CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW 2010 Las Vegas, 7-10 January 2010

For the first time ever, we have been present at the CES in the role of an exhibitor rather than just visiting our suppliers as over the past 20-odd years. As worldwide distributors of the KARAN ACOUSTICS range of solid-state electronics, we have decided to present this exquisite program of preamplifier and power amplifiers to the North American and global trade segment of our industry. With active participation of our North American Karan Acoustics distributor Westside Music and Cinema from Calgary, Canada and help of Cardas Audio , Avalon Acoustics, Zanden Audio Systems and finite elemente, we did our best to give the attendees an opportunity to see, feel and hear all the beauty of the very best designs Milan Karan is offering at the moment. For more information about the presence of Karan Acoustics at the CES2010, please visit the Karan Acoustics web site www.karan-acoustics.com.

Although we did not have much time to wonder around the show, our suppliers had a number of new and interesting products to tell about. Our friends from conrad-johnson design inc. launched the new ART POWER AMPLIFIER which replaces the excellent LP275M monoblocks. Still a 275W mono valve amplifier, ART introduces a number of innovative design improvements from other products recently created while retaining the 6550C output valves to generate power. We also witnessed the entrance of new, affordable valve mono amplifiers called LP125M. They develop 125W per channel and use the compact chassis and layout of the LP66S stereo amplifier. Avalon Acoustics used CES2010 as the first public event in the United States to show their new TIME loudspeaker system. It sounded really nice in a system assisted by a number of first-class ancillary components , including our own Kuzma Stabi XL4 turntable and 4Point tonearm! Cardas Audio showed their new cable derivatives using the Clear conductor as a design principle – the Clear USB Cable which, among other virtues can be used in lengths up to 9 meters without any loss of data packets or other issues; and the new CLEAR LIGHT interconnect cable (speaker cable to follow very soon) which brings a generous percentage of the sonic performance from the "full scale" Clear at a much, much lower cost. Rogue Audio showed their new M-180 valve mono power amplifiers, as well as the revised version of their very best HERA preamplifier. Zanden Audio Systems announced a new project of a powerful, remote controlled valve integrated amplifier which will, hopefully, see the light of the day in the course of this year as well as their Model 1200Mk3 Phono Preamplifier offering even more specific equalisation curve options, polarity inversion switch and a much redesigned main circuit and power supply.

While some may say that the 2010 edition of the CES may have been a little bit less abundant with new products of real substance and relevance, the attendance seemed very good and overall mood and atmosphere was positive and showing all the good signs of a slow, but present recovery from the 2008/09 global slowdown we all experienced and lived through. As one of the long-standing luminaries of the high-end audio world said while raising his glass one evening: "Good times are back!"

During the past few months, a number of UK and international magazines wrote about our products and, we are pleased to say, most favourable comments continue to be a regular occurrence.

Italian publication "Fedelta Del Suono" had a most complimentary review of the Karan Acoustics KA S 450 power amplifier and KA L REF Mk2 preamplifier in their October 2009 issue. January 2010 issue of the Stereophile magazine brought a nice review of the Rogue Audio M-180 valve mono power amplifiers. The Absolute Sound chose HRT (High Resolution Technologies) Music Streamer products as their 2009 Product Of The Year and the same accolade was given to the conrad-johnson ET-2 line/phono preamplifier. In the very latest (February 2010) issue, TAS also listed a number of our products within their 2010 Editor's Choice Awards , while the Founder of the magazine Harry Pearson chose the conrad-johnson GAT line preamplifier as one of his 2010 Choices even before the full review has been published!! He has the same accolade to the TRI-PLANAR VII U2 tonearm which continues to be at the very pinnacle of pivoted tonearm designs year after year. In the UK, Hifi+ wrote about the conrad-johnson new TEA-2 valve phono preamplifier in their January 2010 issue (70), while the interesting Magnum Dynalab MD-309 integrated amplifier/dac has an equally positive write up in the issue 69 (November 2009).