Lee Landesburg of Landes Audio, another New Jerseyite showed the best of the best in his loudspeakers that featured the alluring Ars Aures Midi Sensorial loudspeakers ($19k) driven to excellent sonic effect via a pair of Art Audio Quartet amplifiers ($13k). Digital transport was the impressively built Ensemble ($7500) while Gill Audio's Elise DAC ($6500) and Alana preamplifier ($4500)  splendidly supplied front-end duty.  AC conditioner was Audio Excellence Power Wing while all cabling was by way of new comer Dynamic Design. The room's sonics were capable of getting you to sit and forget about everything else. Soothing highs and impressive lows, considering the 845s modest 45-50 watt rating kept me passing CD after CD of my favorite tunes. I have to say, considering show conditions and all, the setup was excellent and it never hurts that this was a room of considerable size. Bill Artope of Dynamic Design and Landesburg hit a home run with this room's sonics making this room one of the more relaxing venues. Congrats. 

Soundstring cable designer Jed Hacker, is shown surrounded  supporters Lisa Nannarone (center) and Mary Lou, all native NY'ers. One of the first things I place on my To Do list when visiting a new city is map out their best restaurants.  Hacker, Lisa, Mary Lou and I found a highly recommended steak house downtown Denver. Considering how spoiled life is having lived around the corner from Peter Luger, one of most poplular steak houses, I must confess the rare quarter house steak dinner I chose was delicious. It also served as a near perfect antidote against the altitude because I felt perfect directly after leaving.

Avalon Acoustics introduced a showstopper in their newest reference Isis loudspeaker ($58k). This loudspeaker boasts all proprietary neodymium magnet drivers from Accuton appears a first of its kind. Using all new drivers;  larger diamond tweeter (called the Black Diamond) and redesigned 13" Eton woofers (two per side)  along with a modified ceramic 7" midrange makes this five-feet tall, 225 lb, transducer quite a sonic marvel. 

Equipment-wise, a slew of Boulder electronics occupied space and featured their 2050 mono amps and 2020 DAC, 2010 Balanced Preamplifier and 2008 Phono Pre. Transport used was the very attractive Macintosh 1000 (when is Boulder designing their own transport?) while all cabling featured Tara Labs Omega series. One serious looker was the new Clear Audio Master Reference turntable (photo left). First thing first, I couldn't believe the sound coming from this 'table. I am not your raging vinyl nut by no means and though I own quite a bit records (oldies) with a couple of turntables, including the spanking new Clear Audio Anniversary 'table replete with the TQ-I arm), nothing I've heard in my home via analogue could compete with the Master Reference I heard via these electronics. The sound simply had no identity to a source. It sounded simply like music. This from a show room no less. Bravo!

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Ron Myer of RMR (Ron Meyer Records) and Encore Performance Records put on a great demo showing how close to life his recordings are. Using modest electronics (so modest I forgot their names) strictly to make a point, and tons of Black Diamond Racing products Myer demonstrated how difficult it was to distinguish between live instruments and his recordings when done correctly. Meyer informed me the Maracas and Tambourine in the demo were the very same ones used in the recording. Myer's recording equipment isn't however cheap. Using the best from dCS, Sony, Nagra, Neumann and B & K to name but a few, Meyer spent the better part of 22 years in the field and has accumulated a great intuition for what constitutes great recordings. I've listened to his CDs for years and I'm told those discs are nothing compared to what he's brought here to this event. I'm looking forward to getting his newer releases. Check his website at http://www.eprgoldcds.com/index.htm

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Escalante Design debuted their newest family member in the Fremont ($15k), shown besides a pair of Pinyon monitors ($6900). Anyone who has seen a pair of Pinyon's know they're not small monitors in the traditional sense. Yet, next to the Fremonts...I guess they can now officially be considered small monitors...that is, by Escalante's standards. Essentially, what you have in the Fremont is a 93 dB efficient, stand-mounted monitor that employs the services of dual 12" mid/woofers to serve up the best midrange as well as low-end proficiency (a two-way monitor using two 12s! This may be a first in monitor design). Designer Tierry Budge, known for his heroic Talon Khorus and Roc subwoofer designs of years back, has taken the best of that design goal, coupled with his latest findings and produced this, his best to date. Standing 28" tall, 14" in width and 18" deep, this has to be the Charles Atlas of stand mounted loudspeakers. Comfortable being driven by 10 watts or 1000, 75 or 125 dB, the Fremont is at home in the home theater domicile as well as the audiophile's two-channel rig.   

Shown on the beautiful and familiar Acoustic Dreams rack($6k) is the Esoteric X0-1 SACD/CD Player ($13k). Preamplifier was by way of the Modwright 9.0SE ($2200) while amplification was both the Art Audio Jota ($8800) and Butler Audio's 2250 ($3295). Cabling was by Crystal Cable while power cords as well as AC conditioning was by way of Shunyata Research.

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Nordost's Joe Renolds and Echo Buster's Mike Kochman take a pause for the cause.

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