"I got dem ol post CES blues..."

And maybe some of you do too.

Every year, the best part is listening

to music and talking with people

who actually listen about what we all

are hearing. People seem to

naturally cluster together in groups

where we all kind of are looking for

the same thing. So the 'price no

object', 'what sounds really great?'

people, well, we are with them (or

they with us). This is unlike forums

where the loudest

lowest-common-denominator people

dominate every group.

It is not really a group so much as

perhaps a bunch of addicts looking

for their next fix asking everyone

they think might know something,

anything where the next great thing

might be.

For those who wondered why we did

not do a 'Best of Show' it was

because it was the same ole same

ole. You got the Lamm/Wilson,

Lars/Marten, Vitus/Marten, our $$$

Audio Note room, blah blah blah

....and Perfect8/Yspsilon (the only

positive surprise, and you have to

listen around the amps to hear it.

But at $375K...).

A lot of pretenders sounded pretty

depressing - and a lot of rooms that

should have sounded at least

decent, also were depressing. Look,

every system has a bar it should

meet - a certain level of competence

- at its price point. I've only read a

paragraph or two of other reports. I

am sure when I see all the lie$ it will

piss me off and spur me to describe

what these systems sounded like -

letting you the reader decide if you

thought it was 'spectacular' [the

word used in the only report I have

read described a room that usually

sounds much better - what these

people must listen to at home I

don't know... but I mourn for their

families].

So, like I said, mostly same as it

always is. But is is great fun

dissecting the sound of each room

worth dissecting with your friends as

you hobble room to room or at

dinner. Something everyone should

experience at least a dozen times or

so :-)