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The GamuT room was chock-full of gear from GamuT, LA Audio, and Triangle Art Turntables. In use was the GamuT M250 monoblocks ($20,995/pair), GamuT D31 preamp ($7500), GamuT CD3 ($6500), the M’inenT M7 loudspeakers ($17,000/pair), and the Triangle Art Reference Turntable ($20,995). While the sound from this system was intriguing in a visceral way, there was too much speaker and power for this poor little battered hotel room to handle. Even though the speakers were angled way in to avoid room boundary reinforcement, there was still some sonic boom.

I heard a number of exhibitors complaining about the bass issues caused by these rooms, oddly not so much from the subwoofer guys, so it's worth repeating that old show report caveat—we’re only talking about a very brief listen to unfamiliar components in unfamiliar systems in typically lousy rooms at times involving typically lousy music (albeit well-recorded), so I try to keep personal commentary on sound quality to a minimum.

To suggest that Vincent Audio pushes the boundaries of taste in some of its ads is, I think, not overstating the obvious, and using women as props to sell hi-fi gear is probably not the best way to get more women interested in the hobby if that’s what you’re interested in doing. But hey, I’m all for enthusiasm and it takes all forms.

The hybrid tube/solid-state Vincent SP-T800 200W monoblock amplifiers ($2499.95/pair) were on display along with the Vincent SA-T8 preamp (2349.95), the PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC ($2999.99), a Thorens TD 2030 turntable ($3699) and the very refined “The Kiss” speakers ($15,000/pair w/stands) from Vienna Acoustic’s Klimt Series. The lovely and from what I’ve heard talented Jessi Monroe was also in the Vincent Audio room signing autographs. You may recall Jesse from Stephen Mejias’ Axpona Atlanta coverage.

Hsu Research was showing off its reasonably priced HB-1 Mk2 Horn Bookshelf Speaker ($149/pair in black, $179/pair in real wood veneer) and the oh-so-subwoofery VTF-15H subwoofer ($879). One thing I’ve noticed about most subwoofer demos is—volume (that really should be in all caps but I don’t want to shout). Lots of volume. While this isn’t necessarily a criticism, I felt an overwhelming sense of calm in Hsu’s silent static-display room next door.

While there was nothing new to report on in the Audio Engine room, at least nothing I could tell you and let you live, it’s always worth reporting on the inexpensive and even better than good-sounding-for-the-money AudioEngine speakers. Our daughters each have a pair of the AudioEngine 2.0s ($199/pair) for use with their iDevices and even they brag about the sound quality.

The VMPS RM 30 Series II Ribbon Speaker ($3500/pair) marry dynamic woofers to push/pull planar-magnetic ribbon speakers for a claimed frequency response of 34Hz to “nearly” 40kHz. They were certainly moving a lot of musical air but also had to battle a very noisy and booming neighbor. Take it to another hotel! Associated gear included the Ampzilla 2000 Series II 300W monoblocks ($7500/pair), Ampzilla Ambrosia Series II preamp ($7500), W4S DAC 2 and Nuforce DAC9 converters ($1500–$1695), Wywires interconnects and speaker cable, VMPS dedicated subwoofer with 500W amp ($979), a modified DCX2496 controller/processor ($1600) for room correction, and an Audience Adept Response aR6 power conditioner.

Inex’s innovation involves the use of fiber-optic cable in its A200 preamp ($12500) and Inex CD Player ($7500). The Inex A100 monoblock amplifiers ($14,000/pair) were manhandling a pair of Märten Heritage Getz speakers ($20,000/pair) at light speed. Of course this could only be possible if the cables were up to task and luckily the Harmonic Technology Photon Amp interconnects ($2000/1.5m pair) use “analog domain laser and fiber optic technology” to convert the audio signal to light pulses and back again.

RSL Speaker Systems is a direct-sales only company, started by speaker designer Howard Rodgers, the head honcho of 1980s retailer/speaker manufacturer Rogersound Labs. RSL was showing the CG Stereo System speakers ($1250/pair including a Speedwoofer 10 subwoofer, stands optional) that use its "patented Compression Guide Technology," which appears to be concerned with eliminating cabinet resonance and helps make a subwoofer speedy. RSL refers to this system as a "2.1 approach" (sub/satellite) and they believe that this configuration allows for optimum placement/room integration. In fact, the subwoofer we were hearing was not the one we were seeing—the Speedwoofer 10 (also available separately for $750) up front was on static display while the one in-use was hidden under a table on the opposite wall. RSL was using the PrimaLuna ProLogue Two integrated amp ($1999), which delivers 40Wpc from a quad of KT-88s, and the Acoustic Research CD5 ($5995).