So how was CES 2015?

by Olaf Adam

For four days at the beginning of every year, the eyes of the world turn to Las Vegas, because the Consumer Electronics Show is usually expected to deliver the big news in TV, HiFi, and home theater. But in recent years, CES news has increasingly been dominated by 'smart' kitchens, 'connected' cars, and other trends. Nevertheless, the traditional premieres are still there—you just have to look a little more closely to find them. That's why we were there. At the beginning of this little travelogue, it's perhaps worth briefly mentioning the most obvious 'big' trends. These are usually already speculated about by numerous industry observers and analysts before the show, and 2015 was no exception. So, by the end of December, everyone already knew what Las Vegas would be about: Smart Home, Connected Cars, and the so-called 'Internet of Things.' And indeed, there was plenty of all that to see in Las Vegas. However, the big revolution, as the electronic media buzz had suggested beforehand, did not materialize. Especially in the area of 'Smart Home,' one might have expected more. Many well-known and unknown manufacturers presented themselves under this banner and showed plenty of new products. But the all-encompassing standard, the universal solution that would finally make a connected house truly smart, is still awaited. Particularly interesting in this context was that, before and even during the show, a lot of people were talking about one manufacturer who traditionally ignores CES. We're talking about Apple, whose 'HomeKit' platform is supposed to be the unified standard that allows products from different manufacturers not only to be networked but also to be intelligently controlled. There were indeed the first HomeKit products to be seen at CES, but the big aha moment was missing. It might be nice to control your power socket or garage door opener with a smartphone, but that's not really new either. One thing became clear in Las Vegas: Much of what was shown under the buzzword 'Smart Home' really only fits under the much more diffuse umbrella term 'Internet of Things'; more and more individual devices, from the power socket to the kitchen stove, are indeed networked (or networkable) and theoretically connected to the internet. However, it only becomes 'smart' through meaningful linking of the individual devices, enabling truly intelligent control. Such solutions will come, no doubt about it. At CES 2015, however, they were at best only seen in their early stages.

CES, however, is increasingly becoming a showcase for innovation for international car manufacturers; and that's despite the famous Detroit Motor Show taking place just a week later. The buzzword here is Connected Car, which covers everything from smartphone-connected entertainment solutions to future technologies like autonomous vehicles and intelligent traffic control systems where all vehicles on the road communicate with each other.

But of course, the manufacturers covering the more traditional CES topics were not idle either. For example, it became more than clear that 4k/UHD will be the future in the TV market. Samsung, for instance, will introduce 66 (mainly curved) out of just over 100 new TVs this year with UHD resolution; in certain size categories, you won't even have the choice between Full HD or UHD anymore. It's similar with other TV manufacturers, but Samsung had another (marketing) ace up its sleeve. Under the somewhat misleading name 'S-UHD,' they didn’t present the next leap in pixel count but the latest evolution of LED/LCD TVs. Thanks to a backlight with 'Quantum Dot' technology and various other innovations, these new S-UHD devices are supposed to match, and in many areas even surpass, the much-praised OLED displays in terms of color representation, black level, brightness, and brilliance—at a significantly lower price. Accordingly, Samsung had nothing new to report on OLEDs; at least for the moment, it seems the Koreans are not pursuing this topic further.

It's a very different story with Samsung's Korean neighbors, LG. Here, OLED is still considered the premium TV technology of the present and the future; several new 4k OLED TVs at the LG stand made that very clear. A particularly interesting topic in terms of picture quality, which was discussed again and again in Vegas, was 'High Dynamic Range' (HDR), meaning content with an expanded contrast or dynamic range. Netflix, for example, announced corresponding streaming offerings for the near future, both in 4k and in Full HD resolution. Suitable TVs will soon be available as well, for example from LG or Panasonic. CES in Las Vegas is always something of a race for higher, faster, further in the TV industry. In recent years, though, it’s been more about 'thinner,' and the previous top contender in this discipline was presented by Sony: With just 4.9mm at its thinnest point, the X900C is currently the thinnest 4k TV on the market. Surprisingly, however, this wasn't the big sensation at the Sony stand. Instead, the revival of the 'Walkman' brand in the form of a high-fidelity portable music player attracted the most attention and media coverage. This was at least partly because many mainstream journalists reacted with astonishment at the targeted price of about 1,200 US dollars. This is certainly ambitious and surprising for Sony, but as companies like Astell&Kern have proven for years, there is indeed an interesting market in this price region.

