Stephen Mejias

Last Tuesday evening, JA and I left the office together and stormed through Madison Avenue's rush-hour onslaught, beneath so much Art Deco splendor, around Grand Central's excitement and confusion, passed happy hour revelers&#151slicked-backed men dressed in jackets and ties as if it wasn't 100 degrees outside, and impossibly radiant women in their picture-perfect poses sipping frozen drinks through tall, thin straws&#151to make our way into Park Avenue's old and golden Waldorf=Astoria.

I hate that "equal to" sign in the middle. It screws up the flow of everything.

Up in the tower suites, we'd meet with Bryan Stanton of JB Stanton Communications and speaker designer Paul Barton of PSB Speakers. Kal Rubinson would be arriving soon, as well. Wes Phillips had already been there, and he offers the complete story here.

We'd unwind into some antique couch, all pink and gold and green, and Paul Barton would begin like this:

"Last year, I made all that fuss about the room. You'll remember we had trouble controlling the bass. So, this year, we had one of the hotel managers take us through all the suites. Without being able to listen to the system, I chose this room. And I think we got lucky; it sounds pretty good."

Have you guys met Paul Barton? I love his demonstrations. I love listening to him talk, even though I understand so little of what he says. I understand his passion. His passion for music and loudspeaker design is unquestionable. The man loves what he does. When I listen to him speak, I feel like I'm in college again, sitting before one of my favorite professors. Everything he says is fascinating, overflowing with a sort of calm energy and infectious enthusiasm. Paul Barton has been designing loudspeakers for decades, but he speaks about his work as though he's only just beginning.

His newest joy is the Imagine series.

In the suite, the Imagine T loudspeakers, connected to NAD Master Series electronics by QED cables, immediately caught my eye. The speakers are slim and attractive. They own a small footprint, and their gracefully curved cabinets would complement most homes, I imagine.

Later, while we listened, I felt two things:

1. Excitement, over how great the music sounded
2. Anger, over how great the music sounded

My system at home doesn't sound as good.

Paul Barton had mentioned that he hoped the Imagines would fill a gap between his Synchrony Series and his lower-priced models. The Synchrony One loudspeakers that JA loved so much sell for $4500/pair. At whatever their price, it would seem the Imagines would represent an excellent value for money. I think it's safe to say that when Paul Barton told us they were $2000/pair, we were all pretty excited.

"It's been a lot of work," said Paul. "But I'm very happy with what we've achieved."