Wrap-Up

There was a lot to see this year at CES. I spent the bulk of my time in the North Hall talking to car audio manufacturers. Most of the manufacturers that I spoke to were very interested in our car project. Many were excited to see a more mature approach to car audio, and hope that we can represent them to a more affluent culture. After all there is more to car audio than 18" woofers and cars 6" off the ground.

Alpine debuted a few more products to their F#1 status line, and added an all-in-one multimedia station. JL Audio had their massive 13W7 sub, and debuted the 8W7 sub. JL also showed off their new line of amplifiers, the "e" series. Pioneer and Eclipse displayed their engineering prototype multimedia head units. Expect them to ship late summer. Blaupunkt also debuted a multimedia head unit prototype which looked very exciting.

I simply can't wait to delve deeper into quality car audio. There are a lot of great products out there that need some exposure. Truth be told there were some manufactures who were a little scared of audiophiles evaluating their
equipment. When I mentioned thorough bench testing of amplifiers and head units, some turned pale. There has been a lot of hocus-pocus in the car audio arena, and a lot of that has to do with the inflated power claims of some amplifiers. After
examining some multimedia systems, I was infuriated to find proprietary "digital" connections between DVD players and processors. There is simply no reason for it. Kudos to Alpine for using the Toslink optical connector.

Overall 2003 is going to be a big year for Secrets in the Car Audio arena. Some of the manufacturers know of our reputation in home audio, and we hope to instill the same reputation to car audio. It's going to be wild.

- Brian Weatherhead -

CES 2003 was a mind-blowing event for a new writer at Secrets. I had previously been to a number of the Penta Heathrow Hi-Fi shows in London, but they certainly did not prepare me for CES. Penta is more like Alexis Park and T.H.E. Show, but the main activities of CES are at the incredibly large LVCC, which would fit 10 or so hotels into their main areas. Huge companies such as Hughes, Texas Instruments, Panasonic, Microsoft, Intel etc. all had large booths showing all of their latest products. Music and even actual video were only part of the show. However, I come from a long history of being an audiophile (a dirty word to some) but one, which I am proud of. I am not a believer in snake oil or little stones stuck around the room but I am one who believes that the sound of the music is all-important.

I heard some beautiful music at CES. I had come prepared for bad sound, having read countless articles that talked about rooms which caused terrible bass, impossible dimensions, thin walls and other conditions that made the reproduction of music an incredibly difficult endeavor to succeed at. All I can say is that I heard some of the most beautiful music that I could have imagined. Alexis Park in particular did not seem to have difficulties with sound coming into one suite from another. I don't know whether this was because there were usually one or two rooms between each suite where music was playing or because the walls were relatively thick, but I was never disturbed there listening to music from one system and hearing sounds from another system down the hall.

This was unfortunately not the case at T.H.E. Show that was held at the San Remo Hotel and where one could often hear music from one suite drifting into another. Even there however, I heard some of the most accurate and pellucid music it has been my privilege to ever hear. I am going to pick out some systems and some particular pieces of equipment that highly impressed me, for review in my own lab.

However, I should state from the beginning that I did not by any means hear everything there was to hear at either Alexis Park or T.H.E. Show, nor did I have a chance to spend the time I would have liked in each room at either venue. I spent the first day at the LVCC and decided that it just wasn't my thing. I love video, but I am by no means an expert, I am no engineer, and my eyes are by no means as well trained as my ears. I have been listening to live music most of my life and have been an audiophile since 1979.

When it comes to music, even though I am 52, I can still hear much of what is going on. I am lucky that my wife is 20 or so years younger than I am and she accompanied me through all three days at Alexis Park and San Remo. Together our ears heard the same things.

I first want to comment upon the ubiquitous presence of Atma-Sphere tubed OTL (Output Transformer-Less) preamps and power amps in what seemed to be dozens of rooms, many of which sounded quite fine. I think there was a good reason for so many exhibitors choosing this brand. They seemed to be able to drive whatever the load was and their sound was beautiful to hear. I have never owned or listened to Atma-Sphere equipment for any length of time but with what I heard at the show, I will make it a point to review some of their equipment as soon as possible.

