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Indeed, there <i>were</i> nice things from Sweden in the Sjofn HiFi room. I didn't get a taste of the snittar (Swedish finger sandwiches), but I was very impressed by the powerful bass and deep, wide soundstage created by the diminutive Guru loudspeakers. As <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/he2007/051307Sjfon/">Wes mentioned</a>, the Gurus were designed with the room in mind, and are meant to be placed near room boundaries.

The John Atkinson Trio had 'em dancing in the aisles. In fact, only mom Elizabeth Donovan's gentle persuasion kept Ms. Stuelke from dancing on the stage. I think we all wanted to join her.

I tried to get an arty shot of Bob Reina playing the Steinway. His chromaticism and inspired soloing made me aspire to a higher level of craft.

I never miss the John Atkinson Trio's performances. I like to watch my friends play music and it's a great chance to bond with my fellow audiophiles for an hour or so. But this year wasn't like other years&mdash;the boys just flat-out smoked! Allen Perkins of Immedia, already one of my favorite drummers, has been studying with Peter Erskine for a few years and he has burned away any clutter (not that there <I>was</I> much) and is now even more purely <I>him</I> than ever. Bob Reina's regular gigging with Attention Screen has focused his strengths and, I suspect, freed him from having to express everything he has to say every time out. He's playing freer, looser, and tighter than ever. And JA (photographed here by Bob Deutsch), I suspect he's been woodshedding. With editing <I>Stereophile</I>, producing records, and measuring every component we review, where does he find the time?

Peak Consult's Per Kristoffersen poses with his new floorstanding two-way Princess loudspeaker ($10,500/pair). "You know," he said, "it is really quite amazing what you can get out of a 5.5" driver."