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).

After trying more than once to get into the CAD room at Munich High End, I ended up hearing a significantly smaller version of their system in Long Beach. This time, the hybrid integrated amplifier was the excellent Aesthetix Mimas ($7000 without optional modules), which I’ve reviewed for the August issue of Stereophile, and the speakers the diminutive Swiss Boenicke W8 SE ($12,500).

You’re going to need to indulge me a bit, because, due to some communication difficulties, I’m not totally confident of some prices and components in this room. If I understood correctly, the handmade-in-Japan, 1-bit Sparkler Audio S503 CD Player/Transport costs $1650, and the build-it-yourself EleKit TU-8600R integrated amplifier, also from Japan, goes for $1785.

See that weird looking thing? It’s the outboard crossover to end all outboard crossovers, and it belongs to the relatively slim Evolution Acoustics Exact Series Maestoso 3-way loudspeaker system ($18,900). Heading an impressive and hardly bargain system from Blue Light Audio of Portland and The Audio Association of Anaheim Hills, the Maestoso made one of its first show appearances since I covered its debut at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest—was it three years ago?

When I entered my penultimate Scott Walker Audio room, Kevin Wolff of Bowers & Wilkins was playing outtakes from a 1989 recording by Branford Marsalis. The sound of Marsalis's sax was so distinctive and, to my ears, beautiful that I began to smile. (Trumpet was another instrument whose sound this system conveyed with perfection.) As Kevin segued into a 16/44.1 file of Thomas Dolby's "I Scare Myself," I scribbled in my notebook, "This is a system that reminds you of what the high end is all about."