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Drawn to the impressive sound and compact design of Ferrum's Polish-made, relatively affordable components, I was eager to visit the brand's booth and learn about the new 2.0.0 firmware update for the $2800 Wandla DAC. The update introduces Ferrum Streaming Control Technology (FSCT), which enables remote control of streamers and displays title and artist information on the DAC's touchscreen.

This room presented a delightful enigma: a system consisting of largely unfamiliar-to-me brands that eclipsed much of the established competition. It delivered intricate detail and clarity with a sense of wholeness.

Mastersound's Antonio Ferro showed four products including the flagship Spazio preamplifier ($21,500, prices approximate and converted from Euros). It's a multi-drive stage preamp with six ECC82 and three ECC83 tubes, RCA and XLR inputs and outputs, and MM/MC phono inputs.

György Ligeti: Violin, Piano & Românesc Concertos, Isabelle Faust, violin; Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, piano; Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth, cond.; Tcherepnin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky: Prelude to La Princesse Lointaine; Capriccio Espagnol; Orchestral Suite, NDR Radiophilharmonie/Stanislav Kochanovsky.

My Morning Jacket: Is; Mike Farris: The Sound of Muscle Shoals; Jason Isbell: Foxes in the Snow; Sam Fender: People Watching; Drew And Ellie Holcomb: Memory Bank; Japanese Breakfast: For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women).

T.H.E. Show is enjoyable for many reasons—friendly people, a good vibe, some great-sounding rooms, and new hi-fi gear. There are introductions of new products from known makers and from some showing unexpected things. An example of the latter: L.A.-based Desmond's Tiki Tube Amplifiers, shown on passive display in the Marketplace area. Proprietor Desmond Bowe said these are just intended as examples "to get a conversation started" with the customer.

Alma Music & Audio's Room 266 featured the Boenicke W8 SE speakers ($18,254/pair), from Switzerland—the smallest of the W lineup's three towers. Speakers in the W series—W is for wood—have cabinets made of that substance, American Walnut in this case. Each W8 SE rested on a patent-pending "SwingBase" suspension, which allows the speaker to move more freely within the horizontal plane, the company says.