CES & THE Show 2011 Best of Show
CES is overflowing with elaborate systems --
racks stuffed with electronics and colossal multi-cabinet speakers -- but sometimes
simplicity wins out. Audio Physic used an Esoteric RZ-1 ($6000) with its Virgo 25 speakers
($12,500/pair), and the results were a uncomplicated system that sounded wideband, tonally
right and very spacious. Speaker cables -- all the cables that were needed --
were Nordost Valhalla. Demo cuts displayed surprising low-end authority, but what was most
remarkable was that the Virgo 25s absolutely disappeared, leaving music in their place.
Called an "integrated music
system," the Esoteric RZ-1 does just about everything an audiophile could want. In
addition to being a 100Wpc remote-controlled integrated amp, it includes CD/SACD playback,
32-bit digital-to-analog conversion via USB and a phono stage. |