Whisky, music, and chatter were all flowing, not necessarily in that order of priority, in the Music Hall room. Actual order of importance was determined by the visitors, of whom there were plenty, with a little boost from the high-proof atmosphere. Nonetheless, amidst a din too intense for serious listening, and preparations for the evening's dance party in the hotel Atrium that Music Hall was co-sponsoring with Chicago's Tweak Studio, Roy Hall and Leland Leard were managing to give complete and cogent raps about the equipment playing through the din.

The featured system, which costs $3242 total if you exclude the cabling and power treatment and room treatment and equipment supports etc., consisted of the new Creek Evo 50a integrated amp (price tbd, probably $1000–$1200), which is due near the start of 2013; new Music Hall Marimba bookshelf loudspeaker ($349/pair), released this fall; new Music Hall mmf-5.1se turntable with cartridge ($1095); Music Hall Cruise Control 2.0 turntable power supply and speed control ($299); and Music Hall Burr-Brown DAC 14.2 ($299). The energy in the room, which was extremely positive and enthusiastic, was priceless.