Online retailer Music Direct demoed an assortment of their equipment, from the giant Legacy 20/20 speakers to a bevy of new components. The new CD player from E.A.R. won big praise at CES and is shaping up to be a killer product. The amplification is by Valve, an import from South Africa. Their Black Widow preamps and amps go for $3500 and $4000 respectively.

The first day of the show, the room sounded just bizarre. With those massive 12" woofers, three total (1 down-firing), the room was just bass crazy. More is not better. But Music Direct quickly threw up some curtains on the back wall, adjusted the speakers and, damn, if it didn't sound awesome. The bass was still huge, but now it worked. Goes to show what window treatments and speaker wiggling can do.

Next page, their Mobile Fidelity rig. Speaks go for $2000.