Summertime in Chicago means festivals, street fairs, and occasionally, hot weather. Speaking of hot, the all-new 2019 Music Direct Summer Flyer has most likely hit your mailboxes. The 40-pager is filled with new and upcoming music releases, as well as terrific bargains and demos. If I were you, I'd jump on some of these great deals, especially a few surprises that I still cannot believe, including:

Balanced Audio Technology VK-23SE Preamplifier and VK-225SE Power Amplifier
One of the season's best packages – a tricked-out American-made preamp and amp combo that swings. In the 10+ years since the Delaware-based company started rolling out award-winning components, its engineering and performance have only gotten better, and even extend to entry-level offerings. VK-P23SE is noted for its impressive transparency and tonality. A proprietary 140-step shunt volume control leads VK-23SE's five line-level inputs (two RCA, three XLR) to give your source components sonic oomph, while VK-225SE weighs in as a 150Wpc (8 ohms, 300Wpc into 4 ohms) powerhouse sliced from BAT's award-winning VK-6200 multichannel behemoth. The pairing, linked with your favorite cables and gear, will get to the soul of your music.

ARCAM AVR390 and SR250 AV Receivers
While we've always enjoyed our two-channel roots, multichannel/home-theater sectors remain equally key in both sales and customer satisfaction for us. Once Arcam got added to our lineup, we couldn't wait to "flip the switches" on the company's home-theater receivers. And these two models don't disappoint in the least. AVR390 comes loaded with Dolby Atmos, HDMI2.0a with HDCP2.2, Dirac Live room correction, and more – including a formidable 60Wpc seven-channel amp. SR250 is unusual in that it's geared for those who value what we watch, but prefer to keep it all 2.0 (as in two-channel, folks). Its uniquely powerful 120 Wpc Class G amp supports a seven HDMI input/three HDMI output/ARC-compatible video processor. Both units are Dirac Live-ready for perfect room-corrected audio, and operate seamlessly with Arcam's MusicLife app.

VPI Prime Scout w/JMW 3D Armwand
This deal is almost too good to be true. Mate the latest iteration in the Prime family of turntables with a nine-inch, 3D-printed arm wand, and bingo! A ‘table that, for the price, ups the ante on sonics and operation for any analog lover. Born from the DNA of VPI's Scout model, Prime Scout wields substantial performance boosts – including a high-quality plinth with isolation feet, an aluminum platter with an oil-bath bearing, and a 300RPM Motor. Its ultra-quiet playback matches the musical pleasure you'll get when hearing your fave LPs.

Cambridge Audio Topaz Series
As we welcome Cambridge Audio's all-new AX family of components, we bid farewell to the brand's much-respected Topaz line. We have ample stock of the Topaz SR10 and 20 receivers, as well as the mighty Topaz CD10 player. Grab one while you can!

Focal 40th Anniversary Spectral Loudspeaker
The good people of Saint-Étienne, France should be very proud: Hometown manufacturer Focal turns 40 this year, and to celebrate, launched a milestone product that represents the spirit of the speaker company's long heritage and cutting-edge technology. Spectral 40th is an amalgam of Focal's early successes (the Spectral 913.1, Futura Antea, Vega models were produced in the 1990s) rolled into a modern design. Enhanced by Focal's K2 Aramid Fiber drivers and M-shaped Aramid tweeter, Spectral 40th also utilizes a Powerflow vent for great extensions of low frequencies, and acoustic filtering to ensure what you hear is what you get in dynamics and more.

Shunyata Research Hydra Denali 6000/S v2 and Venom NR Power Cables
Shunyata Research founder Caelin Gabriel never rests on the successes of his designs, and his newest products epitomize why the company's gear is used in the audio setups in our listening rooms – and in those of many of our customers. The latest member of the Denali family, 6000/S v2 sports patent-pending QR/BB technology as well as eight-gauge wiring and noise-isolating chambers, making the power conditioner universally acceptable with high-current and source components – all the while avoiding any drain on performance. The Venom models have returned, albeit with all-new multi-stage filtering. They're also now tuned for select components. Venom 10NR is great with high-current products; Venom 12NR is aimed at front-end gear.

Mark Levinson and Revel "Factory Certified" Products
It's not uncommon for us to work alongside our brand partners in offering great deals on products, even from the likes of the folks at Revel and Mark Levinson. So imagine my excitement when I heard that we bought an attractive batch of Factory-Certified speakers and components, including Revel's much-heralded Salon2 and Studio2 towers, and Mark Levinson's No. 585 integrated amp and No. 515 turntable. Each Factory-Certified piece is carefully reviewed by the companies' engineering and tech departments, and meets full specs from top to bottom. Full manufacturer warranties are also included, as is Music Direct's industry leading 60-Day Satisfaction Guarantee.

As always, your Music Direct Audio Consultant can help with all the products mentioned in this article, as well as our entire inventory of electronics and music. We're a phone call away at (800) 449-8333!