PAF 2022

What a great way to start a show. I don't know what impelled me to choose my CD of Patricia Barber's Higher, but the combination of Constellation's smooth-talking Pictor line stage with DC blocker ($24,500) and DC filter ($8000) with the company's Centaur II 500 amplifier ($80,000) and Magico S5 MkII loudspeakers ($45,500/pair) was perfect for Barber's cool, no-nonsense presentation. This was one smooth, toned-down, ultra-clean system that all but guaranteed non-fatiguing listening for hours and hours upon end.

Of course, a lot of other components also deserve credit. Right off the bat come the Taiko Extreme music server ($32,000) and MSB's Reference Transport ($27,000) and Reference DAC with Femto 33 clock and Analog Preamplifier module ($54,000). Then there's the StromTank Q2500 ($27,250), which might have been able to power the amp as well as all front-end components, had the power cable on the amp been long enough to reach it. I, for one, will also include amongst essential components the AudioQuest Mythical Creatures Dragon power cables and XLR interconnect. Stillpoints Aperture room treatment paneling ($850/each), Magico QPods, Critical Mass racks and amp stands, an Intona USB, and one of the CAD GC1 grounding blocks ($2500) that Michael Fremer has raved about—here used solely on the DAC and preamp—rounded out this superb-sounding system.

In the room's rear alcove, Audio-Ultra's Ed DeVito showed off his AU3000 Portable Power Panel (above; $11,999—price includes an audio consultation). Complete with a 4-gauge captive power cable that plugs into a 50-amp receptacle, the panel's wiring is now shielded 8-gauge copper. I'll discover exactly what a version of this panel can do when it's installed in my listening room later in August.

Audio-Ultra's private showroom is located relatively close to the show and SEATAC airport. See audio-ultra.com for more information.