CES 2019 • Best of Show

The pictures are shadowy, but the sound of the system VTL and Nordost assembled with Wilson Audio speakers, dCS digital gear, a Kuzma turntable and tonearm, and a Lyra cartridge was all light -- and presence. At a disappointing CES, this system was a must-hear experience.

A VTL S-400 II stereo amp ($33,500) drove the new Wilson Audio Sasha DAW speakers ($37,900 per pair). Also from VTL were the venerable TL-7.5 III preamp ($25,000) and new TP-6.5 II phono stage (price to be determined). The digital gear was a dCS Rossini CD player and master clock ($35,998 together). The Kuzma Stabi R turntable and 11" 4Point tonearm ($17,495) used a Lyra Etna ($8995), which Bea Lam of VTL proclaimed her favorite Lyra cartridge -- above even the more expensive Atlas. Cables were Nordost Odin 2 totaling over $200,000, with a Nordost Qkore 6 and Qkore 1 ($7498.98) handling grounding duties. Various Nordost Sort Kones ($88.99 to $388.99) finished things off.

With so many of the demo systems assembled for show use, playing music we know well, in order to assess the overall sound, is the goal. Not here. Part of the joy of hearing this system, especially multiple times, was the music Bea Lam was playing at any given moment. Cecille McLorin Salvant was a regular, but pianist Krystian Zimerman's playing of Schubert's final piano sonatas was profound and moving. These are deep, weighty pieces, but Zimerman managed to turn that energy inward, giving a reading that was both personal and universal -- or at least it seemed that way. The system portrayed this music -- all music -- as though it were chosen just for it. And perhaps it was, until the needle dropped on the next LP.

VTL hauled along a stack of choice vinyl. While flipping sides of the Krystian Zimerman LP, Bea Lam told about his piano being destroyed by US customs -- a stunning story that made hearing this recording all the more memorable.