This year was weird for me. I was very much looking forward to the show and enjoyed myself a lot on Friday, the high point of which was having dinner with Scott F and Bryan P and their lovely wives. Alex from Odyssey joined us for a few beers as well.
Saturday morning I completely lost all enthusiasm, not sure why but just didn't really give a crap about much of it. Thankfully I did wander around and got to hear a fair number of rooms. For me there were only a few I really liked. Like Bryan I really enjoyed the Luxman/Vivid room, especially with the analog sources. The vinyl was lovely but the RTR with master tapes was stunning.
I also really like the AMR/Dr. Fieckert/Rosso Fiorentino room. Happened to sit down just as they were cueing up Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman pressed at the new QRP plant. It was magical, I could have sat there for hours and I left that room smiling and in a much better mood.
Unlike some folks I liked the Linkwitz Orion's. They won't do the kind of dynamics I like but the sound was far better than I've heard from them in the past. I suspect having 6 channels of lovely Pass Labs amplification instead of the ATI 6ch home theater amp did not hurt. One of these days I want to hear a Pass XA30.5 in my system. I've been promised a demo soon from a friend who has one. Yum.
Far too many rooms were playing things TOO LOUD. Before anyone says I'm too old, no that is not the issue. I like loud music but IMO every piece has an appropriate volume level and overloading the room with too much volume is just bad. Just ask Scott if I enjoy it loud, he came by Thursday night before the show and I probably ruined his hearing for Friday. 
I also liked the Silbatone room with the 1947 Western Electric 757A monitors. Pretty amazing the sound coming out of those old blue boxes. I really need to build some of JC Morrison's designs...
mike
I am in no way an old hand at hi-end audio, but I believe my ears guide me in the right direction (like anone else?!). Too often in these shows I would expect to be very surprised to hear sounds that I really dislike. Sometimes one wonders why the exhibitor(s) would match such equipment for the show..... That's why we all come up with what I like the most, and hate the least..... May be it's the "ears" stupid thing. Ain't nobody has ever quantified what anyone hears, and how he/she hears, and what he/she hears is like....
That's the key/problem? We can sit and argue the merits or demerits of any piece of gear, and 24 hours in a day probably aren't enough...... Look at it this way, that's why going to these show are such fun, or such irritation to some..... It's a matter of attitude I guess.
Now, my subjective best...... I actually liked the Emerald Physics room. The CS series dipole speakers gave me a shocker. When I setpped into the room, it was pretty packed, and I had to stand immediately outside of the inside listening main area. Even there, I was very impressed with the holographic sensation those speakers gave. For example, the speakers were placed somewhat far out from the rear wall (typical for dipoles?). I heard instruments placed between the speaker and somewhere along the line from the top of the speak toward the top right hand ceiling corner of the room. Isn't that weird I thought? That's first time I heard a soundstage so 3-dimensional and vivid. That's what shocked me into liking the setup.
Besides, they offer a $5K setup, speakers plus other electronics (amp, sub, etc.). For $5K? Great value I thought, in these days of high audio prices - $50K YKs, $50K TADs (?)....... Perhaps for $10K, I can get the top-of-the-line Emerald Physics and would be very happy. I'd save $40K as down payment for a house
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Regardless, I am waiting to hit the jackpot, and then would definitely don't worry about the price tag.
