[KR...]

BERLIN (Reuters) - The world's most expensive, and probably heaviest, hi-fi and a personal stereo that fits inside the ears are among the delights on offer to visitors with deep pockets at Europe's largest consumer electronics fair.

There is little sign that Europe's economy is grinding to a halt as the world's consumer electronics giants unveil a fabulous array of cutting edge wares in an effort to persuade their customers to ditch the old and embrace the new.

Largest, smallest, flattest, thinnest, the IFA fair, held every two years in the German capital and which opens to the public on Saturday, offers the industry's version of a freak show amid the many mainstream items on the stands.

Weighing in at two tons and costing a cool $1.5 million, a hi-fi system put together by German audio experts will aim to show the industry at the limits of its capabilities. Over 40 separate components, a range of the finest amplifiers and cables will power five speakers.

Ironically though for a trade fair focusing on the latest technology, the system will be playing old vinyl records.

 

[pineapples10]

whatt! Vinyl?! Wait...i read somewhere that with current technology they can print vinyl more accurately and with more detail than CD's, correct? OR am I pulling this out fo my arse? Germans are weird (remeber Deter from SNL?) wait....IM german...

 

[chych]

I *think* I saw this setup on the news (headline news), they said something about a 1.5 million$ setup...

Guess what...

The speakers only cost $20,000 each! (B&W Nautalus). Thats a LOT of electronics...

 

[pineapples10]

my brother has some B&W's and he tells me that I dont realize how good they are....hmm...well anyway..Are the Nautilus's REALLY as good as they look? this reminds me of the bose wave radio....

 

[chych]

Oh you bet the B&W Nautilus Prestiges (is this the right name anyway?) are as good as they look.

One person said that they were so good that even SACDs wouldn't do them justice.

But one can only imagine what $1.4 million could do to these. I would say that vinyl is the only thing that could do justice in this setup.


Mmmmm I think I would be satisfied if I had a dust particle that once was adhered to this...

 

[pineapples10]

dust? hell i would buy the carpet a pair sat on...those things look like they could kill someone...or just severely wound their wallet. How much does a pair of those go for? Perhaps I can fit them in my budget (note senn hd-495's and senn mx-500 in my extensive wealth expending headphone lineup).

 

[chych]

$38000 for the pair and 2 years waiting apparantely, at least, thats what one guy from Audioreview says. They weigh half a ton... shipping must be quite a deal with them.

 

[pineapples10]

holy googly moogly...38,000, half ton? they must be bigger than I think...or weighted with bricks and scrap metal. I wouldnt be suprised if you are required to hire a security guard to accompany them while shipped...I doubt they sell too many...I suppose there are plenty of rich bastards out there though...

 

[BenG]

That looks like a child of a snail that mated with a Tuba.

It went punk though, thus the spikes.

I hope OJ doesn't get his hands on those, the spikes would make a good horror movie scene.

 

[pineapples10]

what ever happenned with Oj, is he in jail like hes supposed to be, or has he used him secret stash of "hollywood trouble lubricant" to slip way from the grips of the law? He is rich enough to buy a pair...has he re-married yet? Maybe if he has we can look forward to another car chase...

 

[KR...]

Those are not the most expensive B&W speakers, you know.

BEHOLD the B&W Emphasis speakers!!!

Of course these are extremely rare.

 

[pineapples10]

SWEET MOTHER OF PEARL!! those look like an abstract painters take on a sax-ophone...how much do those go for?

 

[chych]

Those must be sweet... single driver... mmmmmm

Audioreview claims they retail for $9000, who knows now with them being rare.

<drool> B&W Prestige fronts, B&W Emphasis rears </drool>

Oh yeah, I believe the B&W prestiges are powered by not one expensive amplifier but two! But you wouldn't want an amplifier at this range... rather, eight ultra expensive monoblocks to power the pair!

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

those things look like they could kill someone.

LOL! Yes! I look at those and see two things:

1) The scene early in the movie where they flash on the spikes just for a second -- long enough for us to know that they will be important later in the movie.

2) The scene late in the movie where the villain and hero are wrestling and fighting, when the villian trips (or the hero gets a good move in) and falls back onto the "just happen to be in the right place" spikes we conveniently were shown earlier in the movie.

 

[BenG]

BTW OJ is Florida, and he's had new girlfriends, one of them actually filed a battery charge but it was dropped due to insufficient evidence. Golf clubes will probably be the next murder weapon IMO(he plays golf all day).

I would've liked to see the Emphasis speakers in brass or silver(probably would've effected the sound though)