More High-End Audio Firms Going Digital, Our CES Survey Finds
Though it’s still easy to find analog phono preamps and tube amplifiers in the high-end audio section at CES, more and more audio companies are going digital with impressive results, a trend we found when we canvassed specialty audio companies at last week’s show.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
Thiel demonstrated the fruits of its latest joint venture, matching powered speakers with the Bicom-enabled Olive 4HD music server to create a networked, multi-room package that begins shipping next month at $7,900 per system. Additional speakers for satellite rooms are $2,650 each. The Olive + Thiel system will be through select Thiel dealers, and the company is in talks with the Home Entertainment Source (HES) buying group for additional distribution.
Thiel President Kathy Gornick told us that her company is agnostic when it comes to music delivery methods and maintains the goal of making “great sound available to any consumer” via analog and digital products. Gornick touted the ease-of-use benefits of the system, which can be controlled by an iPhone or iPod Touch and is connected by Ethernet cable. The system supports up to eight rooms via Ethernet, and users can stream up to four Internet radio stations via a PC web browser. A one-button process enables users to back up their music collections onto an external hard drive via USB.
Thiel’s SCS4D speakers, which incorporate a DAC and 200- watt Class D amplifier, derive from the company’s SCS4 speakers that have been modified with Thiel’s proprietary Zoet IP-technology that promises to eliminate latency issues associated with network-connected systems. Olive’s 2TB server can store up to 20,000 24-bit HD music tracks and packs a CD recorder, analog and digital inputs for streaming additional music sources such as cable or satellite, an IR receiver and a four-inch display for navigation.
Meanwhile, the company is setting a Q2-Q3 target for the Thiel Zoet IP-based multi-zone, multi-channel distributed audio system. The system has been delayed by the Dolby certification process because Dolby hasn’t yet certified an IP-based system for Dolby Pro Logic IIx surround sound. Ultimately, according to Thiel, the company plans to “Zoetize” the entire line of Thiel speakers with two-way IP technology. Zoet will be distributed differently from the Thiel norm, according to Ekin Binal, president of Bicom, whose DSP technology is the engine of the Zoet system. Distribution hasn’t been finalized, but Amazon is one channel that’s “heavily under consideration,” Binal said. “They already have Martin-Logan.”
Peachtree Audio showed its new iDecco, a tube-based 50- watt-per-channel integrated amplifier with built-in iPod dock. The $999 two-channel amp ships this week along with the $799 Decco 2, a 40-watt-per-channel integrated amp without an iPod dock.
According to co-founder Jim Spainhour, whose resume includes 27 years in high-end audio retail and six years as national sales manager for Monitor Audio, the iPod and MP3s presented a perfect opportunity for the company. “Four years ago, we looked into computer audio with USB inputs on a digital-to-analog converter,” he said. Initially he expected a high-quality DAC to emphasize the flaws in compressed music but found the opposite to be true. “The music sounded so much better,” he said. “We figured if people knew how good streaming music could sound through a halfway decent system, then we had a ready-made market.”
“People are making a $2,000 investment in high- definition music,” Spainhour said, “and then listening to it on $129 computer speakers.” Reaching that customer involves a combination of luck and reviews, Spainhour said. The company landed the cover of Stereophile last December and hopes word of mouth spreads the message further.
Peachtree sells through its own website, via online retailer Crutchfield and through specialty AV brick-and- mortar stores including Listen Up. “Music is ultimately moving over to the computer audio side,” Spainhour said. “Before the big boys figure it out, we decided to take the plunge.”
U.K.-based Naim Audio, showed its new Unitiqute streaming music system at CES. The all-in-one, 24bit/96kHz digital music system streams music downloads, high-resolution music files, Internet radio, network music, and files from UPnP servers, and iPod/MP3 players. Streaming is handled by built-in Wi-Fi. The box also bundles a RS-232 port, and an iPhone app is available for remote control.
Known for its analog amplifiers and CD players, Naim left the disc player out of the Unitiqute. “You don’t need a spinning disc anymore to have high-quality music,” said Jenny Smith, marketing manager. “So many people carry all their stuff on an iPod or iPhone these days. Traditional hi-fi appeals to middle-aged men. We're looking to move past that and appeal to a younger and female audience.” The $1,995 system is due to ship in March through brick-and-mortar retailers.