Synergistic Research sold 15 sets of its new Analog Room Treatment system at the RMAF. Comprising various "resonators," the ART system proved effective in a well-attended A/B demo. Prices vary from $1495 to $299 per product, with the show system costing $3100.

Klaus Bunge of Odyssey Audio is especially proud of his new Kismet phono stage, a two-chassis, 47-pound unit that provides 45 or 65dB of gain. Its $2500 price belies its build quality and, Klaus would argue, its performance. [www.odysseyaudio.com]

If there were a competition for the most original loudspeaker design, this is the one that would win. The Evanui Signature from ViV Laboratory in Japan ($60,000 per pair) is made from 63 pieces of apitong plywood, a 40-pound aluminum block and a 3" proprietary surroundless driver that floats in the head unit. The speaker produced impressive sound, filling out the bass to below 40Hz.

Another speaker that impressed us tremendously is the new Emerald Physics CS1 ($10,000 per pair), a "controlled directivity" dipole speaker that features wide bandwidth (16Hz-22kHz) and very high sensitivity (over 100dB/W/m). It uses a DSP crossover that includes EQ functions. Its sound? Sweet and well focused even in one of the hotel's smallest rooms.

Doug Schneider covets the Audio Research VSi60 integrated amp ($3995), saying that it is "a significant product." Audio Research touts its ability to drive "power-hungry, low-impedance speakers" with its mere 50Wpc. [www.audioresearch.com]