At Astell&Kern, or iriver, they'll react to this news quite calmly. For one, they have a significant lead in market presence and experience, and secondly, they're already exploring a promising new field with the AK500 system. The desktop system built around the network player AK500N is Astell&Kern's first product for stationary use at home and combines the manufacturer's extensive high-res music expertise with useful features, DLNA streaming, and bit-perfect CD ripping.

Which brings us, at least physically, to a completely different area of the show. While the TV manufacturers and other mass-market suppliers mainly gather in the Las Vegas Convention Center, the HiFi and high-end industry has, for several years, been congregating at the Venetian Hotel or the Mirage across the street. In the cozy atmosphere of elegant hotel suites, you can listen and see to your heart's content what's new—if you have the time, because the range is certainly extensive.

Among the German manufacturers present, everything—unsurprisingly—revolved around streaming and high-res music. Dieter Burmester, for example, presented the 'small' music center MC 151, which is technically largely based on the MC 111 but dispenses with its preamp section and graphic display. Also new from Berlin: the BA 31 speakers as a rounding-off of the Ambience series, as well as prototypes of extremely high-quality in-wall speakers in elegant aluminum frames.

Audionet shared its suite at the Mirage with the turntable specialists from Scheu Analog, but for the Bochum-based company, digital is at least as important. In the demo system, for example, the phono preamp PAM G2 played in perfect harmony with the streaming client DNP.

It was also classy at MBL. While the fully assembled new Noble Line drove the Radialstrahler 101E Mk.II to top performance, in the next room, with a slightly more modest setup, there was a first impression of the matching streaming player and app, which will likely become available as finished products over the course of the year.

T+A also focused on digital music quality in Las Vegas, but with a very unique approach. Company head Siegfried Amft calls the new PDP 3000 HV a high-quality DSD player. The combination of SACD drive and DSD-capable DAC is intended to get the best out of all digital formats. The PDP 3000 HV adds to the already extremely successful HV series.

Other German manufacturers, such as Avantgarde Acoustic or Clearaudio, didn't necessarily have new products to show but still used CES to present themselves and maintain international contacts. Real innovations could be seen, for example, at Chord Electronics. To build on the breakthrough success of the Chord Hugo, the British company introduced the Hugo TT (Table Top) in Las Vegas as a stationary version. Although it's a device for home use, the Hugo TT still has a battery to ensure a stable and interference-free power supply. A new asynchronous USB input (Type B) can serve as an input for both HD and SD streams. Also making its debut at CES was the successor to the Chordette-DAC CuteHD, aptly named 2Qute. This means the Chordette line now also benefits from the award-winning DAC technology of the Hugo. The Chordette 2Qute and Hugo TT were both world premieres at CES, presented by DAC guru Robert Watts and company boss John Franks.

There's also innovation at Lyngdorf Audio. The new power amplifier SDA-2400 (2x 400 watts) offers not only analog but also digital inputs, making it a sonic and performance boost for many media players, network streamers, or preamps.

Away from the main show, there was an opportunity to get an early look at three new products from Rotel. The RSP-1582 is a 7.1 AV processor optimized for the best possible sound, which, in addition to 4k capability and high-quality Burr-Brown DACs, also offers, among other things, a 10-band parametric equalizer and aptX Bluetooth. However, new 3D sound formats like Dolby Atmos or Aura 3-D are not yet on Rotel's agenda. The stereo preamplifier RC-1590 and the two-channel power amplifier RB-1590, also shown in Las Vegas, also provide the best conditions for top sound quality. Information about the Rodel RSP-1582 and additional details about the other products are available from specialized dealers.

Okay, maybe CES is no longer a true HiFi show, and even in the area of home theater and TV, things have calmed down a bit after the almost hysterical rounds of innovation of recent years. Other topics now dominate the coverage. But one shouldn't be fooled by that; there's still plenty to see and hear for fans of high-quality image and sound reproduction—if you just look closely enough.