<B><I>Stereophile</I>: </B>You are president of Esoteric Audio Research, a British manufacturer of tube amplifiers, and a world-renowned designer of tube equipment and output transformers. I thought we'd begin with a little background. Where were you born? What kind of education did you get to prepare you for a career in audio?

<B><I>Stereophile</I>: </B>You are president of Esoteric Audio Research, a British manufacturer of tube amplifiers, and a world-renowned designer of tube equipment and output transformers. I thought we'd begin with a little background. Where were you born? What kind of education did you get to prepare you for a career in audio?

<B><I>Stereophile</I>: </B>You are president of Esoteric Audio Research, a British manufacturer of tube amplifiers, and a world-renowned designer of tube equipment and output transformers. I thought we'd begin with a little background. Where were you born? What kind of education did you get to prepare you for a career in audio?

<B><I>Stereophile</I>: </B>You are president of Esoteric Audio Research, a British manufacturer of tube amplifiers, and a world-renowned designer of tube equipment and output transformers. I thought we'd begin with a little background. Where were you born? What kind of education did you get to prepare you for a career in audio?

<B><I>Stereophile</I>: </B>You are president of Esoteric Audio Research, a British manufacturer of tube amplifiers, and a world-renowned designer of tube equipment and output transformers. I thought we'd begin with a little background. Where were you born? What kind of education did you get to prepare you for a career in audio?

<B>LUKA BLOOM: <I>Riverside</I></B><BR>
Reprise 26092-1 (LP), -2 (CD). Mike Krowiak, eng.; Jeffrey Wood, prod. ADA/ADD. TT: 44:31

One of the first rooms I visited at RMAF was the one shared by Luxman and Vivid distributor On a A Higher Note and cable manufacturer Synergistic Research. Auditioning the South African Vivid Giya speakers ($58,000/pair) had been a <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2009/vivid_vivids/">highlight of the 2009 CES</A> and I wanted to repeat the experience before the speakers wended their way to Wes Phillips' place for a forthcoming <I>Stereophile</I> review.

I was glad that Darren and Bonnie Censullo's Avatar Acoustics demmed four new products at RMAF, because they created a synergistic match that produced beautiful sound.