Franc Kuzma's new Stabi M turntable, shown with his 4 Point tonearm, continues the designer's descent into blackness, physically and, it's assumed sonically. With the exception of his handsome Stabi XL and perhaps the smaller "pipe bomb" Stabi S turntable, both of which are finished in brass, the Slovenia-based designer has kept things dark and pebbly.

Bob Graham and Franc Kuzma, friendly competitors in the "arms war" share a light moment (of inertia).

Basis Audio's A.J. Conti introduced at CES his new, impressive-looking Superarm 9 tonearm. The massive, sleek tonearm is a dual pivot design too clever to describe with words here.

The new EAT E-glo phono preamp resembles a reel-to-reel tape recorder, don't you think? It features an outboard power supply and uses high quality parts including Mundorf caps. Tubes are the "usual suspect" dual triodes.

VTL's new 2.5 phono preamp is chock full of good parts and built beautifully within a solid chassis. It's a hybrid design with a J-FET solid state MC input and a tubed MM section.

I don't yet know how it sounds, but Pro-Ject's new Phono Box DS+ MM/MC phono preamp is among the handiest little phono preamps.

A step down from Pro-Ject's most expensive and ambitious turntable, the Signature 10 features a massive aluminum platter, built-in electronic speed control and the company's best unipivot tonearm with vernier-dial VTA adjuster.

Pro-Ject's Expression III turntable now includes an upgraded, one piece carbon fiber tonearm featuring the company's massive "C" bearing structure and a Sorbothane decoupled counterweight.

According to Pro-Ject founder Hans Lichtenegger, last year was Pro-Ject's best ever and by a wide margin. That has allowed him to update and upgrade much of the line, including the popular Essential turntable.

Sound-Smith's Hyperion Moving Iron cartridge features an unusual cactus needle cantilever. The sound was the opposite of this photo: clear, well-focused and loaded with detail. It was being used in many rooms and all who had one were enthused.