"These speakers get the scale of the sound right," I scribbled in my notebook as I was listening to the Hansen Emperor E speakers ($68,000 Canadian) playing a big band recording. The leather-covered, 61" tall speakers were being driven by Tenor 350M monoblocks, a Tenor Line 1/Power 1 preamplifier, and Phono 1 phono stage, hooked up with Kubala-Sosna Elation series cables. The front-end components were supported on a Critical Mass Systems Maxxum integrated rack and filter system.

The Emperor E has a specified sensitivity of 89dB/2.83V/m, an impedance of 6 ohms, and all four lower-frequency drivers—two 269mm woofers, two 182mm midrange units—are made by Hansen.