The former design guru of Platinum Audio now heads up American Acoustic Development, or AAC, and while the 7001i Reference monitor's ribbon tweeter caught my ear, I was soon sucked into the vortex of Phil's M Series, his first value-priced home theater package ($1350/5.1-channel system). He is a bass player and let me assure you the system had jaw-droppingly tight and focused bass response as well as the designer's signature clarity.