"Other Standout Rooms:  As previously mentioned, and as recommended by several other participants on Stereophile's "Ask the Editors" panel discussion, Merlin Music Systems' room, with the Ars-Sonum Filarmonia integrated amp, was shockingly good, given the seemingly modest gear on offer: a two-way loudspeaker (Merlin's VSM MXE, $10,500/pair), a 30Wpc integrated amp (Ars-Sonum, $4,000), a one-box SACD player (Audio Aero's Prestige, $14,000), and  Cardas Golden Reference cables, the only tweaks in view being Equi-Tech balanced-power line conditioners.

This room simply sang-especially when I played some choice choral cuts. Setup was perfect, but then again, that wasn't Bobby Palkovic's first rodeo. Ars-Sonum's Ricardo Hernandez seems cut from the same modest, unassuming, extremely competent bolt of cloth as Bobby. Take this system home, all for around $30,000 (or less, with a more affordable digital source), and get off the merry-go-round."

Reprinted with permission. Stereophile logo and above quote are copyright 2007 by PRIMEDIA Specialty Group, Inc.