EgglestonWorks Andra loudspeaker:
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I can't point to the place on JA's charts that will show you where the Andra's ability to communicate the emotional portion of a performance lies, but when I listened to Duke Ellington play "Lotus Blossom," I didn't just hear a real-sounding piano—I heard Duke wondering how to reconstruct a life that didn't have Billy Strayhorn in it any more.

I can point to the descending motif in Mahler's Third that symbolizes sobbing, but that doesn't explain why we hear those sobs as so heartfelt. But through the EgglestonWorks I experienced them as though they were torn from my own chest. I could go on all night with other examples culled from my audition.

It figures. I asked Bill Eggleston what his design brief was when he conceived this speaker. He thought for a minute, then quietly said, "I get this from my father, but I believe that there is no greater joy than discovering new music, and then coming home and listening to it in the most emotionally evocative way possible. Passion has always been my driving force—to give the life and breath of music over to the listener."

Mission most definitely accomplished.

Patris est filius
I'm besotted by the EgglestonWorks Andra. It is an ambitious speaker, and it succeeds brilliantly at reproducing music's sound, fury, and ineffable spirit. I've seldom heard its equal when it comes to conveying the pure tonal range or the magnificent dynamics of a recorded performance. But beyond that, I can think of no speaker I've heard that gets nearer to the emotional nub of a performance. Dismiss this last as quasi-mystical mumbo-jumbo at your peril—music is far greater than the nuts and bolts that define it. As superb as the Andra is at presenting those nuts and bolts, it's even better at portraying the greater truth of music's magic and wonder.

There is no question that the Andra belongs in Class A of Stereophile's Full-Range Loudspeaker category of "Recommended Components." In fact, I'm requesting that we purchase this pair to use as a long-term reference.

There's an inscription incised in the wall of the Loyd-Paxton Gallery in Dallas: "love instilled into solid materials by loving craftsmanship is the only creation of mankind to defeat time." That sounds about right—and "love instilled into solid materials by loving craftsmanship" seems like a better description of the Andra than any I could come up with.

Bill Eggleston's father ought to feel mighty proud of himself.