"Daddy?" asked the young audiophile.

"Yes, son?"

"How are loudspeakers made?"

"Hmm...Maybe it's time we had a little talk. Follow me into the listening room..."

As large as a small file cabinet and weighing 223 lbs, MBL's most powerful amplifier, the Reference 9011, is a tour de force of electronics design and implementation that will set you back $53,000 if you're a single-ended stereo enthusiast, or $120,000 if you like pure balanced mono.