High-End Audio Still Breaking Ground

Then, after the demo, they lifted the curtains. Everyone in the room was silent. It was a case of "Honey, I Shrunk the Maggies." These new speakers are merely 12 inches by 8.5 inches by 1 inch thick. They were sitting on shipping crates and code-named Mini Maggies. There were also planar (flat) woofers on the floor right behind them. The woofers are an integral part of the system (they have the necessary crossovers inside).

Magnepan boss Jim Winey and his staff is hard at work finalizing the product. If they can keep prices within reason (whatever that means these days), this could be one of the great speaker bargains of the 21st century -- especially in multiples for home theater installations.

DeVore Fidelity Gibbon 3XL Speakers: Amazing sound from a small pair of stand-mounted speakers. Utilizing the tweeter unit from its top-of-the-line Silverback Reference speakers, and a new, 5-inch paper woofer all in a terrific-looking, solid bamboo enclosure (very green), John DeVore has created a wonderful sounding small speaker. They produced some of the best, musical sounds at the show. The 3XLs are handmade in DeVore's Brooklyn Navy Yard factory and will probably retail for $3,500-$3,700. Beautiful matching bamboo stands will be extra.

Vandersteen Audio Model 7 Speakers: At the other end of the size scale are the brand new Model 7 flagship speakers from designer Richard Vandersteen. These are big, four-way speakers with two tweeters (alloy dome and carbon-fiber dome), 4.5-inch midrange and 7-inch woofer (both made from a carbon fiber and balsa wood sandwich), and 12-inch subwoofer (with its own, built-in, 400-watt amplifier). This is some speaker! Price: $45,000 the pair.