It was 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. As Day Two was coming to a close, this sleep-deprived audiophile determined to end the day on a high note. Ah, the Cary/Dali room. That's sure to be a winner. Thank God, it was.

The combination of Dali Helicon 400 Mk.II speakers complete with ribbon tweeter and recent upgrade of woofer and crossover ($6300/pair), Cary SLP05 preamp ($7500), CD306 SACD player ($7500), CAD P205 power amp (60Wpc in triode, 120Wpc in Utralinear), Audio Magic power conditioner, and MIT mid-level cabling was a joy to listen to. The system did a marvelous job of communicating the wonderful, rich warmth of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's singing, the smile on Latin vocalist Marta Gomez's superbly smooth voice, and the subtlest dynamic nuances of soprano Arleen Auger’s blessed artistry. The sound was especially rich at the bottom of the range, and reproduced music with a most inviting sense of air and space. I left the room smiling.