As a fan of VTL electronics, I was quite eager to hear their new autobias, 400W MB-450 tube monoblocks ($13,500/pair) and TL-6.5 preamp ($8500) paired with hardly broken-in, not exactly the same as the final product prototypes of the Thiel CS3.7. While the sound was fabulously fast, tight, and full-ranged on Patricia Barber’s new CD, <I>Mythologies</I>, the highs were crackling sharp to the point of irritation. Wondering what was up, I took my photo of Thiel’s Ken Dawkins and bid a hasty, but hardly final, retreat.

In a room tuned and focused by a fascinating assortment of diminutive Acoustic Resonators, Behold's modular electronics and Ascendo's loudspeakers offered a great sense of air and depth, albeit with an at times oversized sense of proportion on the Reference Recordings Rachmaninoff <I>Symphonic Dances</I>. Ralf Ballmann, designer of the Behold audiophile product line, assures me that the name Behold was not chosen for its biblical connotations. The line was first introduced at CES 2004, and is now distributed by Behold USA of New York. The preamp-to-amp connection is accomplished by a narrow, unobtrusive 50 ohm cable that ranks high for spouse acceptance factor. I’d love to hear this system in larger quarters.

In a room tuned and focused by a fascinating assortment of diminutive Acoustic Resonators, Behold's modular electronics and Ascendo's loudspeakers offered a great sense of air and depth, albeit with an at times oversized sense of proportion on the Reference Recordings Rachmaninoff <I>Symphonic Dances</I>. Ralf Ballmann, designer of the Behold audiophile product line, assures me that the name Behold was not chosen for its biblical connotations. The line was first introduced at CES 2004, and is now distributed by Behold USA of New York. The preamp-to-amp connection is accomplished by a narrow, unobtrusive 50 ohm cable that ranks high for spouse acceptance factor. I’d love to hear this system in larger quarters.

In the amazing bass department, Roger Russell’s towering IDS-25 took today’s cake. With 25 drivers per side, and designed to sit very close to the rear wall with speakers and sweet-spot seat arranged in an isosceles triangle, the $18,900/pair speakers eliminate crossovers, woofers, midranges, tweeters, subwoofers...well, everything but the sound itself. With a sensitivity of 92dB, and capable of sounding their best with far less power than that offered by the room’s beefy McIntosh electronics, the IDS-25 includes a fixed active equalizer that creates purported dead flat response between 20Hz and 18kHz. Designed by McIntosh’s former chief designer, and distributed by Ken Haig (pictured) via the www.ids25.com website, the speakers are brand new; the first pair sold arrived at their happy purchaser’s home today.

The phrase "save the best for last" rang true for me today. After close to five hours of listening, with ears that were beginning to scream, I heeded the advice of Sound Applications' Jim Weil and headed to the large room at one end of the 9th floor commandeered by Boulder’s Audio Federation. There I encountered the most rewarding sound I have heard at the show so far.

One room over from Galibier, and again sporting imposing Azzolina Audio speakers, Hagerman Audio was showing another all-analog system. With no time to tune the system due to emergency equipment repairs necessitated by shipping damage, the system offered wonderful size and considerable midrange beauty, nonetheless.

Thom Mackris of turntable manufacturer Galibier Design (whose Stelvio costs $12,500) had me smiling when he played a hilarious track by Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers. Although a little raucous on top, the system (Schr&#246;der Reference SQ tonearm, perversely entitled ZYX Universe cartridge, Artemis Labs PH-1 phono stage, preproduction Karna push-pull 300B 15W amp from Nutshell Hi Fidelity, and Gran Sfera Horns by Azzolina Audio) offered a compellingly huge, all-enveloping, elevated soundstage coupled to a beautiful midrange.

The first room to seize my attention today paired Triode Electronics from Japan with the Adagio Acoustic Zen and Micropure Kotaro speakers. Neither speakers was an ideal match for the Triode TRV 35SE (an El34-based class-A/B integrated amp offering 45Wpc for $1699) or Triode TRV-M300SE (300B parallel single-ended monoblocks outputting 20W for $4000), since both amps need higher-sensitivity speakers to truly shine. But both the soundstage and midrange were exceptionally enveloping, with highs more extended on the Kotaros. Distributed by Twin Audio Video of Loma Linda, designer Junichi Yamazaki’s amps have only been available in the US since April.