If I had to choose a speaker which most impressed me and was within the possibility of owning it would be the new Dali Euphonia MS5. The Euphonia - depending upon finish are around $6,500/pair - is a 3.5 way configuration with a ribbon and soft dome wide dispersion tweeter module. It sounded alive, vivid and yet soft and gentle when needed. In other words, it shaped itself to the music, and yet everything that I heard played through these transducers had the characteristic of feeling alive and having an energy that drew one in. I am looking forward to reviewing these speakers as soon as possible. If they sound as good over a long review as they did in a 45 minute listening session, I might just have to find the money to buy them. The absolutely 'best speakers' I heard at the show were the Wisdom speakers with the new Wisdom amplification. Unfortunately these cost in the range of $240,000/pair, which is fantasyland for me, and I suspect for most of us. It was however, a thrill to listen to them for half an hour or so, just to know what can be created. I have neither the money, nor room to be able to even think about buying these beauties. However, I was told that some of their lesser siblings, which I didn't hear, also sounded superlative and might be worth a listen if you have a small fortune and not a large one.

A listing of some other - and more sanely priced - speakers that impressed me would include the SoundLab Renaissance-3 (the Millennium-1s, were in far to small a room to sound very good), Phase Technology PC-9.1 Tower speakers which I was highly impressed with and were, if I remember correctly in the $7,000 range, which makes them at least a possibility. I enjoyed the sound of the Chesky Audio C-1, although I am not sure if they are presently available or are still simply being shown at shows, as they have been for the past year. I was also impressed with the Chateau Research Model 3 speaker that is time and phase aligned. Chateau was using their own pre and power amps, and the whole system sounded well balanced, with a clarity and sense of openness that was all too rare. The cables being used with the Chateau were the relatively new Empirical Audio power cables, interconnects and speaker cables. I am looking forward to hearing more of both Chateau and Empirical Audio cables.

The small 12 inch Galante Symphony speakers sounded excellent along with the, I think the name was, VBT subwoofers. These tiny subwoofers sounded extraordinary and were just incredibly small. I was looking forward to hearing the new TAG McLaren pre/processor 192 but they didn't have it at the show. They have promised that after it is reviewed in Europe that they will make it available here for us to listen to. Just remember your promise guys! However TAG McLaren did have a new lifestyle system which sounded fine and sweet and which I have been promised to stick in my bedroom to audition in a situation where they most likely would be used. They run for about $9,000 for the Aphrodite, which combines a CD player, amplifier, and tuner and looks mighty sharp. They are partnered with the Calliope speakers, which are manufactured out of aluminum. The Calliope is available either passive or as an active speaker with a 100 Watt per driver amplifier. They are also available with a subwoofer as a stand or with their standard one. My wife was fairly drooling about having this set up in our bedroom.

Another speaker that was extremely impressive and very inexpensive for what you get was the SLS Loudspeakers model HT8R. Its frequency response went from 44 Hz to 20,000 kHz +/- 2 dB, which is pretty good for a speaker that only costs $1,095/pair. It sounded great as a stereo speaker and it was also set up as a 5.1 multi-channel system where it fairly shone. The last speaker I wanted to mention was the Earthworks Sigma 6.2 Monitor that is a small time coherent near field reference monitor that goes down to about 40 Hz at -3 dB and up to 40 kHz -1 dB. They sounded superb sitting only 5 feet away. If you are forced to have your sound system in an extremely small room or are in the position to purchase a very expensive speaker system with your home computer, this speaker is certainly one to seriously consider. It costs around $6,000/pair, which is quite high, but I have to say that the sound was absolutely fantastic on the various SACD discs that I had them play.

While I did not get a chance to hear the new Audio Design Associates Cinema Reference Mach II, what I saw of it and what it contained, it is certainly a pre/processor that I am looking forward to hearing. The unit contains 8 analog stereo inputs, 3 component video inputs, built in video processor, front panel color LCD preview monitor and the usual DD ED, DTS ES, PL-II, DTS Neo:6 and THX Ultra II modes. I did get a chance to hear Kimber's new Palladian Power Kords and was highly impressed, although I will need to hear them in my system to really assess their quality. All in all this was an exciting, exhausting experience, and I can't wait for CES 2004 so that I can get exhausted again.

- Joshua Lerner -

At one point our illustrious Editor-in-Chief asked a few of us, "I hope you guys who have been to CES for a few years now aren't getting bored."

No way, no how can anyone remotely interested in this stuff be board at CES, but I could see the reason for him asking:  There was for the second year in a row, nothing "hot" or "new" in terms of technology, only new models, sometimes with improved specs but mostly just the proverbial bigger, better, badder!

