I was delighted by the sound being made by Montreal dealer Audiophonie—partly, I admit, because they were demonstrating an all-new version of the venerable Spendor SP100, now in R2 form ($11,900/pair), an earlier version of which I owned and loved for years. Its tone, touch, spatial presentation, and vibe were all just about perfect. I will beg—yes, beg—for the opportunity to write about the Spendor in the months to come.

Supporting gear in this very nice room included a Hans Acoustic turntable ($8000); SME 309 tonearm ($2000); van den Hul Grasshopper cartridge ($6000); Jadis GPL preamplifier ($12,500); and Jadis Defy 7 amplifier ($13,000), all put together with a variety of van den Hul cables.