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Hey SECRETS readers! Well its that time again. Time where a significant portion of the audio world decends on the suburban Chicago hamlet of Schaumburg Illinois for the weekend. Why you ask? Well, it’s to attend the massive audio show extravaganza known as AXPONA, North America’s largest annual audio exposition.
From Friday, April 11th to Sunday, April 13th, the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center will be overrun by audio obsessives from hither and yon! Over 600 brands will be exhibiting in about 200 rooms tempting showgoers and audio press with all manner of sonic delights. Several manufacturers will be announcing both North American and world premieres of new products which makes AXPONA a keystone audio show on the calendar.
Editor-in-Chief Carlo Lo Raso along with Co-Editor Jim Clements will be bringing you the scoop on the latest, the greatest, the surprising, and the just plain crazy that AXOPONA will have on hand. Make sure to keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram feeds for up-to-the-minute posts on what the boys finds at the show. Post-show, we will have more complete coverage available on this page, so keep checking back!
Looking forward to another fun and exciting event and we hope you enjoy our coverage!
VIP Home Theater
Before the AXPONA show even started, I received an invitation to visit a local Chicago-area custom home company called VIP Home Theaters. I was expecting a typical custom installer store with access to a variety of equipment brands and some third-party contractors that do the installation work. What I found was something completely unexpected.
Owner Tom Adamczyk, daughter Monika, and their partners not only can design custom home theaters and lifestyle spaces they also design and build all their own custom-made tower, line array, and in-wall speakers and subs under the Cymatix brand, all in the Chicago area. Beyond that, they can do all their own custom mill work, CNC, metal cutting and fabrication, carbon fiber work, automotive caliber paint work, and acoustics design locally to create any sort of space and produce their speakers.
Simply walking into their showroom with all the custom woodwork in the flooring and acoustics treatments, lighting design, and furnishings gives you an inkling of what they are capable of.
But the real kicker was the custom-made modular hi-fi speakers called the Co-Creation. Featuring custom aluminum enclosures, automotive paint finishes, carbon fiber ports, using Faital Pro drivers from Italy, and a custom-created concentric driver module using BG-style planar magnetic drivers for the treble and midrange.
The speakers sounded impressive with pinpoint imaging, a balanced overall tonality, and an expansive soundstage. They also put out some explosive bass when called for.
The pièce de résistance at VIP Home Theater is the custom 32-channel HT room, controlled by a Trinnov Altitude-32 processor and sourced by Kaleidescape. There are three custom line arrays in the front, multiple custom-made in-wall side and surround speakers, 12 subwoofers (8 front and 4 back), and a 30” infrasonic woofer.
Not only did the theater look amazing and feel both physically and acoustically comfortable, but this theater had the most visceral bass impact of any home theater I’ve ever experienced. It was unbelievably tactile and powerful.
Linkwitz Audio
Paid a visit to Frank Brenner and the team at Linkwitz Audio to present them with their Secrets 2024 Product of the Year Award. Also sat down for an extended listen to remember why the LX521.4MG speakers earned that honor.
Outstanding work, and a fitting tribute to Siegfried Linkwitz’s research.
Pass Labs
Always a treat to hang and catch up with our friends at Pass Labs. Particularly when they have an amazing new product to talk about, such as the three chassis Xs Pre 2 preamplifier.
Designed by Wayne Colburn, the independent Left and Right channel external power sections help ensure that this latest preamp is as quiet as a church mouse when it comes to noise or distortion. The volume control now offers 100dB of range in 0.5dB steps. And the new subtle and tasteful bevelled faceplate, combined with black trim or optional full black chassis, moves the aesthetics of the equipment from seriously functional to seriously beautiful.
The demo system in the next room featured an all black chassis Xs Pre 2, a pair of black mono XA 60.8 Class A power amps, a HiFi Rose Streamer, and a pair of Pure Audio Project Duet 15 open-baffle speakers. Outstanding sound all around!
SVS
SVS had two rooms at AXPONA this year. The first had a 5.1.2 channel home theater system setup based on the new Ultra R|Evolution speakers, and the subwoofer used was the newly released SB-5000 R|Evolution subwoofer with its new 15-inch driver.
The speakers consisted of a pair of Ultra Evolution Towers for the front two channels, an Ultra Evolution center channel, two Ultra Evolution Nano speakers for the rear channels, and two Ultra Evolution Elevation speakers for the overhead ATMOS channels.