Before the show we spent a little time with some folks from the Paradigm Group because they were not actually exhibiting at CES.  Big things coming from that company, none of which we are allowed to talk about yet.

The first day we hit the floor running, trying to take in the scope of things.  We talked with Andrew, one of Mirages designers, about the new OmniSat and Omni series speakers.  He explained to us that despite the popularity of their Omnipolar speakers, they were loosing business at what some people consider the mid-fi price point.  The reason was that Omnipolar technology requires double the drivers in any give speaker. The Omnisat concept allows them to get the same dispersion character as the Omnipolar models, with one tweeter and one mid-bass driver.  Cool.

Andrew also bragged up the BP-200 subwoofer, announced last year at CES but still not quite in our hands yet.  According to him, the unit actually outperforms, by a margin, their legendary BPS-400.  Well, we've just GOT to get our hands on one and see for ourselves....

Over at THX, it was business as usual:  They showed a sampling of THX units which demonstrated the wide variety of products participating in the program.  John Dahl explained to us that THX in car audio and multimedia/PC applications is VERY different from home theater.  With the latter, everything is oriented towards adhering to established standards, with the end game being the proverbial "what the artist intended".  When it comes to cars and PCs, there is no standard per sé so what THX is doing is leveraging their experience in the field and simply making things as good as they can be at a given price point.  John also talked a little about Ultra2 in terms of speaker performance, telling us it is actually modeled after their PM3 spec which is the THX program for professional mixing facilities.

Dolby had the Pro Logic II car again and at Roger Dressler's urging, we thought we'd better break down and actually listen.  Pretty darn cool.  Sandy wants one for his Pathfinder.

The lines were indeed long to get into Faroudja's now renowned demos.  Too bad there wasn't much to see this year.  They used their DVD player on three different fixed pixel projectors, none of which impressed us.

Over at Yamaha, the tables had turned.  Two years ago I would not have put "Yamaha" and "Projector" in the same sentence but their two projectors, a pricey DLP and a reasonable LCD, were the best of their kind I saw at the show.  The InFocus unit over at the TI display, in fairness, was every bit as good as the high end Yamaha.

Also in the "way cool" department was Yamaha's MusicCast system which basically uses 802.11b to zip music through the house.  Load all your tunes on the server, plug a couple speakers into the receiver and away you go.

Panasonic, Sharp, Toshiba, Pioneer, Samsung, Zenith, and so on and so on.....were ALL pushing flat panel TVs ad nauseum.  The plasmas still don't look good and the LCD models that are coming up in size, though looking marginally better, are priced where plasma was when it first came out.  Further, what few RPTV models were being shown were mostly DLP and/or LCD inside.  T'was a sad day for CRT.

The most promising looking TV was from a company I thought wasn't around anymore:  Proton.  Well renowned in the interlaced TV days, they are back with a 34" 16:9 direct view which caught my attention when I saw you could turn off SVM in the user menu.  Supposedly it will accept 480i, 480p, 1080i, and 720p on the component plugs and XGA on the RGB.  Must get one for review...

Atlantic Technology, as could be expected, have jumped on the THX Ultra2 bandwagon and we can say one thing:  they are BIG speakers (as are any Ultra2 speakers we've seen).  The finish on the units they showed was a definite improvement from what we've seen from Atlantic Technology in the past, though they may be racing the Ultra2 thing a little:  They need four, count 'em, four of the pedestal subwoofers they had to meet spec.  They had a prototype subwoofer with a 15" driver they say will meet Ultra2 spec on its own but as the saying goes "hearing is believing".

All in all, there was with but a few exceptions a conspicuous lack of innovation at this years show.  Comforting is the fact that 16:9 IS NOW THE SHAPE of TV.   Makes us feel good for pushing 16:9 enhanced DVDs four years ago.

- Brian Florian -

This year's CES was just as much fun as that of any of my visits. I didn't see any products that really broke much new ground, but rather a maturation of existing technologies.

On the video front, digital displays of all kinds are looking less digital (a good thing.) Video processors are getting better as well. All of the digital video products are getting cheaper for a given performance level, but I think there's still progress to be made for the future benefit of consumers, and as of right now, I don't think there's any digital display available to consumers that can exploit the full potential of HD content.

