CES 2003: Which products impressed you?

Gunbei,
Thanks for the thorough review! Great job! I too am a Blue Circle fan and it hadn't occured to me to ask Gilbert about the AG faceplate...did he quote you a price? All the best,
Vik

I also want to thank Albert Porter and Peter Schartzman (PeterS) for the fine dinner conversation on Friday evening.

Yes, Gilbert Yeung is a wild man. We talked about some preamp mods and a custom BC86 Noisehound for an ungrounded outlet.

I was also surprised when Gilbert saw my real name on my show name tag and knew I was Sugarbrie from AudiogoN.
(There are spies everywhere !!!)

BY FAR, the VIDEO equipment was the most exciting at the show!!!....AND I'M A DIEHARD AUDIPHILE!!!
As fun as it is to hear all the audio systems at the show, i must admit that the video projectors, scalers, HD decoders, video software, screens, video interface cables, etc, was all the buzz!
Given the state of the new DLP and HD2 chip technology, you can get a virtual WORLD CLASS picture, even hi-def 1080 picture that's just jaw dropping, for reasonable money!!!
I wsa just astounded at the pictures I was seeing from DVD, DVHS, and Hidef broadcast, on these DLP's and scalers at the show! From the afordable little Plus Piano(small 70" screen max), Runco CL500 and Optima $3k-5k offerings, to the Sharp9000, Marantz'S, JVC'S,Runco's, and especially SELECO's $10-12k DLP projectors, THE VIDEO QUALITY WAS JUST MIND BLOWING!!!...I MEAN REALLY REALLY GOOD!
That and the improvements in video scalers(internal and out-board), screen material improvements, and future software upgrade "hinting's", all just made me smile.The CRT's are DEFINITLY going "bye-bye", and DLP ruled supreme at the show indeed.
When I saw the SELECO $12k DLP projector do DVD's and Hi-def, I was jUST FLOORED! It was an honest to goodness open window picture on hi-def...JUST GORGEOUS!
I can easliy see myself NOT GOING TO THE MOVIES in the next 5 years ever! Why?..when I can get a wall sized picture of BETTER QUALITY and refinement than what I'm getting at the local cinema!?!
That and the "hint" of "hi-def" 1080 rez DVD's on the horizon a virtual "inevitability", I can certainly see the local cineplexes are in for some "pocket-losses"!!!!
Anyway, the video from these DLP displayes was just "oh-too-good", and getting more and more affordable!
Anyway, if you didn't check out the video at the show, and just hit up the hi-end audio, you DEFINITELY MISSED OUT!
While the audio just keeps chugging alone, the VIDEO IS DEFINITLEY MOVING! And while I'm not really a multi channel audio fan(2 channel is fine), I am a multi channel movie fan, and you can't maximize that experience without a huge WORLD CLASS VIDEO IMMAGE!(more important than audio I'm going to admit...even from a 20 year audiphile).
With what I saw the other day, I am VERY VERY PLEASED at what' in-store for home entertainement indeed. It was a good show....

Gunbei's assessment of the rooms were quite similar to mine. Thank you for taking the time to share your observations.

Hi Vik, thanks for the compliment. That was my rookie attempt at a show review, more like personal impressions.

We were having such a fun time I didn't want to press Gilbert on pricing at the time. I was showing Gilbert and Kevin some examples from my digital retouching portfolio which I was shopping around at the AVN Expo and we were having a good laugh about the befores and afters. I told him I'd send an e-mail with some mod options and see what he thought, then we'd discuss pricing. Once I find out I'll drop you an e-mail. Kevin had mentioned that a fellow wanted to have his BC8 monoblocks modded to have the AG hardwood faceplates and that's what gave me the idea. Apparently, on a whim Gilbert told the guy he could do it. Nothing stops Gilbert, and I guess that's where the purse preamp and high heel monoblocks came from. BTW, they sounded quite good.

Sugarbrie, I was at the Blue Circle both Friday and Saturday. It's possible we were there at the same time. It's great Gilbert figured out who you were without you telling him, after all you are one of his biggest boosters.

Being around Gilbert and Kevin made me very happy to be a Blue Circle owner. I know most people involved in high end audio or most hobbies buy only what performs best, but the people behind the products is also very important to me. People like Gilbert and Kevin make this hobby that much more rewarding. Although they may protest, if any of you Blue Circle fans would like to see a funny picture I took of these two crazy guys, drop me an e-mail and I'll send it to you.