It has been too many years since I last encountered Von Gaylord Audio's Ling and Ray Leung of West Sacramento, CA. Celebrating 25 years in business, the couple now sells their equipment direct at half their old prices.

No sooner had I finished listening in the Audiophile Zone room than ATC's Leland Leard corralled me into the AGD room. There, Alberto Guerra, AGD President and CEO, introduced me to his AGD/Ocean Way system and discussed the rationale behind his "tube" GaN MOSFET class-D amplifiers.

The best sound I have ever heard from an ATC loudspeaker poured forth in the room commandeered by Audiophile Zone of Los Osos, CA. On a 24/192 file of the Engegärd Quartet performing Haydn, every timbre sounded spot and believable. Switching gears to DSD64, highs were excellent and depth convincing on Frank Sinatra's "When You're Smiling." And, on 24/96 tracks from Spirit Hiromi, I was blown away by the excellent bass, believable piano timbres, and musicality of the presentation. If I could have stayed longer, I would have.

It took three attempts and a show near closing time for me to squeeze into the Volt room. Not only were there only three seats, arranged in a line in the center of the room parallel to the side walls, but the space was also illumined by a frequently changing light show that proved as enticing to show goers as those transformative "Eat Me" morsels in Alice in Wonderland.

Upscale Audio saved one of its finest lookers, the Pathos InPol Legacy 100Wpc class-A integrated amplifier ($49,995), for Klipsch Klipschorn AK6 loudspeakers ($16,448/pair) and a REL Acoustics 212/SX subwoofer ($4999).

After an absence of several years, French speaker manufacturer Cabasse has returned to the US market. Distributed by Upscale Distribution, Cabasse showed the 43lb Rialto all-in-one streaming loudspeaker system ($3995/pair). Complete with built-in rear-firing woofers powered by a 450W amplifier, the Rialto has a two-way coaxial speaker in front whose treble and midrange are each powered by 300W amplifiers. That's 1050Wpc total!

Focal Naim America mated its Vestia No.2 loudspeaker ($2800/pair), which resides one step up from entry level, with the Naim Uniti Nova 80Wpc integrated amplifier/streamer ($6900). It was a fine match.

It was a joy to cross paths again with Tom Vu, lead designer of Anaheim-based Triangle Art, at T.H.E. Show. As my laugh-out-loud listen confirmed, there's far more than glitter behind his "Artisan Crafted Analogue" gold components.

Blitzed as I was, there was no way I was going to miss Emiko Carlin's performance at the 7pm "T.H.E. Label & T.H.E. Radio Show Kickoff Party and Concert."

The billboard below the Aurender marquee announced for different musically themed listening sessions during the show. Hoping for a classical music interlude, I opted for Sunday's 11AM Live from Carnegie Hall. As much as the hour began with classical, I hadn't taken into account that many pop and jazz artists have also performed in Carnegie Hall.