On the audio front, there's not much truly new, although existing technologies are being implemented in innovative ways. SSPs are interesting, and it was fun talking with the THX people about what is and isn't in their standards, as evasive and forthcoming as they may or not be without commitment but plenty of implication. The promise of a digital transmission standard for DVD-Audio content was exciting, though actual implementation is probably a year or two off.

Loudspeakers are loudspeakers, in terms of new gizmos, but probably one of the most interesting points that demonstrations reminded me of was that CES and trade shows in general are a lousy environment for making product evaluations. Products which I've enjoyed thoroughly in my own home I'd consider abominable if I took their performance at manufacturer demonstrations as any indication of their own potential. It's also a fantastic excuse to request a review sample.

The single greatest highlight for me, aside from listening to Cynthia rant like the amiable wonder wench that she is, was the talking to the manufacturers themselves about products, their design dilemmas, choices, and successes, as well as their considerations for future development and the market they negotiate as a means to eat. While this industry has more than it's share of phonies and hacks, there are also some genuinely interesting and conscientious people, which refreshes my interest in the field, as if my interest in the products weren't enough.

And, there is of course, the sowing of seeds for future product reviews. Having heard so many promises in the past with little result, I've become somewhat conservative in making requests for review samples unless I'm particularly motivated with the prospect of using something. There were a few of those items, and discussions have ensued.

We'll see what comes.

- Colin Miller -

Having read CES reports in the past, I knew that the show was going to be big. But reading about it is one thing, experiencing it is another! This was my first trip to the show. The first day started with a long hike across the hotel to take a shuttle to the South Hall, and a long hike through the South Hall to the Press room. This was a preview of what was to come: walking long distances and standing most of the day. On the bright side: there were going to be plenty of toys to play around with, and exercise is good thing! Once we reached the Press room, we looked at the floor layout of the various halls to decide what we wanted to see. Off we went, and here is a summary of the days spent at the show.

On the audio front, most of the displays over at LVCC were static. The few that could be heard at LVCC and Alexis Park would probably sound much better under a controlled environment. Nevertheless, it was nice to see what the manufacturers had to offer. The popularity of in-wall speakers was quite evident. A lot of companies, including JMLabs, had their models on display. If however, you would rather mount the speakers on your ceiling, Thiel has a solution for you. Their PowerPoint series are designed for this purpose. Mate that with their SW1 subwoofer, and you have a nice system. Thiel's large demo room had 2 SW1s, and they provided some very rich, tight bass.

There was some news from the SACD camp. Fans of SACD will be happy to know that “Dark Side of the Moon” is being re-mastered for this format. Other notable releases will be from “The Police” and “Bob Dylan”.

On the video side, DLP based devices had a big presence. The HD2 based front-projectors looked very good. However, if you are susceptible to seeing the color wheel induced rainbows, you will have to look elsewhere. Panasonic was showing a 3 chip DLP projector, which I thought looked really good. The black level was not that great, but the image was really smooth. The projector costs $30k+.

On the LCD front-projection end, the PLV-Z1 from Sanyo looked quite good. This projector has a resolution of 964x544 and it sells for about $1,500!

1080i and 720p are the 2 common resolutions for the affordable display technologies that are out there. It was just going to be a matter to time before someone came out with a device capable of displaying 1920x1080p. Well, that company is Toshiba, and they had their 1080p LCOS RPTV on display.

It was fortuitous that the NFL divisional playoffs were on during the show. CBS was broadcasting the games in HD, and there were several companies showing the live feed. A small crowd was standing outside the Daewoo hall watching the game, and several people commented on the clarity of the feed! TI had a demo room with the InFocus 7200 and they were kind enough to open the door to the public. When I stepped into the room, there were several people sitting on the chairs and all over the floor watching the game. The picture quality was excellent, and so was the game (Tennessee-Pittsburgh) which went into overtime. The next day I heard a company representative (I forget which company) tell someone that CBS was broadcasting the divisional playoffs in HDTV and FOX was not. Good thing that the Super Bowl is not on FOX this year! Sports is a “killer app” for HD, and I hope that more games are broadcast in HD next year. The interest level is high!!!!

There is good news for those who enjoy HD and wish that they had a PVR that could record these programs. DISH announced the PVR 921. This player comes with a whopping 250 GB hard disk, capable of recording 40 hours of HD. It has 2 tuners and has 2 scalers. The 2 scalers allow for both standard definition and high definition outputs to be active at the same time. The unit adds DVI and Firewire connectivity in addition to the regular analog outputs. The product is slated for a summer release with pricing yet to be determined.

