The Vegas week-long audio madhouse is well underway and some fantastic systems are already popping up.  As always, SonicFlare will provide extended coverage and analysis in the weeks after the show, but here are some tidbits live from the floor:

VIVID/LUXMAN:  The new Vivid Giya speakers are, in fact, "all that" and more.  This is the first time the speakers have been heard outside of the lab and the comments from the random listeners are of the gushing variety.  The double 12" woofers loaded through the twirly top and vented at the bottom puts out some of the most stunning bass I've heard so far.  Believe me, the Giyas will be on the covers of mags in a couple months.

PROCLAIM/CARY:  Proclaim's orb speakers paired with top Cary equipment received many fantastic comments.  CES is a industry-only show and many dealers and overseas distributors were eying the Proclaim speakers for global outreach.

SONICWELD:  The sound at the RMAF show was fantastic.  But here, with a larger room and better speaker setup, the system really exploded.  I listened to a number of my demo tracks multiple times because the Sonicweld system is just so damn fun.

HANSEN/CAT:  The Hansen speakers, complete with composite molded shells and custom drivers, had one "big time" reviewer all hot and bothered.  The sound was really special but I'll have to get back for more listening.  Juice was provided by CAT.

JOSEPH/MANLEY:  Most of the gear at CES is in the stratospheric price range, but Joseph's smallest floorstanders with Manley's new Stingray integrated amp (with iPod dock, no less!) sounded fantastic.  A Mac Book connected through a $100 USB Headroom bithead DAC was the front end for this killer KISS system.

MARTEN/EAR:  Marten's new triangle Form speakers are, simply, one of the classiest, sexiest speakers out there.  I love the new shape and the sound was really powerful for a two way speaker.  More to come about these guys.

That's it for now.  More news on the way!