Standout Room: Basis, Benz-Micro, Contours, EgglestonWorks, Equi=Tech, ESP, Fusion Design, Graham Engineering, Jeff Rowland Design Group,Musical Surroundings, Theta Digital, Transparent Cable, Z-Systems

The Kennedy Suite at the Westin was filled to the gills with this cost-no-object system that thrilled Dave Duvall. Up front it featured the new $100,000 per pair EgglestonWorks speaker that has not yet been named. At the last minute, we were told the name will likely be the "Ivy One" (although this could not be verified).

Also used in the video portion of the speaker complement was the EgglestonWorks Andra for the rear channels and a single Fontaine for the center channel. For amplification, Jeff Rowland Model 9 three-chassis reference monoblocks ($34,000 per pair) and three Model 6 monoblocks ($5,400 each) were used. These were all battery powered ($2,800 per supply). A Rowland Cadence phonostage was utilized for analog. Theta Digital provided the Casablanca surround processor ($12,000); Voyager CD, DVD, and laserdisc player ($6,500); and the new Reference Gen. 5a 96kHz updated DAC ($6,500). Three REL subwoofers ($2,500 each) worked the bottom end effectively. Z-System provided the new six-channel Digital Equalizer ($7,500). A Vidikron Vision Two projector ($30,000) and Stewart Filmscreens Reference Standard Basis screen ($800) handled the video side of things. Basis supplied the new Debut Vacuum Mk V turntable ($10,600), with Graham 2.0 tonearm ($3,000) and Reference Ruby II cartridge/Nightingale integrated armwand cartridge for analog playback. Transparent Audio supplied Reference and Reference XL cables ($10,000/8' pair), Reference XL power cords, and Line Enhancer. Power conditioning was supplied by the Equi=Tech Balanced Power System ($1,800). ESP also provided power cords ($500/6') and power strips. Stands were by Fusion Design ($600 each), and Townshend showed their stunning Seismic Rack (2,800). Whew!

One might expect world-class performance from the outflow of cash involved in such a system, and that was surely the case here. The number of components was as staggering as the price. However, according to Dave, if you love music and home theater, this was the pinnacle experience.

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