Also impressive was the Hovland room, playing both analog and digital selections, carefully cued and switched using the same types of music in both formats. Loudspeakers were a set of Merlin VSM/SEs driven by the Hovland HP-100 tubed, full-featured preamplifier and Hovland Aurora stereo amplifier, an interesting EL-34-based design that uses only two output tubes to generate 100 watts per channel into 4, 8, or 16 ohms. This set-up made for one of the best-sounding sets of Merlins I have heard. For sheer loveliness and overall accuracy of sound from these speakers, however, the Joule Electra room, running the Marquis monoblock OTLs driven by an LA-100 Mk III line stage, was really tough to beat in refinement, freedom from grain and glassiness, and rather amazingly tight and well-rendered low bass.

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