To say that I had good memories of the Luxman-Magico room at an earlier AXPONA would be an understatement.

It was a mixed show for Wynn Wong, mastermind of Canadian-based Wynn Audio importers. Soundwise he did very well, with Ayama Witter-Johnson’s take on Hoagy Carmichael / Ned Washington’s “The Nearness of You” so satisfying on every level, from solidity of bass to clarity of voice.

Brian Damkroger’s recent review of the T+A Solitaire S 530 was laudatory. I was eager to hear it.

It was hard to tell where distributor / dealer Next Level HiFi ended and Audio Group Denmark began. Or, vice-versa), it was equally hard to tell if more action was taking place in the room during the demo or in the hallway. Suffice to say, there was a lot of energy flowing, and all that talking made listening a challenge.

It was great to hear monoblocks I'd just reviewed—the new, German-made Octave MRE 220 SE mono amplifiers ($28,500/pair) with their Super Black Box PSU upgrade modules ($7000/pair)—in the context of a different system.

TIDAL made a fine showing in the room sponsored by one of its three US dealers, Christopher Thornton’s Artisan Fidelity. Totally drug-free I swear, I melted into the exceptional smoothness and beauty of “The Girl from Ipanema” on vinyl.

Off by itself near Expo Hall, the Journey/Creation rooms sponsored by Scott Walker Audio and Synergistic Research utilized so many Synergistic Research products—eight models of cables, seven for power conditioning (including fuses), six acoustic room treatment thingees, four racks, three grounding devices—that I was tempted to adapt the product list into lyrics for an audiophile Christmas carol.

In Jeff Fox's Notable Audio room, a potential snag turned to genius, when a countertop that wouldn't budge required ditching stuffy seating and letting the equipment sprawl across the counter and floor, transforming the space into an inviting lounge.

I walked into the pitch-black room operated by the affable Klaus Bunge, manufacturer of the popular Odyssey amplifier. I stumbled into a seat.