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For sleeping, past convention nights have sometimes been a nightmare, stuck next to the rooms of exhibitors who think "lights out" means "crank it up to 11!" Neighbor TriangleArt was a exception. They silenced their space by 7 pm, and their music was so good, it literally floated through the walls, beckoning me in.

I jumped at the chance to review T+A's $47,900/pair Solitaire S 530 loudspeaker for a few reasons. First, because T+A is a well-established company with an approach I like and respect: They make hi-fi equipment of the highest quality but with prices that, though substantial, are in line with their technology and execution. Their stuff is very handsome with impressive industrial design, but T+A doesn't do audio jewelry. What's more, though T+A is aggressive in R&D—their "Company" webpage says, "Actually, we're scientists ..."—but they are selective in the use of new technology. The third reason I was interested in reviewing a product from T+A is that their prices and technical level place them in a market segment I know well.

What I didn't know until recently is that T+A makes loudspeakers, and they're quite different from the loudspeakers other companies make. I only learned this when I started hearing about the S 530 and its larger sibling, the S 540, from friends—friends whose ears I trust.

Colin King and Doug K of Gestalt Audio Design of Nashville, Tennessee, presented one of the more unusual looking rigs at AXPONA, complete with a fantastical copper-colored turntable with a steampunk clamp, a pair of bug-eyed loudspeakers each with a field-coil midrange driver, and a master controller that looked like it had been rescued or stolen from a Russian submarine circa 1957.

When “What a beautiful midrange!” is the first phrase that floats through your brain as you settle down to listen to a hitherto unknown system, you can be pretty certain you’re in for a rewarding time.

It’s become a virtual axiom of show reports: With Jeremy Bryan doing set-up, MBL invariably sounds excellent. In the sweet spot—MBL speakers definitely have one, and it’s not very wide—sound was ideally focused, warm, and pleasing.

Balanced Audio Technology’s chief designer Victor Khomenko and BAT rep Steve Shade unveiled new products in conjunction with MoFi Electronics in 334.

In the Innovation room, operated by Joe Corona of Chicago-based dealer Saturday Audio Exchange, two systems played, both featuring new components.