I have to confess that I had been growing impatient lately, counting down the days until the opening of the main audio event in northern Germany — Norddeutsche HiFi-Tage. The fact that the city I live in hosts the second-largest audio show in Germany makes me feel fortunate, because it is a great opportunity, costing me practically nothing, to align my expectations and internal reference with what is considered top-notch audio reproduction today.