Last year the SoundStage! Network crew was impressed with
the $89,500-per-pair Rockport Altair speakers. This year the speakers were different but
the result was much the same. Coming in at a much more accessible price point is the
Rockport Ankaa ($26,500 per pair). As driven by the Gryphon Antileon Signature power
amplifier ($31,000) and Gryphon Mirage preamplifier ($25,000), the sound was inviting and
effortless -- a picture of completeness and coherence that you could just relax into. The
source was a hard-drive-based setup called the Black Box from Blue Smoke Entertainment
Systems and the digital-to-analog converter was the Vekian-D/A from Stahl-Tek. An HRS MXR
rack system held all of the components, and cabling was from Purist Audio Design.
