"Good grief, those look like Apogees," I muttered as I went into the Analysis Audio room and saw the Analysis Omega planar-ribbon speakers ($22,000/pair). Driven by Arion HS-500 hybrid monoblocks ($5995/pair), which combine a tube input stage with a class-D output stage, the speakers sounded a bit too warm in the upper bass on Jennifer Warnes version of Leonard Cohen's "Way Down Deep," but this could well have been a room effect. The soundstaging was to die for, in terms of stability and accuracy.

The rest of the system included a Sonus Veritas Genoa line preamplifier ($8995) and Venice phono preamp ($17,995), an EMM Labs XDS1 SACD player ($25,000), VPI Classic turntable and tonearm ($2750) with Periphery Ring, SDS and clamp ($4800), and a Soundsmith Sussurro phono cartridge ($4499). Cabling was by JPS.