We listened to a track from Nat King Cole’s Love is the Thing, a beautiful 45rpm reissue from Chad Kassem’s Analogue Productions.

The system was made of Sony’s big, gorgeously finished SS-AR1 loudspeakers ($27,000/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson in our July issue), Pass Labs amplification, Parasound Halo JC3 phono preamplifier, and Clearaudio Concept turntable.

Overall, the sound was as Kal described the sound of the Sony SS-AR1: Smooth, unaggressive, and rich, with a generous bottom end, ample soundstage, and good detail. Sweet, sweet, sweet.