Paris Hi-fi and Home Theater Show 2007 : the report Part 2

March 24, 2007 — Article

Here’s the second part of our report on the Hi-fi and Home Theater Show in Paris.

The Focal stand remained incredibly popular throughout the show with up to 200 visitors at peaktimes. People came to see the Electra series represented by the Electra 1027 Be and the Electra 1007 Be as well as the Chorus 826 V. Outside the stand were two products brought over to France by Focal, from the brand YBA : a DVD/SACD Player, the YM501 and an amp, the AV YA701.

Focal Electra 1027 Be, 1007 Be and Chorus 826 V

And a HUGE installation by McIntosh featuring the highly praised XRT2K, a three-way, dual column design meticulously housing six 12" aluminum long throw woofers, sixty-four 2" titanium midrange drivers and forty 3/4" titanium tweeters. All elements are chosen for use with high power amplifiers up to 2,000 watts. Each speaker was powered by the monoblock power amplifiers MC2KW, capable of 8,000 Watts on musical peaks. It incorporates three modules separating the power from the output. Each 1000 watt Power Module contains half of the balanced circuitry complete with its own power supply. The Output Module houses the input and output connections, meter and output autoformer and functions as the control center. The signal from the Power Modules enters a bifilar wound, mirror image output transformer where each kilowatt of power is added canceling noise and distortion.

Installation McIntosh

A new integrated subwoofer by Velodyne was also on show…the SW-IC which offers an extra slim silhouette and can be integrated to almost any wall be it during or after construction. Check out the complexity behind it!

Velodyne SW-IC

The French company Design Screen HD introduced its rather peculiar screen, tryptic and foldable, that automatically adjusts to the appropriate tension. We also witnessed a very impressive demo of a 2 meter base screen, aluminium finish, foldable but uncreased inside its socket with the automatic tension system. A must!

Ecran Design Screen HD

At the Davis Acoustic stand you could see their brand new speaker, the Sisley, a three-way speaker with a Kevlar tweeter sporting multiple roll suspension. Priced between 2,000 and 3,000€ and out soon.

Davis Acoustic Sisley (exterior), Cesar Vintage (center), and Matisse (interior)

Atoll had for the first time its DVD Player, the DVD 200 on show. We’re talking 1080i upscaling, up to 5.1 analogic output, Sony mecanisms and priced at 2,000€.

Prototype Atoll DVD 200

Tivoli Audio had two new babies on display. The iYiY, a totally white iPod dock (also available in black), equipped with ab RDS tuner. It’s available now at 479€. The second newboen was the very classic style Music System with specs peculiar to Tivoli products. It boasts a CD,MP3 Player, radio, two alarm clocks and a small inbuilt subwoofer. It’s going for 899€.

Tivoli Audio iYiYi

Neodio introduced its new integrated amp, the Model 75, with the CD One Player and a pair of 3-way speakers by Kelinac. It gives out 2 x 75 Watts and is equipped with a mains filter and quality internal cabling connected to the speakers. Its circuitry is based on an open ribbon with double error correction topology…a very effective recipe! The Model 75 is going at 2,400€ and the KEL 511MG at 3,500€. The latter boasts carbon-kevlar dome boomers and a neodyme tweeter. According to Kelinac, paper and silk are now obsolete.

Neodio et Kelinac

Another pleasant surprise was the new prototype by Venus Acoustic in an intriguing kinda rack. The 3-way speaker rested on a rack made of separate units with an adjustable tweeter behind the speaker. Ideally, the speaker and its casing should adjust thanks to a laser beam! The filters also give a good idea of the excellent quality involved.

Prototype Venus Acoustic

Another striking installation was the pair of speakers by Revel, the Concerta F32 sporting Mark Levinson electronics (N°390, N°320S and N°432). All of which are equipped with Transparent Cable cabling integrating a great self that removes any frequency outside human bandwidth. This rids the listening experience from the high frequencies that poluute the audible spectrum.

Installation Revel and Mark Levinson

Another stand, another installation by BC Acoustique with their A4 speakers, sporting NAD elecronics and a Chord power amp.

Let’s round this one off with a quick look at the Gamut stand where one could see their CD3 Player, the D3i, a double mono pre-amp and a double mono block, the Di150 wired up to Phi7 and L5 speakers.

Lots of new equipment for this 2007 edition and not that unfathomable as far as the wallet’s concerned! A nice surprise…since a lot of brands are now offering quality products at a reasonable price.


All about ...

Atoll Electronique
BC Acoustique
Chord Company
Davis Acoustics
Focal-JMlab
Mark Levinson
McIntosh
Neodio
Revel
Tivoli Audio
Transparent Cable
Velodyne
Venus Acoustic
YBA