OMA (Oswalds Mill Audio), the Brooklyn-based company that makes the OMA Mini ($25,000), is more familiar to graphic designers and prop stylists than stereo aficionados. It's lamentable because this two-way horn is one of the most efficient and accurate speakers ever conceived. (Expand the gallery for more details.)

The design of the Master & Dynamic MH-40s ($399) was partly inspired by the military spec headphones used by tech guys during WWII. They perform even better than they look. The 45mm neodymium drivers push out sound that one hard-core audiophile grudgingly admitted was "surprisingly adequate." High praise.

Designed by headphone amp guru Kevin Gilmore, the Blue Hawaii S.E. Electrostatic amp was specifically engineered to power one of the most highly-praised headphones ever made: the Stax SR-009.

The RC-2's ($1,500) sober, overbuilt construction smacks of Prouvè and the machine age. It holds 400 records, and is available in a variety of custom colors. The real bonus, though, are those wheels. Slide it next to the turntable, and pretend you’re John Cusack flipping through the bins in High Fidelity.

Don’t be duped by its shiny MoMA Store aesthetic. Woo Audio's WA7 Fireflies are some of the best tube amps on the market. Critics rave about the WA7’s pitch-black background (silence between notes), versatility (2 jacks; one for IEMs, one for beefy headphone plugs) and value (there’s a built-in 32/192 USB DAC).

The best "bargain" at the show was the VPI Prime, a new $3,500 turntable that punches so far above its weight it’s embarrassing.

Think of McIntosh as the Harley Davidson of audiophile components: powerful, reliable, tough and made in America. Audio Classics sells more of its equipment than anybody else in the world.

Gershman Acoustics' Levitation Vibration Control pucks ($345 for a set of 4) are meant to be placed under each corner of your turntable. Each one is stuffed with vibration damping materials and two powerful repelling magnets. Your turntable is now literally floating on a cushion of air. Goodbye "artificial edginess." Hello improved detail. Or something.

Audioengine, a company known for its affordable DACs and desktop speakers, has solved the Bluetooth puzzle: How to stream 24-bit digital audio through a radio frequency that was designed to carry ring tones. That is precisely what the B1 ($189) does.

In the Vinyl Fetishist category, Best In Show goes to the Klaudio Ultrasonic Record Cleaner. This $4,000 machine (add $1,500 for the soundproof cabinet) uses a combination of high-frequency pressure and "cavitation bubbles" to gently dislodge microscopic detritus from the surface and deep groves of LP records.

Shayne Tenace's “Happy Meal for audiophiles” demo attracted so much foot traffic that crowds spilled into the hall. This $5,000 inflation-buster consists of: Opera Seconda speakers and a Peachtree Audio 125 SE amp (with integrated DAC) connected by fancy Audioquest speaker and USB cables. Just add iTunes.

The $240,000 Naim Audio Statement amplifier system is what happens when you tell a bunch of audio engineers not to cut corners.