Denver takes high-end audio to new heights (pictures)

The selection of gear presented at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2014 ran the gamut from headphones to tube amplifiers and heavyweight speakers.

If you think Pro-Ject just makes terrific entry-level turntables, take a gander at this beauty, the Signature 10.

Ragnarok is a "universal amplifier," for everything from in-ear or over-the ear headphones to tower speakers. Ragnarok delivers 100 watts per channel, and features a sophisticated relay-switched stepped attenuator volume control, complete microprocessor management of all operational points, including bias and DC offset. It's a very impressive piece of gear.

VTL makes a range of tube amplifiers in California, the S-400 Reference pumps out unusually high power for a tube amp (300 watts per channel) but it's capable of great delicacy and nuance.

Wilson is an American high-end company with a long track record of making the very best speakers, favored by audiophiles and recording industry professionals. The Sasha IIs' freewheeling dynamics and uncanny midrange accuracy let the music speak for itself. The Sasha II was the best sounding speaker at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2014.

Here's the new MDR-Z7, with the headphones' designer, Naotaka Tsunoda. The Audiophiliac will review the headphone in the coming months.

Hsu is known for its subwoofers, but the highly affordable HB-1 Mk2 speakers are incredibly dynamic and powerful performers.

When I heard Bob Dylan singing "Don't Think Twice" with the DeVore Fidelity Gibbon X speakers I nearly fell over. I've heard the tune countless times before, but the Gibbon Xs somehow made the song new again!

These headphones produce the most shockingly clear bass, midrange, and treble you can get in an affordable in-ear design. The super flexible and lightweight cable aids comfort, the A8 will be available soon.

The statuesque Triton Ones produced some of the very best sound at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, and better yet, it's affordable by high-end standards!

The Scansonic HD MB-1 monitor speakers may be small, but the sheer scale of the presentation was far beyond what I thought possible from a small, 12.2-inch tall (312mm) speaker.

Oppo may be new to the headphone and headphone amp market, but they were showing off two pre production models, this nifty little portable HA-2 amp/digital converter, with the PM-3, closed back headphones. Fine sounds indeed!

Did you ever want to listen to music from inside a speaker? Now you can!

SVS was showing a new line of more affordable Prime speakers, the three-way tower is a real contender in the mid-price category. The small bookshelf Prime looks really interesting.

Zu Audio showed this speaker console that's not ready for release just yet, look for full production units in early in 2015. You can store your LPs, electronics, etc., within the Cadenza cabinet. Custom finishes/colors will be available.

The Apex Teton tube amplifier, teamed up with any high impedance headphone (including selected Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic models), can produce a mind-expanding experience. The headphones will "disappear," and the music will feel liberated from the binds of merely great sound reproduction.

Linkwitz Lab's radically innovative kit design, the LXmini, looks and sounds like no other speaker.