Tempe Room 1 — System 1

A two-way Sonus faber system built around the Olympica Nova V, with the Nova II available alongside it so the difference a larger cabinet makes can be heard directly rather than described.

Amplification is the McIntosh MA352 — a hybrid integrated pairing a vacuum tube preamplifier stage with a solid-state output section, which is McIntosh's answer to the question of whether you have to choose between tube character and solid-state grip. Source duty falls to a Linn Akurate DS network player.

An approachable, complete Italian-and-American system, and a sensible first stop in Tempe.