I wandered into the ModWright/Red Dragon/Acoustic Zen/Golden Sounds room expecting good sound because Dan Wright's stuff always delivers, but I was wowed by the system's synergy.

ModWright's SWLP 9.0SE preamp ($3995) was being driven by ModWright's upgrade on the Sony 9100ES CD/SACD/DVD player ($3500, including player). Red Dragon's Leviathan Signature monoblock amplifiers ($5995/pair) were feeding a pair of Acoustic Zen Adagio loudspeakers ($4300/pair) via Golden Sound cables.

Wowsers! I'd never heard the Acoustic Zen or Red Dragon products before and they did not disappoint. I heard deep bass and liquid midrange that just made me swoon. Which component was creating the magic? I don't know, but everything certainly was passing it on, so I suspect the credit goes to all of them. I asked Wright about the bright blue faceplate on his SWLP 9.0SE and he said he'd done it to stand out at the show, but response was so strong he reckoned he'd offer it as an option. Make mine blue!