The sound I had chased since I was a kid

I first saw McIntosh's blue meters almost 35 years ago, as a child, at the high-end audio shows my father took me to. I never forgot them, and I never forgot what they were playing.

As a boy I thought they were industrial art, made for a closed circle you needed an invitation to join. Years later, at Dubai Audio, Mr Amir played me an MA12000 with Sonus faber Amatis, and the price was the equivalent of a small family car. I listened, thanked him and we changed the subject.

When my own MA9500 finally arrived, the first song was Giorgio by Moroder, streamed from my Eversolo over balanced cables. And you know what? It was not the meters that got me. It was the sound I had been chasing since those shows with my father, and I hugged my dealer and broke in tears.

That is how I judge a component at the deepest level. Not by the specification and not by the price, but by whether it gives back something I remember. The meters brought me to the brand; the music is what kept me there.

A boy stared at the meters. A grown man finally heard what they were for.