I had to make several attempts to visit the Son-or-Filtronique room featuring Sonus Faber's new Amati Futura speakers ($34,000/pair), but the line of would-be listeners patiently waiting outside the room was daunting. The Futuras were launched at last January's CES but not being demmed; at SSI, they were being driven by a Boulder 2060 amplifier, with a dCS Scarlatti and Boulder 1021 used as digital sources.

When I finally managed to squeeze into the room, however, the source was an SME 10 turntable playing a Ronnie Earle Live in Europe album, which featured some very tasty blues picking. I am having a pair of Futuras delivered for review in June and based on what I heard at SSI, listening to them in my own room promises to be a very pleasurable experience.