On the whole, there was more of the same. More gorgeous speakers from Sonus Faber. More excellent finishes from Dynaudio. More companies doing in-wall speakers. More companies embracing the Ultra2 specification. More DLP projectors. More LCD and Plasmaflat-panels. More insanely priced products. And finally, more people compared to last year, which is a good sign for the show!

- Sumit Chawla -

Another CES has passed and similar to last year there was a lack of exciting new technology at least from the areas I explored. That said existing technologies are being refined and improved particularly in the area of digital front projection. Having been impressed by the crop of HD1 based DLPs previously I was curious to see what improvement, if any, the new HD2 based designs would yield. It would be foolhardy to place credit solely in the lap of the HD2 chip as such a new technology receives performance boosts in other areas. With that in mind the HD2 offerings by Marantz, DWIN, Yamaha and InFocus were a definite step up from any of the HD1s I have spent time with. Particularly impressive was the Marantz vp12s2 whose increase in lumens gave the 100" diagonal 16:9 Firehawk the sufficient punch I felt was slightly lacking in the initial iteration. An already respectable performer in the contrast ratio department, the s2 takes another step forward in that area. My fingers are crossed that the ever-helpful Dan Miller of Marantz can arrange a review sample for one of our video gurus.

Marantz, like its competitors DWIN and Yamaha, demonstrated their wares in a light controlled room isolated from the cacophony of the show floor. The negative impact an improper demo can have on the press or a prospective dealer cannot be overstated. It was a welcome relief to view these impressive devices under preferable conditions. Not to mention it gave my tired dogs a welcome respite. Another kudos goes to those manufacturers willing to show 480i material in addition to HD. Lets face it making HDTV look bad takes some effort. Making an interlaced feed from a DVD player look good deinterlaced and scaled up 100" diagonally takes some doing. The Marantz and Yamaha were quite good in this regard. What impressed me most about DLPs place in the market is the strong direction TI has for it. They are committed to producing a better, cheaper mousetrap and it shows. The improvements made over the last few years have been quite impressive with the potential for even more leaps in the years to come. For those of you long suffering 1920x1080 chip fanatics the wait goes on. When I posed the question the response was quite similar to the one I received at the Home Entertainment Expo this year in New York, "We do not see it as an immediate need at this time." This is one of the areas I would like to see TI take an immediate dive into as there is a growing source of 1080i material (DVHS and HDTV) in desperate need of deinterlacing and displaying at its intended resolution. Hopefully as source material increases public demand will follow and we will finally see High Definition at it's finest.

My main disappointment on the digital projection front came from the LCOS camp whose technology I appreciate but whose approach to the home theater market leaves much to be desired. It is now 2003 and to get a native 16:9 LCOS one needs to purchase a rear projection unit? I would have liked to see a stronger product showing
dedicated to Home Cinema, the TAW booth being an exception, instead LCOS was largely overshadowed by the throng of DLP products. With the performance boosts DLP has been showing annually it would be nice to see the likes of JVC and Hitatchi make a concerted effort to release competitive products at all price points on a regular basis. Nothing breeds improvement more than heated competition. As it stands LCOS is not putting up much of a fight.

On the digital transmission/copy protection front for video material very little progress has been made. A few manufacturers like Zenith and Samsung are copy protecting their HDTV se tops with HDCP on DVI but it is hardly a universal standard, yet. Much like the hesitancy in the audio realm the chicken and the egg analogy is appropriate. While some manufacturers grow weary of waiting and release their own proprietary connections (i.e. Meridian with their smart link connection) the majority of players are left  in a holding pattern while the issues of legality are argued. To make a prediction would be to merely throw one's hat into the wind. As Sam Runco stated at the AVS forum dinner "I just don't know". By the way this occurred after his facemask and leather restraints were removed. You had to be there.

On a personal note I would like to thank the entire Johnson clan for organizing another successful CES excursion. Their hard work in addition to the efforts of our editors has certainly paid off. I spoke to several people who thanked me for the work being done here at Secrets. Guiltily I accepted as my role pales in comparison to the efforts of our senior staff but it is gratifying to know the work being done is appreciated. In addition to our group of old cronies we have some new faces that are knowledgeable and passionate about this industry. I spent a fair amount of time getting to know our new video editor Steve Smallcombe as well as Sumit Chawla as I showed them around the show. They are a nice couple of chaps, despite Steve's incessant love of cats and Sumit's superior digital photography skills, and I look forward to their contributions to Secrets.
 

