Series 2
(All prices in US dollars unless otherwise indicated.)

The Antique Sound Lab Flora EX DT preamp combines an autoformer input stage, tube gain stage and transformer output stage. It's also fully remote controlled. The price of such hybridization? $3495 CAD.

Tangent is a very promising line of budget-priced electronics designed in Denmark and manufactured in China. On top is the AMP-50 integrated amp (top, $299 CAD), which includes a phono stage and headphone jack, and below it is the CDP-50 CD player (also $299 CAD). The EVO speakers are $259 CAD/pair in a lacquered finish. An entire system for less than $1000! [www.vmax-services.com]

Tangent also has a line of table radios in a number of vibrant finishes. The DUO clock radio is $299-$329 CAD depending on the finish. [www.vmax-services.com]

Due out in May, Pioneer's Elite D6 CD/SACD player (top, $500 CAD) and A6 receiver ($600 CAD) are both stereo-only products. Also available is the Elite A9 receiver ($1000 CAD), which puts out 75Wpc. They were all shown with a pair of Pioneer S-1EX floorstanding speakers ($9000/pair).

Technically, the best sound at the Festival Son & Image came courtesy of the Yamaha Disklavier. It can't get any better than the real thing. The Disklavier is a conventional piano with a built-in computer system. It can play back tunes all by itself or record a performance, as shown above. The model pictured is $51,000 CAD, but there are other versions that are more and less expensive.