Just some thoughts- this was my fourth year going, and some things seem constant:
1. There is just about zero correlation between cost and sound that appeals to me.
2. The Magico room is like a wake/ sitting shiva; men standing around somberly in suit jackets, but let a reviewer from a magazine walk in- it's as if the dead have risen and joviality ensues. Mortals are ignored.
3. To my humble ears, the simplest systems sound best. When I say simple, I'm talking turntable, cd, or tape as source. No bi or tri amping, and other exotica too numerous to mention. I'm not knocking the concept, but it seems that a complex system probably takes weeks to dial in properly.
4. People flock to rooms that are playing actual music, not audiophile crap. And they stay a while longer too. There is a palpable sense of joy when someone offers up The Doors, Cat Stevens, Enigma, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, etc., etc. I think the most difficult music to audition is classical, as it takes longer to get to where you want to go, and quiet passages are overwhelmed by show noise. But that's just like our club meetings...
5. I know this is strictly a personal judgement call, but combining numbers 3 & 4, I just don't connect with music being played by a guy walking around with an iPad. But that's also related to computer driven audio, which sonically doesn't appeal to me.
Having said all that, some of my favorite sounds came from a newcomer speaker Troy Audio. The model was the Hellena, a very large speaker based on the Altec 604 driver. They were driven by Triode Audio amps, a Metronome CD player, and a French turntable whose name I do not recall. What a great bunch of representatives- the exact opposite of the Magico stuffiness. Kudos to them all.
Another great sounding room was the Golden Ear speakers ($8500.00) and Hegel electronics room.
CD player was the Hegel Mohican, with simple Hegel electronics.
JWM Alyson two way speakers also sounded great. I don't recall the electronics.
Lastly for now, I'll say that the internet's most polarizing speaker- The Tekton Double Impact, sounded good too. I only throw this in because it seems many people that have never heard it deride it's design and therefore declare it can't possibly sound good. It sounded fine.