Price: $25,000 per pair

Website: www.classeaudio.com

He said: But if you want the best sound that transistors can produce, you just better go out and invest in some Classé Omega Omicron Monos before their ilk disappears altogether.

Read the Ultra Audio review.

The gist: Canadian powerhouse flexes its muscle.

Price: $7850 per pair

Website: www.raysonicaudio.com

He said: If vividness and excitement are what you like about listening to recorded music, the M100 monoblocks will certainly deliver. They never sound languid or limp, always enhancing the rhythmic qualities of the music and especially conveying the space on well-made recordings.

Read the SoundStage! review.

The gist: Looking for good Chinese? Taste these.

Price: $7250 per pair

Website: www.dehavillandhifi.com

He said: Their combination of top-to-bottom balance, clean and resolving highs, magnificent bass and slam, articulate speed and PRAT, and gorgeous brocade of sound, seems to me very hard to beat.

Read the Ultra Audio review.

The gist: Back to the future.

Price: $51,975 per pair

Website: www.zandenaudio.com

He said: While vacuum tubes will always have their issues, audiophiles will continue to admire them, and an amplifier like the Model 9600 only increases the pull. If your audiophile rite of passage begins with the Model 9600, I predict it will end there as well.

Read the SoundStage! review.

The gist: Are there better-looking tube amps? Uh, no.