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High End by Oz's Ozan Turan was showing beautiful equipment in the Kennedy Room, including an Esoteric X-05 CD/SACD Player ($12,000), Thrax Audio Maximinus Silver DAC ($38,500), Viva Audio Solista MK II class A 22Wpc integrated amplifier ($29,500), and Lansche Audio Model 5.2 speakers in white ($57,000/pair). Hifistay Mythology racks ($6,500) held the gear and Albedo provided their Silver signal and power cables ($6,000–$23,000) and a S.I.N. Audio PSD Unlimited Power Distributor ($23,500).

Suncoast Audio, a Sarasota-based dealership, was new to me, and boy, did it deliver: Four rooms, and each had serious buzz. Michael Bovaird, proprietor of Suncoast Audio and a cofounder of the Florida Audio Expo, put together rooms that played music that kept the room full, with knowledgeable support personnel (including Nordost's Seth Snyder) to answer questions.

Among the top-secret loot found inside the Soviet jet was a large, heavy triode vacuum tube used as a regulator in the power supply of the MiG's radio. It was known as the 6C33C. (The enormous electromagnetic pulse caused by a nuclear explosion would fry a transistor. Tubes were used in military equipment with such an eventuality in mind.)

Acora Acoustics' Valerio Cora, VAC's Kevin Hayes, and VPI's Mat Weisfeld are big dudes. They make big equipment. It makes big sound. Their assemblage at FLAX produced music that was more than big; it was overwhelming.

A simple, well-tuned system can outperform a megabuck system that's poorly set-up. That's easy to notice at a hi-fi show, where you frequently walk straight out of one room and into another. Do that enough times and you gain a powerful appreciation for the importance of effective setup and system tuning.

Showing in the US for the first time in years, Metaxas & Sins by Kostas Metaxas offers audio gear that straddles the line between technology and art. The company refers to its components, justifiably, as "high-end audio sculptures." The aesthetic is unique.