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COMMENTS |
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CES 2008 report
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Half Note Audio: Daniel Barnum of high-end distributor Half Note Audio (a real life descendant of P.T. Barnum himself) is fast becoming one of the most fascinating people in the industry to me. While many U.S. distributors are looking for inexpensive products that can be sold to the masses, Daniel seeks products that frankly, only a small tribe of people might be interested in or can afford. The roster of manufacturers represented in his room at the Venetian reads more like a "Who's Who" of European hi-fi, accept for an Oracle CD player that was the source component of his main room, but even that was connected to the Slovenian-made Stylos SYS DAC ($15,000). He used the legendary German made ASR Emitter II Exclusive B integrated amp ($26,900) which features two separate power supplies and a battery power supply for the preamp section. He also used the Tiffany-like Argento Serenity Master Reference cables (speaker cable $11,875/1m, interconnect $7,500/1m) and Flow Master Reference power cords ($4,950/2m) from Denmark throughout and an Audiostone equipment rack made in Norway. The amp sat on a Critical Mass Systems Grand Master isolation stand ($2,365). If you don't know these companies very well yet, start doing some homework because they make some of the best products available.
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...But out of all the exhibits I saw I managed to come up with a list of the Ten Best Rooms at the Shows. I like each of these rooms for a variety of reasons. All offered great sound but some were chosen because they represented great values while some were selected due to there sheer beauty and combination of strengths. So here they are in alphabetical order:
April Music: Aura Note and Aura Speaker
Audio Design & Marketing: Berning, TW-Acustic, German Physiks, Exemplar
Avatar Acoustics: Abbingdon Research, Karan Acoustics, Acoustic Systems
Bertrand Audio Imports: Perfect 8/Bridge Audio Labs
Half Note Audio: ASR, Tidal, Stylos, Audiostone, Pythagoras, Argento, Critical Mass
King Sound Oracle
MBL
NAT Distribution: Raysonic, JAS Audio
Signals Super-Fi: Vitus Audio, German Physiks, Continuum, Stereovox
World Hi-Fi Group: Escalante, Electrocompaniet
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StereoTimes - Commentary
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CES 2008 report
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This was absolutely one of the best, if not my favorite, room at CES this year. This was the room that I kept coming back and comparing the other rooms to. Daniel and Joe Barnum, et al, put on a wonderful demo that was musically involving, balanced, dynamic and detailed. The team did a wonderful job of setting up the system to give you a nice stage with a good sense of depth and layering. Music came by way of the beautiful TIDAL Contrivas ($44,900) being driven by the majestic looking ASR Emitter II Exclusive ($26,900). Digital source came via an Oracle transport driving the Stylos HAD D/A Converter ($15,000). Argento Serenity Master Reference cables and Argento Flow Power cables were used throughout. Equipment rack was provided by Audiostone and the isolation bases were Critical Mass Systems Grand Master Isolation System
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StereoTimes - Commentary
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CES 2008 report
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"...Half Note Audio put on an absolutely excellent sounding demo using electronics I've seen before but never heard perform like this. The new Tidal Contriva loudspeaker of Germany ($44,900 shown in African Mohogany) sounded remarkably detailed and musical driven with an ASR Emitter II Integrated amplifier ($26,900). Digital was by way of another newbie I heard briefly last year at the Munich High End show, in the Ascendo room: the Stylos SYS dac ($15k), while an Oracle top loader was the transport of choice. Cabling throughout was Argento Serenity Master and Flow AC cords. No question, this was one of the best sounding rooms I've had the pleasure of visiting and spending a good amount of time in..."
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StereoTimes - Commentary
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CES 2008 report
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"This was a well-balanced system: all the little faults in the playback were minor and distributed fairly evenly across the different audiophile attributes... And out pops a system that actually works. No, it is not a blow-you-away type system [yet :-)] but nothing has a blow-you-away price tag here either"
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Audio Federation - High-end Audio and Home Stereos - Boulder/Denver Colorado - The Hi-Fi Luxury Store
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CES 2008 report
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"...What rooms was I liking so far [I've seen all the meeting room areas and 2 out of 6 wings at the Venetian - and the Rockport demo at the St. Tropez was too crowded to get a seat (of which here were effectively two) and the YG Acoustics was stifled by the press while I was there... and excluding our rooms]? Kind of the same old thing - Hansen, Immedia, Audio Machina over at the St. Tropez, The Emm Labs* / Soundlab* room for its etherealness, Argento, and to top them all off the Lamm* / Wilson room on 34..."
