My experiences on the first day left me with the feeling that Salon Son & Image 2010 would be a good show overall and one that's worthwhile for us to cover. Therefore, my goal today (March 26) was to find as many new products as possible and report on them. As you'll see, there are numerous new products specifically aimed toward today's cost-conscious consumers. (All prices are in US dollars.)
The first room I went to was that of Canada's Simaudio, which I mentioned in yesterday's report. It was to get a better picture of their new Moon 350P balanced preamplifier, which they say will be available in the second quarter of 2010. The 350P is said to incorporate technology from the company's outstanding Evolution-series products, which are considered state of the art, but it's priced at a modest $1995 in its basic configuration (preamp only). The basic 350P features two pairs of balanced inputs and four pairs of single-ended inputs, as well as one pair of balanced outputs and two pairs of single-ended outputs (one single-ended set bypasses the volume control to provide a fixed output level, while the other runs through the volume and is obviously variable). The 350P is modular and can be upgraded with a moving-magnet / moving-coil phono stage as well as a DAC that brings the total price to $2795. One more thing: the 350P comes with Sim's whopping ten-year warranty, the same as what the Evolution products have! [www.simaudio.com]
Speaking of the Evolution products, Simaudio was also showing a prototype of an Evolution "rack" in order to gauge consumers' interest in it. It basically consists of metal spacers machined in the same shape as the components' corners that are attached to a metal crossbeam for increased stability. Our opinion: Great idea! [www.simaudio.com]
Kevro, the North American distributor for Britain's Monitor Audio, showed the new Apex-series loudspeakers, which are attractively styled yet reasonably priced and feature Monitor Audio's advanced technologies, including C-CAM driver technology and RST "dimpled cone geometry." They've also developed for this series a brand new 1" gold-dome tweeter that they say extends beyond 35kHz. The speakers not only look great but are designed to be versatile to fit better into modern living environments. The Apex 40 is priced at $700 each and can be used horizontally as a center-channel (shown above) or vertically as either a left or right speaker flanking a display screen. Its low profile ensures that it if mounted to a wall, it won't stick out too far. The Apex 10 monitor . . .
. . . is priced at $450 each and is designed to be mounted on stands (shown, priced at $400/pair) or on the wall. Rounding out this series is the $1500 AW-12 subwoofer, which claims bass response to 27Hz in its EQ1 setting or 21Hz in EQ2.
Canada's VMAX Services is the North American distributor for Audio Analogue of Italy. VMAX was thrilled to show Audio Analogue's new Armonia-series products, which feature the Crescendo integrated amplifier and CD player. Not much detail was available other than the integrated's power rating: 50Wpc into 8 ohms or 80Wpc into 4 ohms. What makes these new products so exciting is their price: $995 each. Budget shoppers can rejoice.
VMAX is also the Canadian distributor for Hegel of Norway. Shown in Montreal for the very first time is the company's new H70, which is not only an integrated amplifier capable of 70Wpc into 8 ohms, but also a DAC. The H70 features USB, coaxial, and optical digital inputs, along with the company's proprietary SoundEngine amplifier technology. The H70 is priced at $1995, making it their least-expensive integrated amplifier.
Richard K. Reyes's Musical Artisans company is the North American distributor for Organic Audio cables, a new cable brand that comes from Argento Audio of Denmark (Artisans also distributes Argento). The Organic lineup consists of single-ended and balanced interconnects ($995 and $1050 for 1 meter, respectively), speaker wire ($2250 for an 8' pair), and a power cable ($995 for a 6' length). The products use copper conductors and connectors and are very light weight.
France's Micromega isn't the first company to create a wireless DAC, but we feel they're wise to jump on the bandwagon with this kind of product. The Airstream WM-10 is priced at $1495 and employs what Micromega calls WHiFi technology, something that has to do with 802.11 wireless-transmission protocols that every product uses. What does all this mean? Simply that you can stream music files from your computer to this DAC without having any wires in between. Very cool, not to mention super convenient.
We'll close off this day's report with this rather interesting shot I took this morning, when the temperature in Montreal was below freezing. I was pretty critical of the Hilton's outward "prison-like" appearance in yesterday's report, along with the too-high-priced room rate. But I praised the bright lobby and was thoroughly impressed by the gardens in the hallways. Now one more thing to like: the heated pool where you can swim in your trunks while the lifeguard stands by in a parka. Only in Canada, and only at the Hilton in downtown Montreal. Another nice touch -- seriously.
That's everything for today, but we're having so much fun at this show that we've decided to stay another day and do more coverage tomorrow. Look for additional product coverage as well as some wrap-up commentary and, perhaps, some more interesting sights. Montreal is happening!