The second room had two different stereo configurations in play. One used the SVS flagship Ultra Evolution Pinnacle speakers and the other used the Ultra Evolution Bookshelf speakers. Each setup was powered by a high-quality Hegel H400 integrated amplifier.
Both rooms were essentially packed all weekend with a steady stream of showgoers waiting to get in. Each setup sounded great to me, and plenty of show attendees commented on how they were interested in the quality-to-value proposition that SVS was providing at the show.
I was also pleased to present SVS’s Gary Yacoubian and Nick Brown with not one but TWO 2024 SECRETS Best of Awards. One for Best Subwoofer and the other for Best Wireless Audio Accessory.
ATC
Checking in with our friends at Lone Mountain Audio while at AXPONA, they were premiering the new ATC SCM20ASL active Stand-mount Loudspeakers in a stunning Burl Magnolia wood finish ($10,999.00/pair as shown). 
The new 2-way monitors are based largely on last year’s 50th anniversary Limited Edition model with a 1” soft dome tweeter and a 6” mid/bass driver. A 50-watt Class AB power amplifier powers the tweeter, and a 200-watt Class AB amplifier drives the midrange. The sound was beautifully balanced and detailed a nice bit of slam in the bass. MSRP is approximately $10K for the pair. 
Engineer Cal Shackleford from ATC was at the show to talk about the new speakers and answer questions. Cal is pictured here with Aleks Bars from Lone Mountain Audio.
JansZen Audio
Another Ohio-based audio company, David Janszen, was being a wildly good sport, being in the room right across from SVS’s home theater. His company, JansZen Audio, specializes in Electrostatic speakers, and David brought his JansZen “Nine.5” hybrid dynamic/electrostatic speaker to the show.
Claimed to be modeled after the Classic KLH Nine loudspeakers, they may look slightly retro, but they sure don’t sound that way. Big open soundstage with some pretty detailed imaging happening in the confines of that hotel room, and the claim of solid bass reproduction is very real.
Kii Audio
Chris Reichardt from Kii Audio was demonstrating the smaller Kii Seven active stand-mounted and the Kii Three active system, with and without the BXT bass section in play. The little Kii Sevens sounded almost surgically precise but without the listening fatigue often associated with that sort of descriptor. Highly accurate and satisfying would be a better description, and they absolutely surprised with the level of tight bass output they could put out.
The Kii Three speakers were just bigger and more effortless, and switching in the BXT bass stand was almost like turning the bass up to “ludicrous speed!” It’s not wrong to say that Kii Audio makes some of the most intelligently crafted loudspeakers out there when you factor in all the engineering know-how, acoustical design, DSP capacity, and amplification resources. I think they are the ultimate “IYKYK” speaker on the market.
Silent Pound
I met the crew from Lithuania’s Silent Pound a couple of years ago at the Munich High End show and came away impressed by the demonstration of their Challenger 2 loudspeaker. The company was at AXPONA this year, doing their level best to get the word out about their speakers to the US HiFi community. And if their sound is anything to go by, the word should get out quickly. The speakers are claimed to be an advanced constant directivity design.
They use a specially designed horn waveguide for the tweeter to more seamlessly blend with the midrange drivers, and the overall speaker projects its sound in a cardioid dispersion pattern to more effectively sound their best in a variety of rooms. Everything from the cabinets and frame to the beautiful wood finish and the visible passive crossover appears to be expertly crafted. The sound I heard from the room was beautifully balanced with a powerfully deep bass reach.
All of this from a package that did not look like it was unreasonably complex, a unique and potent Perreaux 300ix integrated amp ($10K) was providing the power and control. Look at dropping around $32-36K for a pair, depending on finish and exchange rate. A highlight of the show for me.
Magico
For sheer theater and spectacle, you’d be hard pressed to top what Magico had going on in the Club Lounge on the 15th floor at AXPONA. In a rather large-ish room, the towering Magico M9 loudspeakers were holding court, flanking a battery of Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems “Relentless” control and power electronics.
To the right of all this, a wall of WADAX and additional D’Agostino electronics for sourcing, conditioning, and general life support. It was audio excess on the grandest scale, I think I have ever seen. The giant red Chinese horn speakers and their associated gear, which I saw at Munich HighEnd last year, may have been slightly more outrageous. Honestly, I was more curious about how they got this massive load of gear up here and where the portable nuclear reactor used to power all this stuff was stashed than I was about the sound!
I love that there are people, driven and crazy enough to develop and create the type of equipment that was amassed in this room, and I would never begrudge anyone for owning any or all of the equipment that was laid out before us here. But speaking pragmatically for a moment, the only potential downside from putting together a system like this is that the final sound of it all, no matter how good it is, might never exceed the expectations set up by the visuals.