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Audio Federation - High-end Audio and Home Stereos - Boulder/Denver Colorado - The Hi-Fi Luxury Store
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CES 2008 report
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"This system was incredible! Half Note Audio featured Tidal Contriva loudspeakers, ASR Emitter II amplifiers, Stylos SYS DAC and Argento cables ... What a pleasure to sit and listen to our music here ... this is only one of about four rooms we actually had the time to sit and listen."
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POSITIVE FEEDBACK ONLINE - ISSUE 35
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HAD-Digital To Analog Converter review
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"Concomitant with its asking price, build quality of this converter is stellar. You won't feel had one bit. Attendant weight is equally substantial. The basic construction is simplicity itself. Two clamshell granite halves with carved-out inner bays screw together with four precision-fitted bolts that become the threaded ends on the belly for the classically turned steel footers. A thin layer of hard blue Lexan riding on the same bolts acts as a recessed spacer between the stony slabs. A very small and subdued LED front-row center shines through the Lexan to confirm power status.
Unquestionably, the Stylos System Had is a very high-class converter. It outperformed my customary Zanden rig in dynamics, top-to-bottom articulation, micro detail and bass.... "
Read more
6moons.com, a website for music lovers & audiophile June 2007
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D / A CONVERTER TEST: Stylos Sys HAD - MegaDAC
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"...Almost incredibly good middle sound range is similar to the top-notch vinyls; timbre and the naturalness that I thought were impossible to create because of the limited format were realized and materialized in front of me. I don't know why but at first I rejected this system. I tried to push away the burden of new audio discoveries that significantly change my fixed opinion on this subject..."
Gordan Gaži, HiFi MEDIA, 58/2004
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Rewiew  |
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HAD-Digtal To Analog Converter
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"We were lucky to be among the first to listen to the HAD in our studio and we can say that this is the best Digital To Analog Converter we have ever tested."
HiFi MEDIA, 56/2004
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PROSTYLOS System + HAD-Digital To Analog Converter Multimedia Show Ljubljana 2003
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"...The 1,6 m (5,25 feet) tall ProStylos speakers, painted with black lacquer, look like monoliths from the Kubrick's Odyssey 2001."
Nikolaj Pečenko, VIKEND-priloga Dela in Slovenskih novic
(VIKEND - a supplement to the Delo and Slovenske novice newspapers) 574, 2003
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HAD-Digital To Analog Converter, Multimedia Show Ljubljana 2003
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"Creating an almost magical atmosphere, the STYLOS SYS introduced itself with a new digital to analog device, which has done its job excellently."
AUDIOFIL.net, web magazin, 2003
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PROSTYLOS Sistem + HAD-Digital To Analog Converter Multimedia Show Ljubljana 2003
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"This was undoubtedly one of the most controversial ways of displaying the products on The Multimedia Show. Perhaps no other system provoked such different comments, however, we have to admit that the originally designed STYLOS SYS products aroused curiosity and received plenty of praise from well-known and usually critical listeners as well.
The design, associated with the ancient Greek myths, was made by someone (Jurij Pfeifer), who is professionally engaged in designing. Large, imposing speakers, a mysteriously designed amplifier and a very attractively designed DA converter pleased most of the visitors."
Anin Sever, HIENDFI.com, web magazine, 2003
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PROSTYLOS system HI - FI SHOW fair - Zagreb 2002, Hotel Esplanade
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"A quite 'philosophically burdened' system has proved itself with an excellent musicality and according to most visitors a surprisingly dynamic and sophisticated sound, definitely one of the best on the fair."
Volodja Šiškovič, The ESC magazine, December 2002
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PROSTYLOS system HI - FI SHOW fair - Zagreb 2002, Hotel Esplanade
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"This year the Slovenes had the best sound on the fair
so much musicality, understanding for music, enthusiasm with just a few watts pro channel is worthy of praise."
Gordan Gaži, HiFi MEDIA, 53/2003
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