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Salsa
on steroids
The best surprise at CES was the Renaissance
Audio Group room, where they were playing salsa music. I never
expected to feel the pulse of Latin America
in the Venetian’s calm setting. Having spent New Year’s Eve
listening to a Cuban jazz band, I was stunned by how sharply
Renaissance’s two-way Prelude speakers ($2195/pair)
reproduced the starts and stops of Latin rhythms. There were two
reasons for the incredibly lively sound.
First, the Prelude’s
drivers are among the best in class. Until three years ago, Renaissance
was part of Morel Acoustics USA, which has over three
decades of experience in the manufacturing of speaker drivers. The Prelude’s
transmission-line enclosure is tuned to derive tight bass from a
6.5" paper-cone midbass driver with a double magnet. The
triple-magnet tweeter sounded as extended as most of the rare-metal
drivers presently in vogue, yet sweeter.
The second ingredient was unique
amplification from a company called Heavenly Sound. Their E-100
amplifier (400Wpc, $1195) is an "internal active crossover
biamping (IACB)" device that enables the user to biamp a system
without bypassing the speakers’ internal crossovers. My experience
with active crossovers has been mixed. Thrilling dynamics are offset by
a slight veiling from added electronics in the signal path. However,
connecting an amplifier straight to a driver’s input should allay
any vestiges of veiling. Certainly, the lyrics of "Bésame
Mama" were clearer than I have ever heard them in my own home. The
Muse Audio Polyhymnia CD player ($6000) no doubt contributed to
the clarity, as must have the $480 worth of cables. For allowing me a
moment of foot-tapping glee, the Heavenly Sound E-100 wins a
special Jimmy Award for Most Exciting Amplifier Design in Show, and the
Renaissance Audio Group’s Prelude for Best
"Active" Loudspeaker in Show.
Jim Saxon
March 1, 2008
from
SoundstageAV.com
for the original Jimmy Award site,
click HERE
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