One of my favorite visits at T.H.E. Show was to the Tannoy/Cary/Synergistic Room sponsored by The Home Theater Experience of Carlsbad, CA. As luck would have it, 40-year industry veteran Tony Weber, a sound engineer on many of Delos' early recordings and currently Regional Sale Manager for Cary Audio, was at the helm.

Even before I knew what the components were, I was drawn in by a 1964 recording of Oscar Peterson with Ray Brown. When Tony found the ideal volume for the small room, the sound was lovely, with excellent, warm bass complementing the liquid highs. The natural resonance of the piano was especially impressive. According to the sheet I was handed, this was a CD, but the sound had all the warmth and expanse of vinyl.

Just as seductive was my Yarlung Records CD of Antonio Lysy playing Ginastera's Triste. Doing the honors was Tannoy's handsome, 96dB-sensitive Kingdom Royal Speaker ($55,000/pair); Cary Audio's CAD-805 50W SET monoblock power amplifier ($12,000/pair), SLP-98P preamp, CD-3035 CD/SACD/DAC; and Synergistic Research's Element Tungsten cables ($500–$1500 was the price supplied) and Acoustic ART Room Tuning System ($5500). The latter undoubtedly helped control bass and convey detail in rooms that were challenging to control.