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Once the volume was turned up, the fourth movement of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade filled Aaudio Imports' large space with exciting sound. Distinguished by appropriate bite and a solid midrange, the system also excelled on Ray Charles and Norah Jones' "Here We Go Again."

Last year in Long Beach, PBN Audio's Peter Noerbaek was so eager to show what his humongous speakers could accomplish without distortion that he cranked up the volume far louder than the New York Subway System at its worst. As I thanked my lucky stars that I was some distance away from the huge room's doorway when the eruption occurred, a member of T.H.E. Show staff came running. "The glass walls on our office are shaking!" he yelled, as he made show policy clear. Only after that did I feel safe to enter.

This time, perhaps the fear of God or Ray Kimber's beneficent presence radiated so strongly through his Carbon, PK10 Gold, and D60 cabling that Noerbaek hung loose.

In an extremely large 2nd floor room, products from two US distributors, Reference Components and Audio Skies, joined forces in a single, powerful all-analog system. Of special note, on the LP Paris, were the absolutely compelling soaring silvery highs that Hilary Hahn's violin produced as she flew through Prokofiev's first Violin Concerto.

Alma Audio of San Diego went all out at T.H.E. Show, with three different rooms showcasing different products at different price points. Dominating their least-expensive room were Audio Alto's made-in-Slovenia AA 1A stereo amplifier ($1990), AA 1P preamplifier ($1990), and AA R101FR loudspeakers ($4000/pair).

Jim Suhre, 86, is an independent speaker designer who for many years has brought his latest designs to audio shows. He didn't have a name for the speaker system he showed at Long Beach, which will go for $9000–$10,000/pair, but he did explain that his full system includes an integrated module with balanced interconnects and only one power cord.

"This has to be one of the best sounding rooms at T.H.E. Show," said self to self. Listening to Count Basie and his Orchestra's rendition of "After the Rain," the beauty, clarity, and absolute spot-on rightness of every single high-end parameter I could think of impelled me to write in my notes, "The price reflects the pedigree of the sound."

Hands down winner of my "Anything but Hotel California" Unusual Music Award, the first of Common Wave Hi-Fi of Los Angeles' three rooms kept platters spinning and visitors happy.