T.H.E. Show 2019

Tonal beauty, clarity, and transparency were just some of the hallmarks of a system that, to my ears, was musical to a "T." (Should that be "M"?) I loved the warm yet neutral sound of a recording by Ana Caram—I detected no extra "tube-like" sweetness, for example—and the system's ability to present music with a quality I can best describe as "grace": not scientific, I know, but when the spirit moves you, the least you can do is acknowledge it.

On a 15ips tape of violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter performing the well-worn Carmen Fantasy, I heard the most beautiful midrange of the five systems I'd encountered thus far. The soundstage seemed boundless: I left the room feeling as though this system had really revealed differences between sources.

Interestingly enough, the system was built around discontinued VAC Statement 450 mono amplifiers ($90,000/pair). Doing the rest of the considerable honors: the VAC Master Signature preamp with phono stage ($40,000), MSB Premiere DAC with upgraded Powerbase & clock ($35,500), Aurender W20 server ($17,000), Sonorus ATR10 reel-to-reel deck ($19,500), Acoustic Signature Ascona turntable (unheard) with TA5000 arm and Air Tight cartridge ($49,500), Magico M2 speakers with MPod footers ($63,600/pair), Synergistic Research PowerCell 12 UEF SE power conditioner ($6495), Synergistic Research Galileo SX interconnects, speaker cables, and power cords plus various accessories ($4500 total), and Solid Tech Racks and Amp stands ($6500).