One of my best friends is a serious jazz collector with a side interest in good replay gear. The last time we got together over a meal, he asked, "What do you think is <I>really</I> the most important component in an audio system?" He might have added "these days": It's a subject we come back to from time to time.

One of my best friends is a serious jazz collector with a side interest in good replay gear. The last time we got together over a meal, he asked, "What do you think is <I>really</I> the most important component in an audio system?" He might have added "these days": It's a subject we come back to from time to time.

One of my best friends is a serious jazz collector with a side interest in good replay gear. The last time we got together over a meal, he asked, "What do you think is <I>really</I> the most important component in an audio system?" He might have added "these days": It's a subject we come back to from time to time.

One of my best friends is a serious jazz collector with a side interest in good replay gear. The last time we got together over a meal, he asked, "What do you think is <I>really</I> the most important component in an audio system?" He might have added "these days": It's a subject we come back to from time to time.

One of my best friends is a serious jazz collector with a side interest in good replay gear. The last time we got together over a meal, he asked, "What do you think is <I>really</I> the most important component in an audio system?" He might have added "these days": It's a subject we come back to from time to time.

In the September 2001 <I>Stereophile</I> (Vol.24 No.9), I wrote very favorably about Polk's <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/417">RT25<I>i</I&gt; loudspeaker</A> ($319.90/pair). That bookshelf model impressed me with its open, neutral midrange; its pristine, extended high-frequency response; and its low-level dynamics. On the minus side, the RT25<I>i</I> was fairly limited in low-bass extension and high-level dynamic slam. At the time, I was seeking a new speaker for my home computer music-composition system, and I bought the review samples&mdash;the only time I've done that since I began to write for <I>Stereophile</I> some 20 speaker reviews ago.

In the September 2001 <I>Stereophile</I> (Vol.24 No.9), I wrote very favorably about Polk's <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/417">RT25<I>i</I&gt; loudspeaker</A> ($319.90/pair). That bookshelf model impressed me with its open, neutral midrange; its pristine, extended high-frequency response; and its low-level dynamics. On the minus side, the RT25<I>i</I> was fairly limited in low-bass extension and high-level dynamic slam. At the time, I was seeking a new speaker for my home computer music-composition system, and I bought the review samples&mdash;the only time I've done that since I began to write for <I>Stereophile</I> some 20 speaker reviews ago.

In the September 2001 <I>Stereophile</I> (Vol.24 No.9), I wrote very favorably about Polk's <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/417">RT25<I>i</I&gt; loudspeaker</A> ($319.90/pair). That bookshelf model impressed me with its open, neutral midrange; its pristine, extended high-frequency response; and its low-level dynamics. On the minus side, the RT25<I>i</I> was fairly limited in low-bass extension and high-level dynamic slam. At the time, I was seeking a new speaker for my home computer music-composition system, and I bought the review samples&mdash;the only time I've done that since I began to write for <I>Stereophile</I> some 20 speaker reviews ago.

In the September 2001 <I>Stereophile</I> (Vol.24 No.9), I wrote very favorably about Polk's <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/417">RT25<I>i</I&gt; loudspeaker</A> ($319.90/pair). That bookshelf model impressed me with its open, neutral midrange; its pristine, extended high-frequency response; and its low-level dynamics. On the minus side, the RT25<I>i</I> was fairly limited in low-bass extension and high-level dynamic slam. At the time, I was seeking a new speaker for my home computer music-composition system, and I bought the review samples&mdash;the only time I've done that since I began to write for <I>Stereophile</I> some 20 speaker reviews ago.

Back in the late 1980s, when I was writing for <I>The Abso!ute Sound</I> and couldn't afford any of the audio gear I was reviewing, my system consisted of an Oracle turntable with Magnepan unipivot arm, a pair of <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/446">Spica TC-50</A> loudspeakers, and a heavily modified Hafler DH-200 power amp and DH-101 preamp. It was a fun system that imaged like hell, but my fondest audio memories of that time were of visiting fellow <I>TAS</I> reviewer Dr. Michael Gindi, who lived on Manhattan's West End Avenue, and listening to his mbl speakers. (With his shrink's paycheck, he could afford them.)