VTL TL6.5 Series II Signature Preamplifier

I like to joke that it’s the Virgo in me (actually, a triple joke at that­—as this magazine’s late founder and astrology buff Harry Pearson once needled me about), meaning that I’ve always been the type to dive deeply into subjects that grab hold of me by both lapels and won’t let go. Even when, maybe even especially when, the subject is one where the rewards are mighty but frequently elusive. This may explain my long-term love/hate affair with the music dramas of Wagner—so many passages of the most sublime beauty wedded to equally long stretches of—well, let’s just say …