Let us take you on a tour of the goodies on the stands to please both eyes and ears. 9700 visitors turned out over the weekend to discover the lastest in Home Theater and Hi-fi.

Lots of interesting demos, like the new JBL Everest DD66000 matched with an Accuphase system or the Thiel CS 3.7 speakers with a Bel Canto system, unseen French and European products plus some originals at the Paris Hi-fi and Home Theater Show this year. So here’s the first in two reports on the Show.

JBL Everest DD66000

The first major event straight after the opening of the show was the launch of JBL’s latest Hi-fi speakers : the Everest DD66000. Designed for the brand’s 60th birthday, the speaker is a real monster! Its design reminded us of the Hartsfield & Paragon but the technology involved is miles away from what you can find today. It seems like every square inch of material and technology is patented and holds a twisted name! The Everest DD66000 incorporates a host of innovative loudspeaker technologies, such as ultrahigh- and high-frequency compression drivers with pure beryllium diaphragms, operating in conjunction with JBL’s exclusive Bi-Radial horns; dual 15-inch Aquaplas-treated pulp-cone woofers; a crossover network that employs a DC battery bias system that keeps the capacitors operating in Class A mode for maximum sonic purity; and numerous additional refinements. The speaker’s main selling points are a beryllium compression driver that all but eliminates the wrong kinds of vibes and a depth of just under 50cm. The JBL speakers will be available in Spring at 60,000€ a pair.

Bass detail

During the presentation we also checked out the brand new Kaleidescape system and the Tri-DLP 1080p VX-44d projector by Runco (introduced by Sam Runco himself!), equipped with a motorized anamorphic lens. Also present were the Synthesis system by JBL and a superb screen by Screen Research.

Rack featuring Synthesis, Kaleidescape, and Runco

The Thiel CS 3.7, launched by the American manufacturer at CES this year, had their own listening area. The diva sang away with a Bel Canto e.One CD2 and a e.One DAC 3 pre-amp/converter and REF1000 power blocks. The Thiel CS 3.7 takes after her older sisters regarding design with an aluminium headpiece sheltering a coaxial transducer. These very unusual transducers are the result of lenghty studies on soundwave propagation, response, etc. One of the best speaker demo on the show according to many.

Thiel System and Bel Canto

Just next store, another birthday… B&W was introducing its Diamond Signature, a collector’s model designed for the brand’s 40th. One may find the design rather disconcerting but it all makes sense when you check out the inside! The two way half stand isn’t very big and is topped with a marble piece that shelters a tweeter and a Nautilus. The tweeter actually holds a diamond membrane and witholds vibrations thanks to the marble piece. The 18cm woofer is also very unusual as it sports a Kevlar cone of different thickness wether it be on the inside or outside which enables it to adapt its diameter to the sound frequency. What it actually means is the high frequencies will only be given out by the middle of the speaker and the bass by the whole speaker. Only 500 units of the Signature Diamond will be available at 16,000€ a pair.

B&W Signature Diamond

In the same room we also found a fully integrated Home Theater installation with Signature 8NT speakers by B&W and Classe Audio electronics.

B&W Signature 8NT In Wall

KEF presented its 3 latest products for the first time in France. The KEF Wireless that enables you to connect wireless speakers thanks to three small devices. There’s also a special version for the KHT 5000. The only example of the KHT 3005 Special Edition Bleu de France was also present at the stand. And last but not least, the 205.2 from the nearing high-end Reference Series which we covered at CES this year. A beautiful piece of work that makes the most out of KEF techonlogies like Uni-Q and a unique listening experience.

KEF Reference 205.2

NorStone Design, the furniture specialist, put forward their lead product already on show at the latest What Hifi Stuff : the Mask. This flat screen wall mounting concept is quick, easy and you can install it anywhere, no matter if you own your home in the country side or if you rent your flat in one of those expensive big cities. Your flat screen TV is wall mounted, you can easily hide the cables and use the two glass shelves to hold your electronics. It costs around 299€. Some customers being troubled about not being able to use it as an ordinary piece of furniture on the ground NorStone Design came up with the Mask AV which requires no mounting and is sold at 399€.

NorStone Design Mask AV

The French company Avance Acoustic introduced a whole new all-in-one concept : the EZY-7 from the EZY range. This device goes in the smae vein as other products from the brand as far as design is concerned and features an iPod dock, a 2 x 50 Watt amp and an*AM/FM R.D.S. Tuner*. It will be avilable in May. Other products to look forward to are the EZY-8 and EZY-9, equipped with more power 2 x 80 Watts, a USB and memory card input and a CD Player (DVD and Dolby/DTS for the EZY-9). Sounding good! We also took a look at the stereo block prototype, the MAP 800 available by the end of the year.

Avance Acoustic EZY-7

Avance Acoustic MAP 800

At the Bristol 2007 Show, we’d already reported on a new wireless speaker by Canton which was over in Paris (a French first!) : the CD 3500. It’s a small active wireless speaker with a 200 Watt amp, four woofers and a tweeter all in a nice and smooth aluminium casing. Click here to see the video

See you in a couple of days for more on the Paris Show.