- Chris Montreuil -

This was my first year at CES.  The trip started off with a couple of uneventful flights, which are always the best kind, followed by a hotel room cable making session with our own Colin Miller.  The day closed with an excellent meal and some great discussions with guys from Paradigm.  In general, our days started out with a team meeting at the Grand Buffet, a great spot to get some bacon for us Canadians.  I spent most of my days in the main conference center taking in demos from the leading manufactures in home audio and video technology.  I had originally planned to spend a large portion of my time at Alexis Park where the high-end audio manufactures are, but that plan changed as I found most of the manufactures I wanted to see, and considered high-end, were in the main hall.  Companies like Parasound, M&K, Bryston, etc. were all located within the main conference center located with the other mass market manufactured like Panasonic and sharp.  For now let's talk about the main conference center.  I did go to Alexis, but we will save that for later.

To the Trade Floors.

I have been to many trade shows, a couple at the Las Vegas Conference Center, but no matter what theme was being exhibited, they are all the same.  Every company bids for your attention as you pass by.  It always provides some great entertainment for the crowd.  It was a show that has to been seen and heard. 

The Technologies.

To sum things up, video was the focus at CES this year and from a technology perspective it seems to be flat-panel displays or DLP projectors.  While I enjoyed seeing all the flat panel displays, I cannot say I have been terribly impressed to date.  DLP technology on the other hand does seem to be moving along.  There were some excellent examples of 3-chip DLP projectors in the $35K range that looked very good and while you might cringe at the price they are not any more expensive than reference CRT projectors available a year or so ago.  There were also single chip DLP and LCD projectors in just about every booth and while I don't think I would trade my CRT for one they are looking better all the time.

While there was not much truly new innovative technology on the floor this year, product integration from universal players that could play just about every type of media from CD to SACD to DVD-Audio and Video to projectors with the latest video processors and scalars built in were everywhere.  And while I found a few companies pushing DVD recording devices it was clear there is still not clarity as to which format will emerge.  To make that space even more complex, technology leaders like Panasonic were throwing some more new formats into the mix like 'Blue-Ray' capable of recording 50Gb on a single CD sized disc (sound good to me).

I did get to spend some time with Dolby and THX and enjoyed talking with them.  At Dolby it was clear they were focused at getting Dolby sound from the movie into the rest of the world.  They had a display setup where you could experience Dolby headphone technology, which works pretty well as long as you have some visual queues to accompany the sound.  My favorite Dolby setup was the Volvo car with a factory installed Dolby Pro Logic II system.  With the default settings everyone in the car had a reasonable sound image somewhere in front of them, not the speaker closest to you scenario, we usually experience in our automobiles.  Sitting in the driver's seat and tweaking the controls a bit I was able to create a very nicely optimized sound stage for the driver's seat and will definitely be looking at installing a DLPII system in my vehicle this year. THX have also extended their markets and are now certifying factory car audio systems.

To Alexis Park.

For those that do not know, Alexis Park is the place where all high-end audio is.  All companies get a small hotel room where they can setup 'optimal' listing environments to show off their products.   Alexis tends to leave a sour taste with some of Secret's staff.  This is mainly because there are many completely over priced pieces of audio equipment with not one bit of R&D put into them or are sold at ridiculous prices on the company name alone.  The sad thing is some of the companies admitted to me they charge what they do because their loyal customers are willing to pay the extra money for branding. 

There were still many great companies at Alexis that do put time into R&D and build some exceptional products.  Their prices are higher than mass market gear.  This is due to limited production runs and higher quality parts, both internally and externally, used in their products.  While I do not buy into the hype of super high-end audio some of this equipment becomes a piece of furniture as much as it is a functional audio component.  There were speakers with lacquer finishes so deep you could almost put your hand though them and cabinetry work that would rival even the most elitist of cabinet makers.  The sound in the hotel rooms still left something to be desired, but was substantially better than on the trade show floor back at the convention
center.

Conclusion.

My return flights to Canada were as uneventful as the flights to Vegas, but I must say, coming back to the cold is not the most pleasant experience.  All-in-all I really enjoyed my experience at CES and meeting some of the key players in the industry made my year.  It was a blast from the first day to the last.  I would like to report some amazing new technological break through, but I really didn't see any. but hey, next year is only 12 months away.

- Sandy Bird -

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