in this issue

CES2006 REPORT
Wisdom Audio/Edge
Wisdom Audio M-75s ribbons line-source with separate
cone subwoofers ($52k)
Edge G CD player ($4788)
Edge G 2 solid-state preamp ($4788)
Edge G 8 stereo amplifier ($6588)—subs
Edge NL12.1 stereo amplifier ($18.5k)—panels
The M-75s were a little reticent dynamically (which has
always been the case with Wisdom speakers driven by
Edge electronics), but had good openness, bloom, and
neutrality (all of which are also typical of the
Wisdom/Edge pairing). This year, I thought the integration
of the outboard subwoofer and the ribbon panel was
considerably less than ideal. (OTOH, REG thought it
was the best bass at the show! Go figure.)
Kuzma Stabi XL turntable and Airline arm
Calix
Calix Venus Phoenix Grand horn-loaded loudspeaker ($13k)
Chord CPM integrated amp
Chord CD player
A dynamic horn speaker system, the Calixes are, ultimately,
prettier to look at than to listen to because of driver integration
and localization problems.
TAD
TAD Model 3 three-way floorstander with concentric
beryllium mid/tweet and 10" bass drivers ($40k)
Pass Labs XA600.5 for bass ($12k)
Pass Labs XA150 for concentric mid/tweet ($20k)
Keith Johnson custom DAC and TEAC Esoteric transport ($TBD)
This fancy TAD loudspeaker, with technology borrowed from
Andrew Jones’ top-of-the-line Model 1, had good focus, con-
Hiroyasu Kondo, Rest in Peace
It is with considerable sadness that we report the death of
Hiroyasu Kondo, founder of Audio Note Japan, who passed
away in his sleep on January 8, 2006, while attending CES in
Las Vegas. He is survived by his wife Kazuko, his son Yuji, and
his daughter Hisae.
The son of a Buddhist priest, Kondo San was a professor of
electronic engineering and molecular metallurgy before founding
Audio Note in Japan in 1976. Famous for his revolutionary use of
silver in audio equipment, Kondo almost single-handedly revived
the single-ended-triode amplifier; his 211-based SET, the Ongaku,
remains the exemplar of Japanese high-end audio.
TAS Associate Editor Jonathan Valin, who reviewed Audio
Note’s Neiro and Kegon amplifiers in Fi, says: “It’s both appropriate
and ironic that Kondo San passed away at the Consumer
Electronics Show—appropriate because high-end audio was his
art and ironic because he was as far from making ‘consumer
electronics’ as a human being could get. He was an artisan like
Fabergé and Tiffany, and the beautiful things he made, like theirs,
were fit for czars and kings.”
Audio Note Japan reports that Kondo San had been in ill health
for some time. In order to ensure that his standards would be maintained,
he appointed his close colleague and chief designer Masaki
Ashizawa as President of Audio Note Japan six months ago.
Andrew Jones describes the TAD Model 3
62 THE ABSOLUTE SOUND ■ APRIL/MAY 2006