Hi-fi is alive and well at CES

Polk also displayed their upcoming I-Sonic entertainment system — with AM, FM, HD (digital AM and FM radio), CD and an optional XM radio plug-in module.

The little I was able to hear sounded pretty darned good. I-Sonic will be available soon with a retail price of $599.

HD radio is also a part of the very high-end radio tuner that many radio stations are using to monitor their signal. Day Sequerra’s modular, professional tuners are capable of some of the best sounding AM, FM, HD and satellite reception on the planet.

The demonstration of HD I heard at the show was simply amazing. It was one of the few times broadcast radio sounded as good as a CD — free of noise and distortion.

Day Sequerra Day Sequerra's high-end tuners are used by many radio stations to monitor what they broadcast.

Like I said, Day Sequerra is made for professionals. And radio stations. They are priced accordingly — $2,995 and up — depending on modules and features.

Newly released LPs (remember them?) and CDs were being displayed nearly everywhere at this section of Alexis Park.

I particularly liked seeing Mobile Fidelity's display of high-quality recordings. I couldn't resist walking away with the new UltraDisk CD of the Mothers of Invention's “We're Only In It For The Money," their SACD of Edgar Winter's "They Only Come Out at Night" and a brand new 45-rpm vinyl EP release from Richard Thompson called "Some Enchanted Evenings."

Shure used to be called Shure Brothers. They used to make some of the best phonograph cartridges on the planet. But most people don’t play records much any more. (That’s too bad — old-fashioned LPs can and do sound amazing if done correctly.)

Today, Shure focuses on other items including some of the best earphones on the market. They make an entire line that improves the sound quality of any iPod/portable music device much better than a cheap pair of earphones.

Shure Shure's new flagship earphones — the E500.

The good new here is that Shure is upgrading their top-of-the-line earphones. The new E500 model has three drivers (tweeter, midrange and bass woofer) inside that little enclosure. The current top-of-the-line is the e5 with two drivers per ear (tweeter and woofer).

The e5 and the E500 will both sell for $499. I hope to be first in line to get a pair of the e500s and tell you if they match or surpass the sound of their older brothers.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t share with you this interesting design for the reproduction of very low frequency bass notes — or woofer.

Eminent Technology was proudly showing off their TRW 17 Infrasonic Woofer — a rotary design that is said to be so powerful that it can move an open door back and forth about half-an-inch at incredibly low frequencies. We’re talking stuff that you feel rather than actually hear.

I’m sorry to say that I did not get a chance to actually hear this device in action and after this review I’m not sure that they are going to be sending me one to test anytime in the near future.

The TRW 17 retails for $12,900 and comes with a 3-year warranty.

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