In the room presented by Audio Physic, Acoustic Signature, and Trigon, music was sweet and nuanced, played at low volumes, but nevertheless involving and deeply enjoyable. I admired the subtlety of touch, richness of texture, and ease of flow. We listened to a few minutes of One Foot in the Gutter, a live, 1960s recording by the Dave Bailey Sextet, and I swear I could hear the joy and humor in the band’s playing.

The system: Acoustic Signature Storm turntable ($7500, without tonearm and cartridge), Trigon Chronolog disc player/music server ($9495), Trigon Energy integrated amplifier ($4950), Creaktiv Audio 1-4 Aktiv Plus audio rack ($2200), and Audio Physic’s 25th Anniversary Avantera loudspeaker ($24,000/pair). All cabling was provided by Nordost.

The speakers were positioned with an extreme toe-in and created a wide, deep soundstage with solid, well-focused images. Despite the apparent complexity of the design—Reinhard Goerner lightheartedly referred to the Avantera as a “3-and-a-half-way, plus a half-way system”—the presentation was smooth and seamless—easy on the ears, easy on the mind, soothing to the soul.