The DP-77 D/A converter ($4995) from the English firm AMR that had impressed JA at the Atlanta Axpona in April made its New York debut at the Show, playing music files streamed from a German Purist NAS ($3000), with iPad-based controller software from the same firm. Amps were solid-state monoblocks from Absoluta (approximately $14,000/pair), and the loudspeakers were a fascinating design called the Ray ($6000/pair) from the Danish firm Davone, which are shown on the photo. The Ray is a two-way reflex-loaded speaker using coaxial driver—it sounded amazingly well-balanced and musical in the smallish room. ASI room-tuning accessories were used throughout.

Axpona New York, held at Manhattan's Affinia Hotel opposite Madison Square Garden June 24–25, was my daughter Julia's first audio Show. She and I followed the sound of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young singing "Déjà Vu"—more real music!—to the Empire Room, where Wharfedale Airedale loudspeakers were being driven by monoblock amps from a new company called Audio Power Labs. Each 833TNT amplifier uses a pair of 833 transmitter tubes, operated in push-pull and driven by a 6550 pentode. Inter-stage transformers take the place of coupling capacitors, and replacement tubes are said to be plentiful—and reasonably cheap, at about $175 each. The 833TNT itself, which delivers 200W, costs a bit more than that, though: approximately $175,000/pair.

As photographer Lewis Hine once said, "If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera."

Which is why, though it took longer than expected, the Stereophile Galleries are back online. You can once again check out reader's listening rooms, live music shots, photos from Stereophile's past and present, and more.

Anybody can post a photo into one of the categories. Sign up for a free account and upload away. If you already have an account, log in and you'll see the "Upload Photos" button at the top right on every gallery page.

Photos can be sorted by various criteria, and rated whether you are logged in or not. We encourage readers to sort their photos into the various categories, but you can also see all of the pictures in any individual member's gallery by clicking on their name under one of their photos. If you want to see your own gallery from any page on the site, log in and look for the "My Gallery" link in the log in area.

Click here to take a look and add some audiophile art of your own.

In the May 2009 issue, I gushed over the performance of Linn Products' remarkable little bookshelf speaker, the Majik 109 ($1590/pair). In particular, I was struck by how I'd never heard any speaker at any price whose high frequencies sounded more natural, detailed, or pure than the 109's. Then, wondering what a pricier Linn speaker might sound like in my system, I asked Linn which was their most expensive model that also incorporates the 2K tweeter-supertweeter array used in the Majik 109. The answer: the floorstanding Majik 140 ($2995/pair). Once I'd worked through my reviewing backlog, two 140s were on their way to my listening den.