Show Report. Electrocompaniet at the CES 2010 in Las Vegas
Norwegian home theater in a box for audiophiles
Norway isn't the first country that pops into most people's heads when it comes to high performance audio and video gear, but if you dig a bit deeper, you'll find that there's a pretty long history of state of the art audio from the frozen north. Perhaps it has something to do with those long dark winter nights when everyone pretty much stays indoors.
Electrocompaniet has been around since the mid '70s, and their new Maestro system challenges the notion that home audio and video fanatics just want to stack up the maximum possible number of separate boxes. Combining a Blu-ray player, AM/FM/HD radio, Internet radio, and LAN audio video streamer plus a three channel amplifier in one stylish box, the Maestro should result in a lot of unneeded audio furniture. Why only three channels? The Maestro also includes a WiFi wireless transmitter that connects to a separate amp for the rear speakers, eliminating the biggest wiring headache in most rooms.
Electrocompaniet Maestro
The Electrocompaniet Maestro is a prototype Blu-ray player that also includes an onboard 3x120W class-AB amplifier for powering the front channels of a surround system. The Maestro also has built-in surround processing and an FM tuner. But what about the rear channels?
Electroncompaniet's companion product to the Maestro is the PSB-1 two-channel wireless amplifier (120W). This unit is designed to power the rear channels in a surround system by communicating with the Maestro wirelessly. No running wires to the back of the room! Smart.
THE NORDIC TONE
Speaking of strong contenders doing repeat business, the Electrocompaniet Nordic Tone—another digitally corrected speaker of astonishing quality—sounded very nearly as marvelous in Vegas as it did in Denver. Yeah, it was still a little dark in balance (as it was at RMAF—the electronics, I think), but, oy, the dynamics, the resolution, the bass! This is a potentially great speaker that is consistently revealing details in the music and the mix that others don’t, particularly in the bass and in dynamics. The listening room was too small to tell about soundstaging, but I think it might be great, too. Whether all this adds up to greater realism is an open question, but for those who like their music gorgeous and dynamic and who also want to hear all there is to hear (at least on digital sources), they are already a top contender—and a top contender for Best of Show at CES 2010.
Jonathan Valin
The Maestro is the white box on the right in this photo with the company's Peder Beckman.
Electrocompaniet Maestro and Prelude BR-1 Blu-ray Player
I was surprised at how ambitious the new Maestro from Electrocompaniet looked on paper: Blu-ray drive, both audio and video streaming, internet radio, FM tuner, options including iPod dock and DAB/HD radio, integrated amplifier delivering 120 Watts into three channels, and optional 75 Watts times two amplifier for surround that can be wirelessly driven using a RF link.
Jon Iverson