Thursday, January 11 - Part 2

We know Randy Bankert as the distributor of various brands we've written about over the years, but the new Sonist speakers are his brand. The are high-sensitivity designs -- Randy drove them with 3Wpc and 7Wpc amps -- that have 1 3/4"-thick solid-wood front baffles. On the left is the Concerto 2 ($2495/pair), and on the right is the floorstanding Concerto 3 ($3495/pair). [www.sonist.com]

The ReTHM Saadhana uses a pair of 6" powered woofers inside its cabinet to extend its bass to a claimed 32Hz. It certainly sounded far more full range than typical single-driver designs, and it appears to be a lot of speaker for its $6500-per-pair price.

The King Sound Emperor ($32,000/pair) is three identical full-range speakers connected. A pair of Emperors can literally double as room dividers.

Wadia's newest "Decoding Computer" is the 521, a 24-bit/1.4112MHz DAC with digital volume control and modular design -- both are features that Wadia touts. The 521 costs $6950. [www.wadia.com]

Zero Surge has improved upon its Wide Voltage Range surge suppressors by adding TSC (Total Surge Cancellation) technology. A transformer is used to generate out-of-phase voltage to cancel the incoming surge. Models ranging in price from $199 to $580 are available. The 15A 8R15T (shown) with eight outlets is priced at $249.

We've seen and photographed the Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Legend preamp ($16,000) at various shows, but, according to designer Ken Stevens, it will finally begin shipping in the spring.

The 9Wpc Omaha OD-300B integrated amp ($1199) is the latest of many low-power tubed integrated amps to come to market. The company -- which is not in Nebraska -- has a line of integrateds that use EL34, 6550 and 300B output tubes and cost from $499 to $1399.

Keith Herron introduced his VTPH-2 vacuum tube-based phono stage, which is priced at $3650. It provides no loading for cartridges internally, something Herron believes improves performance.