Within minutes of running into Jeff Wells, new National Sales Manager for Spectron Audio, I found myself on the tenth floor of the Marriott. Playing my own version of pick a number, any number, I decided to check out the first room on my left. There, in a display sponsored by TweekGeek.com, I discovered two Spectron Musician III class-D amplifiers ($7195 each) driving SP Technology Revelation full-range speakers ($20,000/pair).

Wynton Marsalis was blowing on the Examplar-modded Denon DVD 2900, and he sounded fabulous. Given that my previous experiences with class-D (switching) amplification have yielded a disappointing, monochromatic sound that lacked life and illumination on top, I was surprised at how colorful this system could sound. Credit is also due power treatment courtesy of a Synergistic Research Tesla Accelerator ($6000), a Modwright 36.5 preamp ($5000), and Synergistic Research Apex interconnect and speaker cable, Hologram D and Precision Reference AC cords ($15,000 total). I would love to hear this rig in a larger room, where the speakers have sufficient room to breathe.