A Munich Show prequel – PART 2
By Roy Gregory
More rooms and more products we’re eagerly anticipating…
Apertura– Room Atrium 4.2, F204
French speaker brand Apertura will be bringing two new models to the show, of which the most interesting is the Forté floorstander. Outwardly, this is all Apertura, with the asymmetric, curved cabinet walls, outriggers, C/G positioned grounding spike and D’Appolito driver topology all adding up to a familiar form factor. But look closer and you’ll notice that sat between the two, large diameter bass-mid drivers is a ring-radiator tweeter (rather than Apertura’s more normal ribbon) while the company is clear that this new model is aimed directly at those using high-quality, low-powered amplification.
They are keeping the specs under wraps, but there’s more to designing a successful, higher sensitivity speaker than the efficiency, nominal impedance and bandwidth can tell you. The load characteristics are far more critical than an ‘averaged’ impedance, while bandwidth alone means little without careful voicing of the bottom end. But it will be fascinating to hear just how successful Apertura has been in applying it’s unique approach to this new direction.
CAD– Room Atrium 4.2, F224
The computer audio specialists at CAD are one of the (very) few companies to deliver consistently musical results from a server source – and one of even fewer to do so at a reasonable price. This year they’re once again on trend (or ahead of the curve depending on your point of view) with a new CAT server and external power supply – and in a move that mirrors other (much) more expensive systems, they’ve put a lot of work into a new, cable-based USB interface. While products that are well beyond the reach of mere mortals (like the Wadax Reference Server) are finally delivering on the promised benefits of file replay, it’s companies like CAD who the rest of us are relying on to deliver the goods. This latest progress report should prove interesting.
CH Precision– Room Atrium 4.1, F118
There’s almost too many plums to pick in the CH room! Not only is there the mouth-watering prospect of the 10 Series driving Rockport Lyra loudspeakers, but there are new digital components too. Not only is there the D1.5 player/transport but first sighting of and a first listen to the new C1.2 DAC/Controller as well! CH will be running comparative demonstrations of both the C1/C1.2 (along with the digital upgrade path) and the L1/X1 against the L10, all of which should make for some interesting listening.
Reader Health Warning
After my recent experiences with the D1.5 and MQA CD replay in particular, CH have invited me (along with Dennis Davis from TheAudioBeat.com) to present a number of multi-format demonstrations, where we will be comparing different versions of the same recording, on optical disc and vinyl – and believe me when I say that you’ll be astonished just how many different formats exist for some titles. Sessions have been scheduled for 17:00 on Saturday and 14:00 on Sunday and seating is on a first come, first served basis. We hope to see you there.
