VTL CES 2010 Show Report

Location: Venetian Suite 30-102

Dates: January 7 – 10, 2010

Active Demo System

After many months of preparation and careful selection of components for our CES demo, we put together the following active demo system for this year’s CES show:

Amplification –

MB-450 Series II Signature Monoblocks,

Siegfried Reference Monoblock Amplifiers

TL5.5 Series II Signature Preamplifier with Phono

TL7.5 Series II Reference Preamplifier

TP6.5 Signature Phono Preamplifier

Speakers – TAD Reference 1 speakers

Digital front end

dCS Paganini System – Player, DAC, Clock, Link

Analog front end

Spiral Groove SG-2 Turntable, Triplanar Arm, Lyra Skala cartridge

Cables and Power

Nordost Odin and Vahalla cables and power cords

Equipment Stand

Finite Elemente racks, Finite Elemente Pagode amp stands

The main focus of our demo this year is to showcase the new TL5.5 Series II preamplifier with internal phono and compare this unit ($8000 US Retail) to the top of the line separates, the TL7.5 Series II preamplifier ($18,500) and the standalone TP6.5 Signature Phono Preamplifier ($8500) using our MB-450 Series II Monoblocks ($15,000.)


Comments on the TL5.5 II with phono
The consensus amongst our dealers and distributors who heard the system was that the TL5.5 II surprisingly captures so much of the sonic characteristics of the TL7.5/TP6.5 system at less than one-third their combined price. There is a natural ease with which it reproduces the timbre and harmonics of musical instruments, and a delightful rich and engaging sound that is inviting and easy to listen to

For special demos, we also switched over to the Siegfried Reference monoblocks to give our visitors a taste of the mighty Siegfrieds, but overall, the MB-450s did extremely well driving the TADs with ease creating a natural and musically satisfying system that is rich, engaging, and well delineated in tonal color with a deep and well controlled bass.

In addition to the demo unit, we also showed the TL5.5 II with phono in a static display with its top encased in a plexiglass to show the internal layout of the unit.


The “New” TL2.5 Preamplifier
At CES this year, we also introduced a new luxurious “make-over” for the TL2.5 preamplifier. This widely popular preamplifier has enjoyed a very long and stable shelf life of over 15 years, and finally this year, it is getting a complete update to its cosmetics to bring it in line with the rest of the products in the Performance Series with no changes in price. Order your new TL2.5 now -- new cosmetics available to ship immediately.



Awards and Special Honors
 
IT-85 received the prestigious Diapason D’Or award
Audiophile magazines around the world have given rave reviews to our IT-85 Integrated amplifier and it is widely recognized as a great value product that delivers surprisingly full and lively sound. Now in 2009, the IT-85 has garnered a most distinguished award from a renowned classical music magazine. The French Music magazine, Diapason, awarded the IT-85 with the prestigious Diapason D’Or award in the Amplification category.

Here are some of the comments captured from the IT-85 report in the November issue of the Diapason magazine:

“… displays a rigor, beauty and precision that most solid state amplifiers would turn pale in comparison … the richness and realism in the sound are rarely found in solid state amplifiers …three dimensional image, perfect timbre, large sound stage … the voice and instruments have a well-defined dimension … excellent definition and dynamic that is full of panache…”


S-400 Stereo Reference Amplifier received the Best Performance award from Audio Art, Taiwan
The well-respected Audio Art magazine from Taiwan awarded the S-400 Stereo Reference amplifier with the Best Performance award.