CES 2011 Coverage

January 10, 2011

Lindemann

German manufacturer Lindemann is perhaps best known in this country for its little USB-DDC 96/24 USB to S/PDIF converter. They have updated it to 192/24 and dropped the price considerably (now $385). They also have introduced the USB-DAC 24/192 asynchronous DAC ($990). The really good news is that both units now do 88.2KHz and 176.4KHz.

They also offer a full line of audio components. Shown below are the Birdland Loudspeaker Dixie! loudspeakers ($9900/pair). Query: why would a German loudspeaker manufacturer name a loudspeaker “Dixie!” (exclamation point theirs)? Well, their other speakers are named “Boogie!” and “Swing!”, so there you go.

I guess if you lived in a tiny apartment, you might pay $10,000 for a pair of mini-monitors. Then again, a pair of stand mounted loudspeakers and stands occupies the same square footage as a comparable pair of floorstanders with bass which doesn’t nose-dive below 50Hz.

I think those are nicely designed components and, if you are into the Scandinavian look, the Pagode slab o’ maple and aluminum rack is attractive as well. The perfect setup for a clean, well-lighted place. Top to bottom are a MacPro computer, 825 disc player with USB input ($9900), 832 preamplifier ($7500), and 855 dual mono power amplifier ($13,900).