THE CD PLAYER PLUS - Ultra High Fidelity Magazine

Of course the show was slimmer
this year, and unless
you’ve just landed from an
extended vacation on Venus
you know why.
Yet the exhibitors I talked to were
quite happy with their investment. Visitors
had still turned out in droves, and
fewer rooms meant more visitors per
room. Elementary. Still, some exhibitors
had a wish list. See Looking Ahead on
page 20.
The visitors had their own wish
list. The Sheraton has narrow room
entrances that turn into bottlenecks
when there is appreciable traffic. What
about a better venue?
The smaller exhibitor list had an
upside. Some of the noisiest and most
annoying and inconsiderate exhibitors
were among the absent. Of course you
don’t expect me to name them, or do
you? On the other hand, Mutine wasn’t
there either, and that company’s twin
rooms had often been described as an
oasis in the middle of the desert. More
18 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
FEATURES
A Slimmer Montreal Show
attendance next year? We can hope.
One aspect of the show that both
surprised and pleased me was the continuing
— and growing — strength of
vinyl. There were many good turntables,
not only on show but actually spinning
records. You can see just a few of them
on page 23. Better yet, and in contrast to
some years past, they were set up so that
the advantages of vinyl were apparent
even to those who were born
digitally.
Definitely notable is the
analog-oriented tee shirt on page
24. Too bad the slogan can’t be
translated into French!
Something else that pleased
me was the presence of at least
a few products that gave the lie
to the all-too-common claim
that hi-fi is only for the rich and
crazy. An example: the Lil’ Doosey
monoblock, shown on this page. Built
by a company with the possibly appro-
by Gerard Rejskind
priate name of Mass Fidelity, the little
amp (class AB, too, not some offshoot
of class D or T) is $399. Unfortunately
that’s each, but even so… The amps were
playing through a pair of Reference 3a
De Capos, and sounding sweet as far as
I could tell in the questionable acoustics
of the hallway.
Then there’s the JohnBlue JB3
speaker — that’s the grey one at bottom
right on the next page. Right next to it
is the KingRex amplifier, which really is
a class T amplifier. Those, plus the Sony
DVD player that was the source, would
go for under $1000.
But I also have an eye for truly
luxurious goods, such as the Arabesque
glass speaker on the next page. That has
a story behind it. It’s the product of a
company called Crystal Cable, founded
by Gabi van der Kley, shown here with
her speaker. What’s surprising is that
Gabi’s husband is the boss of Siltech
Cable. “Are they still married?” wondered
Steve Bourke. Indeed, and in fact
there was a Siltech poster in one corner
of the large room.
That room was in fact an impediment,
and it was almost exactly square besides.
The first day the speakers sounded
awful, despite the upscale Simaudio gear
plugged into them, suggesting that the
45,000 € price