It's half past seven on a drizzly Friday night in New York City. I'm a little bit of a mess; soggy from the sporadic downpour, weakened by a full day's work, and still regretting the sub-par pork and chive dumplings I wolfed down earlier. All day long I've been fighting off the urge to inject myself with cold beers (preferably Guinness) and binge watch Wong Kar Wai films. It's one of those days.

Michael, who might be termed our typical audiophile (if anything in Santa Fe can be termed "typical"), may have found his digital processor, but he's still in a quandary about choosing the right power amp to drive his new loudspeakers. He has listened to a number of them over the past few months, and has been unable to find one which satisfies him in every way. I suspect he has a lot of company. The thorny problems of room acoustics and placement aside, loudspeakers are easier. Their signatures are pronounced and generate strong feelings one way or another; it's usually no problem to narrow down one's choices in this category.