The Voxativ 9.87s ($34,900) were one of the most articulate and transparent sounding setups at the show. Plentiful depth, infinite air, and pinpoint accurate imaging.

Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grand Symphony Edition fronted by Chord’s Symphonic phonostage was an absolute joy to listen to. The Spider cones are an interesting design.

Without the $30,000 Stromtank power conditioner, the Martin Logan Renaissance sounds suffocated and congested.

The pairing of Vinnie Rossi’s LIO integrated amplifier ($13,995 with all the options) with the Harbeth 40th Anniversary 30.2 loudspeakers ($6,495) provided a very sweet and euphoric sound. The LIO allows one to upgrade the linestage, add a DAC module, add a phonostage, and even a headphone amp.

By now I’ve realized, it’ll be difficult for a system to sound bad with a MSB Reference DAC ($39,500) in place. Definitely one of the best DACs in the world.

During our A/B sessions with SOtM’s new master clock, the sCLK-OCX10, the differences weren’t subtle. The master clock provides a much lower noise floor, much more air, more detail, and more contouring around voices and instruments. It does everything better. I’m excited to try this clock with my SOtM Trifecta.

The Vandersteen flagship: Model Seven Mk II. I only heard classical out of this system and it was really clean and spacious. Fast, smooth, and decays naturally. A show favorite.

The most dynamic and punchy system at the show. It’s amazing how well these Constellation monoblocks and Wilson Alexia Series-2 speakers ($57,900/pair) sound in this small room. From dynamic thrusts of drums to the lowest of musical minutiae, this system was effortless and authoritative. Unequivocally one of the few top-tier systems at the show.

All about PS Audio. The new P20 Power Plant is on full display and rocking hard.

Wyred 4 Sound’s DAC-2v2SE 10th Anniversary Limited Edition ($4,499)

Legacy VALOR loudspeaker ($80,000). A popular and one of the more emotionally involving systems at the show. In a two stage process the Room Correction algorithm cleans up the early unwanted reflections from your room’s floor, ceiling and walls, thereby allowing the Stereo Unfold algorithm to restore the vectors encoded in the L/R information.

The W4S PS-1 at the bottom right provides four zones up to 15V and 4A max draw. There are high-current modules available and voltages could be selected on the fly.

Classic Audio Loudspeakers – T-1.5 Reference ($72,950/pair)