Easily the most interesting audio demonstration we attended was in the Wilson Audio suite at the Mirage, during which David Wilson spun CDs and unraveled the argument that speakers are the most important component in the reproduction chain. And to prove his point, he let us know at one point in the demo that we weren't listening to his Sophia loudspeakers ($11,700/pair) driven by the expensive mono amplifiers in the rack behind him, but rather a $650 Parasound amp on the floor under the rack. Other components included a pair of Nagra preamps (one for each amplifier used) and an Audio Research CD3 CD player. Set up in a real-world environment (the room was left as it would be for guests), the Sophias were extended, clear and enjoyable. The speakers also revealed the differences between the two amps used very well, with the Spectral monoblocks showing why they were more costly.