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In ancient times, when I first ventured beyond playing files stored on a USB stick or NAS to streaming from Tidal and Qobuz, I ran a USB cable between a MacBook Pro and my DAC. For playback software, I alternated between Amarra, Audirvana, and—sometimes with a dCS DAC—dCS Mosaic.

EISA, or the Expert Imaging and Sound Association, is an organization representing 53 of the most respected special interest publications and websites from 26 countries that cover Hi-Fi, Home Theater, Photography, Mobile Devices, and In-Car Electronics. Every year EISA's Expert Group members, including editors from this publication, test a very wide range of new products from their field of expertise before comparing results and voting to decide on the cream of every product category.

I remember, though not well, when I acquired my first "10-speed" bike. My parents bought it for me at Sears. It cost about $100. It had a white frame with red and blue accents. It replaced one of those super-fun high-handlebar, banana-seat bikes some folks reminisce about . . . That would have been around 1978. Taking inflation into account, that bike would cost about $400 today.

Kiss on Wood, Rachel Yonan, viola; Kwan Yi, piano.; Shostakovich: Piano Concerti 1–2; Piano Works, Yuja Wang, piano; Boston Symphony/Andris Nelson; Begin The Song! A Purcell Academy, Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian, countertenor; Le Consort; Chopin: 24 Préludes; Sonata 2, Emil Gryesten, piano.

Goose: Everything Must Go; Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke: Tall Tales; Sons Of The East: SONS; Hayden Pedigo: I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away.

Imagine navigating the hectic rooms of an audio show at which a sea of similar-looking, similar-sounding gear blends into a predictable thrum, drawing a chorus of familiar nods. Then you stumble into the room occupied by Rich Pinto and his Treehaus Audiolab components. Here, the expected evaporates, replaced by designs that offer something different, both inside and out, sparking curiosity among jaded journalists and seasoned listeners.