Incorporating the company's new "black box" crossover design, the Acarian Alón Li'l Rascal Mk.II loudspeaker captured Robert J. Reina's attention. "I fired up the Li'l Rascals, wondering if I'd catch a glimpse of the dynamic performance I'd heard from the Exotica Grand References at HE2001," explains BJR.

When Art Dudley initially laid eyes on the Reference 3A MM de Capo i loudspeaker, he noted, "At first glance, this speaker looks like a thousand other stand-mounted two-ways on the market." AD then goes on to explain what, other than the odd name, sets it apart.

"I didn't care how the stuff measured, and I wasn't terribly worried about the sound. When the single-ended triode movement crossed my attention eight or nine years ago, I simply thought: That's for me," exclaims Art Dudley in "Listening #12." AD goes on to ask, "Why have we become tyrannized by the cult of flat-frequency response?"

Finally, the latest installment in our "Recording of the Month" series for the online archives, Recording of February 1993: Standing in the Safety Zone. Corey Greenberg uncovers an audiophile favorite: "I tell you that this is not only a fantastic feel-good gospel disc, but one of the best-sounding CDs I've ever heard from any label including the Audiophile-Approved littlies."