KALLIOPE (a.k.a. Calliope, meaning “beautiful voice”) is the eldest of the Muses, goddesses of music, song and dance in Greek mythology. Kalliope is the goddess of epic poetry and eloquence. In any audio system, there are certain points along the signal path that are more crucial than others. These are the intersections where the signal is converted from one form of energy into another. Such transformations occur when the needle of a phono cartridge traverses the micro-grooves of a vinyl record, converting kinetic energy into an electrical signal. At the opposite end of the signal path, loudspeakers must transform electrical input into acoustic output. But perhaps the most critical transformation of all is the conversion of the output of digital sources into an analogue signal, ideally without loss or distortion of any kind. Despite the lofty claims of many manufacturers, what is lost or changed at this point can never be recovered or restored.