After much internal debate and gnashing of teeth the Kharma room featuring the Midi Exquisite MkII ($75,000/pr) gets my nod for best overall sound-by a nose.

The MBL room (loaded to the gills with the 101E Radialstrahler References, Tara Labs Omega and Zero wires and enough other Reference gear to make me fear for the resiliency of the building's construction) had me wavering from minute to minute. However, looking at it another way, MBL comes out the winner as well since all the ancillary electronics in the Kharma system were pure MBL.

But the clincher that turned the tide for the Kharma was the experience of hearing a particular piece of overly familiar music anew. When I sat down "Black Magic Woman" was playing. This is a song that, to this listener has been as overexposed as the loathsome "Macarena". But okay, someone obviously requested to listen to it. As Carlos Santana launched into his solo I began hearing details, and dynamics that I'd never experienced. The punch and ring of each guitar string, the skins of the drum kit. The micro- and macro- dynamic interplay was stunning.

But it was the meat-on-the-bone lower -mids and bass that was the real surprise. I knew the Kharma line could sound beautiful but the lighter balance of smaller models made me wonder if they could rock. (not an issue with the MBL room!)

Truth is, the Midi Exquisite system provided a combination of high end and high excitement like few consumer or trade show encounters I've experienced over the last few years. Naturally at a system price north of $180,000, this rig will make everyone lacking a surname like Gates or Buffett gasp. But think of it this way-it's a deal when you consider that it sounds like a million bucks.

Best of Show: MBL Room
As I predicted on Friday, nothing I heard quite measured up to the $47k MBL 101 Es driven by MBL's top-of-the-line electronics. However good other contenders were (and my runner-up was superb), almost all of them still sound like sound coming from drivers in a box. The 101 Es don't. When you combine their nonpareil freedom from box coloration and sheer openness with sensationally uncompressed dynamics, natural bloom, lifelike volume levels, and what has to be the biggest soundstage generated by any speaker, they simply come closer, more often, to the sound of the real thing than anything else out there.

Runner-Up: Kharma Midi-Exquisites
These reformulated versions of a $75k speaker I much admired sounded gorgeous driven by exactly the same MBL electronics that sent the 101 Es into orbit. However, you couldn't find two more different sounds. The Midi-Exquisites are all about subtlety, grace, and beauty; the 101 Es are all about bloom, scope, and musical excitement. They are both great loudspeakers -- and were, together, the best exhibits at this year's RMAF.

Best of Show:
The MBL Radialstrahler loudspeakers and front end were literally overpowering. They combine the soundstage sound of planars with powerful bass and, perhaps most amazing, superb imaging. I doubt I've ever heard a better system. But that will come as no surprise to readers of TAS who have followed Jonathan Valin's acute discussions of these sterling loudspeakers. Another Teutonic contender was vying mightily for best of show and gets my vote. That loudspeaker is the $48,000 Acapella Violin, which was powered by Einstein preamplifiers and monoblock amplifiers and fed by a very snazzy looking $4,000 Lector CD player in the Audio Limits room. These speakers don't blow the house down. But they offered such a superb octave-to-octave balance, such refined and extended highs, coupled with more than adequate bass, and, above all, such a timbrally accurate and glorious midrange, that I was enraptured. The natural trumpet of English musician Crispian Steele-Perkins sounded bang-on, as the loudspeakers captured every nuance with amazing accuracy and speed. I only got a taste of these loudspeakers, but that was enough. From the first note, they will rivet you to your seat. Honky horn sound? No way. These things breathe music and make an emotional connection that you will find almost impossible to sever. I, for one, am still lusting after them.

Runner-up:
The Sumiko room featured two sets of Vienna Acoustics loudspeakers. One was the Mahler loudspeaker, which is getting a little long in the tooth. The other was the much smaller $3,500 Beethoven Baby Grand, which showed great promise. Depending on what electronics were being used with it, the loudspeaker could sound, well, grand. I've long been a fan of Vienna Acoustics, which tends to provide a lush sound and slightly rolled off highs. Unlike its namesake, the Baby Grand never threw temper tantrums, but always sound serene. Indeed, paired with a Rel subwoofer, the Baby Grand provided, for its small footprint, a remarkably large and full soundstage. The speaker would couple best in a small room. Given the high dollar amounts rolling around in a goodly number of rooms, it was something of a relief to hear an enticing and affordable loudspeaker system.

My favorite large room was the GTT room featuring the new Kharma Midi Exquisite MkII speakers with a newly designed case and all new drivers, MBL 9008a amps, MBL 6010 preamp, MBL 1621a front end, and Kharma Enigma cables. The presentation was what I have come to expect from Kharma speakers and MBL gear -- a large, deep, open and airy soundstage, detailed resolution of complex pieces, tonal accuracy throughout the full musical spectrum, precise placement of performers, and a presentation that was, overall, as effortless as a sigh. This was among the most musically engaging room I heard.

My favorite small room was the Pioneer/TAD room with the new, affordable, Pioneer/Tad S-1EX speakers with beryllium tweeters, and all bel canto digital gear. What particularly attracted me to this room was the clarity and naturalness of the music, and the fact that the S-1EX speakers virtually disappeared in this relatively small room, creating a surprisingly deep soundstage. Treble was airy and extended, bass was taut and palpable, and the sound field integrated flawlessly. Transient attacks were fast and clean with extended decay, and performer placement was precise. All in all, the S-1EX's presented a very balanced, coherent, and compelling musical picture.