A real treat awaited me at the room sponsored by Edison, New Jersey-based Care Audio: a fully reconditioned Ampex ATR-102 studio reel-to-reel deck, fitted with Ampex MR-70 electronics (not for sale). Combined with the well-known KR Audio Kronzilla single-ended amplifier ($23,000) and a Canadian-built pair of Bastanis Audio Mandala Solo loudspeakers ($12,000/pair, including Crown amps for the system's specially treated 18" bass drivers), this provided the most timbrally natural and spatially present sound I heard at the show. (Perhaps understandably, the Care room was often crowded with listeners—and I noticed that the sound was notably better from a centrally positioned seat than when I stood off to one side.) Pure magic!
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