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Because the show was too big for one person to see it all, Jason Serinus and I split our responsibilities: he would cover the Hilton and I would cover the Atrium Hotel, plus some of the rooms at the Hilton that he failed to visit. The first room I visited at the Atrium was the large ballroom on the mezzanine featuring Dynaudio’s new Evidence Platinum loudspeaker ($85,000/pair). Did I say “large”? I meant to write “enormous”! The room was way too big, but with acoustic treatment from Vicoustic, the system produced much better sound than I was anticipating. I listened to Jeff Buckley’s “Lilac Wine” (from Grace), Bill Evans in hi-rez, and a live Dutch recording from David Crosby with an electric band performing a song called “Morrison”; with all three recordings, the imaging was solid and tangible, the low frequencies rich but well-defined, and the midrange uncolored.

Damn. In the midst of my power coverage, my brief listen in the Perfect8/BAlabo room was so enjoyable that I resolved to return. But when I finished my final floor of the Hilton on Saturday, with just enough time for a return visit before I headed across the street to the airport, I found the door locked. Only later did I learn that the door had not been locked intentionally; if I had pounded hard enough, I could have gotten more of this equipment configuration’s wonderful sound.

I welcomed the opportunity to hear M•A Recordings' very first LP, La Segunda, through Steve Norber's ear-opening PranaFidelity Model Fifty90 loudspeaker ($3950/pair). Through the symmetrical array 2-way vented design, I heard good bass, captivating depth, and plentiful air. In short, Todd Garfinkle's LP, sourced from high-resolution digital masters, sounded great.

Ralph Hellmer’s Surreal Sound Audio, based in Chesterfield, VA, debuted their impressive-looking, 95dB-sensitive, customizable Fifth Row loudspeaker ($20,000–$26,000/pair). Quote from the brochure: “Fifth Row was designed with the knowledge that the life of music is in the midrange.” With an Oppo player used as a transport, an ExaSound DSD-capable DAC, what appears to be an Atma-Sphere MP-1 preamp with outboard power supply ,and Atma-Sphere monoblocks, the sound of guitar sounded strangely tinkly to my ears. All in all, the sound was a little edgy and honky with an artificial spaciousness. Perhaps that’s what’s meant by “surreal sound.”

I’m afraid the answer to the question is the latter. The set-up was beyond intriguing, but time was short, and there was too much talking going on in the Voxativ room to allow the music to come through. Perhaps someone else who visited the room can post their observations in the comments section below.

Latvian enterprise Onda Ligera, manufacturer of loudspeakers and integrated amplifiers, made a very impressive U.S. debut at T.H.E. Show. With products not yet distributed in the US, the company mated its biggest loudspeaker, the 3-way WAVE 168D ($35,000/pair), with what I believe was their IPA 006 integrated amplifier ($15,000). (The speaker’s nominal impedance is 4 ohms, and the 006 is said to be capable of outputting 600W into that load.) Ensuring that the front end would be of similar quality, Onda Ligera used the excellent Esoteric K-01 CD/SACD player ($19,500). I wish I had asked about the cabling and power treatment.

This system sounded extremely fine. On a gorgeously reproduced recording of John Coltrane, for example, bass was tight, and the sound of cymbals seemed very natural.

This bad photo moment gives no hint of the delicacy of touch and smoothness of midrange registers that I heard from Murray Perahia’s piano in Pacific Coast Audio/Video’s room. Admittedly, highs were toned down, but they were certainly more enjoyable than this bottom of the barrel excuse for a photo. Doing the room far more honors than I were Herron Audio’s VTSP-3A (r02) vacuum-tube preamp ($6550), VTPH-2 tube phono stage ($3650), M1A power amplifiers ($6850/pair), and interconnects ($225/1m pair); MartinLogan’s Montis loudspeakers ($9995/pair); Ayre Acoustics’ CX7 CD player ($3500); VPI’s Aries 2 turntable ($4000) and SDS motor drive ($1200); and Synergistic Research’s PowerCell 6 SE ($2595).