Thursday, January 8 -- Part 2

Jeff Rowland's Concerto can be purchased as a preamp for $3900 or an integrated amp for $5900. Either way, it's all Rowland in terms of fit and finish.

The Royal Devices Legend 6 (left, $2495 per pair) is said to be 96dB sensitive, but the company's Laura Studio ($10,895 per pair) goes further, offering 105dB sensitivity.

The T+A V 10 tubed integrated amp ($8000) was paired with...

...T+A's G 10 combined turntable/preamp/phono stage ($6995 with cartridge and SME tonearm). This equipment helped Amphion's new Krypton speakers sound absolutely wonderful.

We discovered Flying Mole Audio's digital amps at CEDIA, where they were displayed in earnest. At CES, the company decided to make a statement, displaying 192 channels of amplification at once. Each fully loaded 16-channel amp costs $5500. Look for reviews of Flying Mole amps on SoundStage! Network sites in 2004. [www.flyingmole.co.jp]

Two new speakers from ProAc are the Response D25 (left, $5000) and D38 ($8000). You can see one of the D38's side-firing outlets for the port on the bottom of the speaker cabinet. [Modern Audio - ProAc USA]

LEDs usually adorn electronics, but the massive Pass Labs Rushmore speaker ($45,000 per pair) has blue LEDs that illuminate its tweeter.