Wavelength Audio's exploits have already been covered by Jeff and Phil, hence I'll take the easy way out and let the pictures speak for themselves.

Gordon Rankin's new $3000 Diamond Junior integrated with a 6.3-volt 2A3 variant called 6B4G for an output triode and RF remote control looked particularly tasty - though the same could be said for the new Cosecant USB DAC claimed to eliminate time-based jitter error endemic to the S/PDIF interface; or the snazzy faux-wood enclosure of his new Signature 45 amplifier that benefits from Yamamoto's unique Japanese resin.

Which now concludes my selective shotgun approach of CES 2004 - but not before I add a few fishy Henk 'Longbear' Boot pictures celebrating our American fascination with size -- especially of the phallic kind -- and pen a brief swan song for my closing credits. Here goes:

What better signifier for the state of the union, HighEnd style, than a glance at the keynote speakers of CES 2004. To wit:
  • Bill Gates, Microsoft
  • Gary Shapiro, Consumer Electronics Association
  • Kathy Gornik, Thiel
  • Fumio Othsubo, Matsushita
  • Carly Fiorina - Hewlett-Packard
  • Gary Forsee - Sprint Corporation
  • Paul Otellini - Intel Corp.
  • Ivan Seidenberg - Verizon Communications

Thank God for women, Kathy Gornik in particular. What investment do any of the other companies have in HighEnd audio?

My point precisely. I rest my case. Telecommunications-, computer- and mass-market commodity corporate giants control and shape that preeminent event of our industry called the annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas: CES. Do you believe that safe for the comparatively puny Thiel, any of these other powers understand HighEnd audio, appreciate it, fear for it, plan for it? I'm just smart enough to know when I'm out of my depth - hence I shall leave these vital questions open-ended.
A toast then: Here's to all those artists and artisans whose impractical passion and contrary commitments to the fast buck make HighEnd audio what it is - the last bastion of defiance in a world overrun by the Roman Empire of crass commerce. My friends, we're not unlike Asterix and Obelix, living off the secret potion of musical contact highs to somehow brave this whole nutty notion of making a living in HighEnd audio. Which reminds me - I'm due for my next hit: Buenos Aires Madrigal on the m.a. records label [M063A]. Lights out, computer off, here I come...