From the metaphoric opening bell on, the Marketplace was filled with music lovers hunting for analog and digital media as well as audio products. This photo, taken at 10:30 AM on Saturday, attests to the draw. Note MA Recordings’ Todd Garfinkle on the left, hawking his superbly recorded wares, some of which are available on vinyl or for download in hi-rez.

By the time I reached the smallest of the three large rooms I dared visit on the 2nd floor, I was hip to the havoc their porous air walls were wreaking on the sound. So, when the combined output of four familiar components—YG Hailey 2.2 Speakers ($47,900/pair), Audio Research Ref 10 Line Stage ($33,000), MSB Select II DAC ($105,000 as shown), and Kubala-Sosna Realization / Sensation cabling—was over-saturating the space and spreading like crazy, I decided emergency intervention was called for. I asked, “Could you please turn it down?”

Having had components from Wilson, D’Agostino, Aqua, IsoTek, and Kubala-Sosna in my reference system, I have a good sense of their strengths.

I visited three large rooms on the second floor, and of which suffered from the same serious problem: soft convention-type moveable air walls whose porous surfaces and interior reek havoc with soundwaves and let sound bleed between rooms.

Dragon, Commander, Innamorata . . . did you ever get the feeling that Jeff Wells wants you to know that Wells Audio means business?

Not that you needed to heed the names: The sound was sufficient to let show attendees know that, as with the Esoteric/Von Schweikert system I had just heard, this system excelled in healthy, alive sound that included a fine midrange and a lively shine to the sound. I really enjoyed the sound on a track from JT Coldfire, and sat amazed that an exhibitor not only loved but also chose to play, of his own volition, Luciano Pavarotti's "Una furtiva lagrima."

I don’t know about you, but I find the design of Esoteric’s Grandioso series enclosures quite attractive. In Long Beach, they also sounded great. Paired with Von Schweikert Endeavor E-5 MKII Speakers ($40,000/pair), an entire SUV full of Grandioso gear (including multiple outboard power supplies) impressed as exceptionally lively, solid, and musical.

It always helps to end 7.5 hours of show coverage on a high note. That was certainly the case in the Audio Concepts room, where the midrange sounded gorgeous on a recording of Beethoven’s Paris Trio

Please join me in giving a hearty shout out to newcomer Alaia Audio, whose exhibit proved that all is not parched in the state of Arizona.

Jeffrey Catalano has come cross-country to exhibit. I missed him at the last show. I simply must go to the High Water Sound room.

An intriguing system from MK Audio LLC of Charlotte, NC, brought to the fore Arion Audio’s nearly full-range AMT line-array Apollo System loudspeaker ($24,900/pair). The Apollos, which were paired with active subwoofers, claim an astounding 105dB sensitivity—sensitive enough to work with Triode Labs' 2A3 3.5W vacuum tube amplifiers (no price supplied). At least I think I was hearing the 2A3s, because also in the rack were Arion Audio’s LS-500 hybrid Class D amplifiers ($6995/pair). Preamplification was the company’s LS-200 hybrid line-stage ($3995).