As indicative of the New York / West Coast melting pot, internationalism was the bottom line in a system assembled by Bob Vineyard, proprietor of Rhapsody Out West's Portland, Oregon showroom: Pilium from Greece, Taiko from Holland, Alsyvox and Vyda from Italy, Esoteric from Japan–all brands available from Bob Visintainer's Rhapsody Audio in NewYork and his five in-home satellite dealerships located in key cities across the US.
In Vineyard's room, showgoers encountered an eye-catching system headlined by Alsyvox Botticelli speakers ($100,000/pair) with "X" external crossovers ($36,000/pair). Amplification was the Pilium Achilles amplifier ($50,000) and the two-piece Alexander preamplifier ($50,000). Add the Taiko Extreme music server ($30,000), Esoteric K-03XD CD/SACD/DAC ($15,000) and the hardly insubstantial Vyda Orion cabling and you have quite a system: The amp alone weighs more than 250lb, and each speaker weighs 333lb excluding the external crossovers. I quite enjoyed the sound of this system on Quadro Nuevo's "Mocca Swing" and a 16/44.1 file of JJ Cale's "Magnolia."
