Ken Micallef

John DeVore brings more than music to his rooms: he brings thoughtfulness, a sense of discovery, and superbly curated recordings.

High Water Sound’s Jeffrey Catalano could give a master class in room setup. A veteran of hundreds of audio shows, he not only presents exceptional-sounding rooms but also curates adventurous vinyl selections. I invariably leave his room with music titles scribbled in my notebook, like recipes for marvelous dishes.

In his review of the J.Sikora Initial turntable, Stereophile's resident artist/sage Herb Reichert wrote, "Extended bathing, lighting candles, making tea, and preparing food are ritual work forms that prepare my senses to accept both pleasure and illumination."

When it comes to playing records, I too have a ritual. It involves carefully cleaning the vinyl, first on a Pro-Ject VC-33, followed by immersion in a HumminGuru Ultrasonic vinyl cleaner. Before and after, I inspect the record's grooves with a pricey VisibleDust Quasar R magnifier. Only then—black coffee hot, glasses cleaned, stylus brushed free of contaminants, notepad at hand—am I ready to receive the messages ingrained in a shiny black vinyl disc.

It’s 3am on a Sunday morning. I must complete my tasks before Mark Henninger is awake. There are a handful of rooms left, beginning with Room 265, where Supreme Acoustic Systems brought on Soulnote and others.

Ryan O’Connor, president of ReVox North America, was working the rooms and the halls, but his ReVox B77 reel-to-reel machine ($15,900) failed to make it to Tampa for the ReVox room. No matter; the room offered a solid setup, including a Playback Designs IPS-3 integrated amplifier ($13,000) producing 260Wpc into 4 ohms, driving Aretai Contra 100S speakers ($9000/pair).

Valerio Cora, Scott Walker, and Kevin Hayes—Acora Acoustics, Scott Walker Audio, and VAC—consistently deliver high-quality audio. Their setup in the ballroom and adjacent rooms at the Sheraton’s entrance showcased this. Don’t want to tangle with four floors of audio gear? These rooms offered an exceptional listening experience—no stairs required.

Gary Lea of Supreme Acoustic Systems graciously allowed me into his room pre-show, because he knows I am a horn-loaded loudspeaker fanatic. After one look at Odeon Audio’s German-made Semper loudspeakers ($49,900/pair), I had to contain myself.