Ken Micallef

Lone Mountain Audio’s Brad Lund, Aleks Bars, and old Hall Audio pal Leland Leard brought a minimal but effective rig to Tampa.

Johnnie Bergmann (Bergmann Audio) and Vassil (Taiko Audio) guided me through the elaborate configuration of this expensive system—thankfully, as my brain was already fried by midday Friday.

Under the leadership of Steve Jain, Fidelity Imports brings to market a selection of exceptional brands including Diptyque, Primare, Unison Research, Opera Loudspeakers, Gold Note electronics, Q Acoustics, and Acoustic Energy.

Gary Dews of BorderPatrol Audio Electronics and Pete Grzybowski of Triode Wire Labs presented a system that played with fantastic dynamics and equally impressive resolution.

Located directly across from my berth 444, I fell out of my room and into 445, knowing not what was in there. I spied the handsome profile of Nexus Audio Technologies’ Walter Schofield, seated alone on a single padded chair, closely appraising a system of his own making. I grabbed a couple of donuts, poured myself a cup of Joe, and asked Walter to fill me in. He came out of his trance. “Ken!”

Just off covering the debut of new Fyne products at Resolution AV in New York, I sauntered into the Harmonia Distribution room, where the company’s vice president Jesse Luna held court, making great sounds from an engrossing collection of fine equipment.

Solid audiophile citizen Audio Note UK teamed with Miami dealer Soundlux Audio to produce ultra-sweet sounds. Soundlux Audio’s Eric Gould and coworker/compadre Frederico Unda calmly dealt with my early morning stress-brain syndrome, playing music through a system I know well!