This system offered a bold, vibrant sound when the music called for it, a gentle, subtle sound when the music called for it, and always exhibited a good sense of momentum and flow.

MSB’s Vince Galbo explained that the company’s Data CD IV transport ($3995) was “intensely designed to read CDs like they’ve never been read before.”

I noted deep silences, good spatial effects, good low-end impact, and a fine sense of scale in this room occupied by Salk Sound and Van Alstine: Salk Sound Soundscape loudspeakers ($12,000/pair) and 300Wpc Van Alstine hybrid amplifier ($3000).

Jon Iverson might also like this.

I noted generous scale, midrange detail, full body, and an overall effortlessness to the presentation of this system: Wilson Sophia loudspeakers, Pass Labs amplification, and the new Light Harmonic Da Vinci 384K USB DAC ($15,000 [NOTE: The actual retail price ended up at $20k-ed.]).

Brodmann Acoustics was demonstrating their pretty little Festival Series loudspeakers. The Austrian company has a background in piano manufacturing as well as sound engineering, and the FS speakers ($3990/pair) have an interesting design:

Jon Iverson might like this.

Widea Lab is a young Korean company. The company says they’ve got some strong candidates for US distribution and will also be selling via Amazon. Their first product, the Aurender (short for Audio Renderer; $5700), is a digital music server utilizing a customized Linux OS, linear power supply, and storage for over 5000 lossless and uncompressed CDs.

Also in the Gini Systems/Audio Space room was the Gini iTube 2.1 Audio System ($199, show price). As you can see, it looks like a big iPod with a little tube and speakers.

A gentle, relaxed sound with well-focused images was coming from the Gini Systems/Audio Space room: Audio Space LS3/5a monitors ($1790/pair), Reference 3.1 300B integrated amplifier with tubed moving-magnet phono stage ($4290), DAC-US1 D/A converter ($2500), and CDP320 player ($800).

In the Audioengine room, I heard a familiar sound: Fun, exciting, clean, and physical, with tight, lovely bass. The company was using their A5 loudspeakers, which I enjoyed a few months back, to play music via a MacBook Pro running plain old iTunes through an HRT Music Streamer II.

And now I know what Michael Lavorgna meant when he said he’d have to kill you:

In another large, difficult ballroom, beautifully finished LumenWhite Artisan loudspeakers ($45,000/pair) were mated to the 250W, class-A Ayon Orthos 2 monoblock power amplifiers. The source was Ayon’s CD5S ($11,380), which combines a tube preamp with a tube DAC and transport. Cables were the Swiss-made Vovox. The system created a large sound to match the large room, with big-hearted bass.

I almost missed the High Value Audio room&#151it was sort of tucked away, down a long corridor and hidden by the hotel’s West Bay Café (great breakfasts!)&#151but I’m glad I found it because the sound in here was sweet and inviting, playing an acoustic guitar and vocals piece that just soothed my soul.