only pair in the country at the time of the show, but I would expect after hearing them that many pairs will be arriving in the US soon!

Silverline Audio displayed their ‘Ode to Love’ Loudspeaker, a rear-ported, 3 way with 5 drivers on each channel, at $90,000 a pair.

The Simplifi Audio room were demonstrating a number of loudspeakers including this Swiss made Ella, from Klangwerk, an active speaker, whilst it looks slightly strange, the sound is rather pleasing.

Sonus Faber are always a pleasing sight to see at any show.  Here the Elipsa, a three way design, was sounding grand, and regal, as one has come to expect from such a manufacturer.

These Spatial Hologram M2 loudspeakers, are a highly efficient open baffle speaker.  At $1995 a pair they are extremely good value.

This TAD Evolution One loudspeaker was sounding great in this room at the Hilton Hotel.  The speakers are $29,800 and are great value for what they are capable of.

The Usher Audio X-Tower 3 way were producing a sound which was sharp and precise. 

Vapor Audio’s stunning looking Joule White, priced at $12,995. The black versus white difference is the hard v soft cone drivers, built to suit individuals tastes.

Von Gaylord’s Legend MkII were heard filling the room with great aplomb, small but perfectly formed.

Wilson Audio’s $29,500 Sasha II speaker was on fire!  Coupled with VTL, dCS and Grand Prix Audio, this proved a better combination one could not hope for.