MoFi
We knew that MoFi was going to introduce something big at AXPONA this year, and they weren’t kidding! Speaker designer Andrew Jones spent much of the show presenting his latest creation to very attentive crowds.
The new MoFi SourcePoint V10 Master Edition is the latest floor-stander from Jones that expands and refines the speaker formula that he has been working on since coming over to MoFi. It is essentially a scaled-up version of the SourcePoint 888 tower speaker that has been garnering rave reviews lately.
Using the 10-inch concentric driver from the SourcePoint 10 speaker as its basis, it adds two additional 10-inch bass drivers below the concentric in front, and two additional 10-inch passive radiators in the back. The crossover board that Andrew Jones walked us through was a substantial two-layer affair, directly built onto the back of the speaker terminal plate.
The user end of the terminal plate comes with two sets of binding posts for bi-wiring or bi-amping and a 3-position tweeter attenuation toggle switch that can lower the treble from 2 kHz on up in 1dB increments. Jones mentioned that some users could find this adjustment helpful for taming brightness in certain room scenarios. So, after all that, how does the SourcePoint V10 sound? Pretty darn impressive in a massive ballroom space. Highlights were that expected “alive” sound signature that all of Andrew’s concentric driver designs exhibit, and the bass impact was astonishing for that size of a space. Already put our names in to review a set, hopefully sometime soon, so we can provide you with more detailed impressions. Price on the V10 is still being finalized, but expect something in the $8K to $10K price range here in the US per pair.
And speaking about crossovers for a moment, MoFi is offering what they are calling a “Master Edition” Crossover upgrade for Andrew’s original SourcePoint 10 loudspeakers. 
They are taking all of the insight learned in the making of the new V10, and the opportunity to offer some optional higher-grade components, and offering it up into a roughly $400 upgrade to existing SourcePoint 10 owners, AND it is user-installable. MoFi has put together a detailed instructional video that has Andrew Jones doing a step-by-step crossover swap to help make it foolproof.
Rotel
Rotel did not have a room at AXPONA this year, but both Daren Orth and Jim Krodel were in town for meetings and to catch up with industry folks. Glad I was able to catch up with them in person to present them with a 2024 SECRETS Best Of award for the MICHI X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier. A truly standout product.
DALI
Dropped in on the fine folks at DALI, who had the lion’s share of a large corner room on the main floor of the hotel. They were sharing display space with other brands of the Lenbrook family of companies: PSB, Bluesound, NAD, Roksan, and Blok.
The flagship DALI Kore loudspeakers were the main focus, and any excuse to visit and take a listen to these amazing loudspeakers is good enough for me. Driven and controlled by a massive array of McIntosh electronics and sourced by a Bluesound NODE Icon streamer,
I thought the combination sounded excellent together. I’ve always enjoyed the tonal balance of these speakers, and the sheer transparency of what they can put out will always be appealing to me. Even when they were playing background music and just “puttering around,” the quality of the sound always got my attention.
Along with the Kore, DALI had brought along select members of the Epikore and Rubikore lines, showing just how much of the Kore’s DNA had trickled down from the atmosphere to more earthly levels. The Epikore 9 and 7 were on display in a beautiful high-gloss walnut finish and teamed with NAD Masters Series gear.
The very pretty Rubikore 2 stand-mounted speakers were on static display in a high-gloss maroon lacquer finish.
Just outside the room, DALI and Bluesound had set up a little headphone listening bar where showgoers could listen to DALI’s new IO-8 ANC wireless headphones and our Best of 2024 winning IO-12 ANC wireless headphones. It was my first listen to the IO-8, and I found them to be a nice and noticeable step up in sound over the original IO-6.
Roksan/Blok
Lenbrook recently started distributing Roksan products in North America, and Lenbrook brought a Roksan Caspian Streaming Integrated Amplifier, which was nicely displayed in a very stylish Blok equipment rack, which Lenbrook also distributes here.
The Caspian is a fully featured integrated putting out 105 watts (Class AB) into 8-ohms, almost doubling that power into 4-ohms. It uses BluOS for its streaming platform, has HDMI ARC, both balanced and RCA Preamp outputs, as well as subwoofer pre-outs too. The Roksan’s styling is also unique and different, and the unit feels lovely to the touch. The stylish Caspian will set you back $5K in the US. At the show, it was paired with the PSB Synchrony T600 loudspeakers.
Wilson-Benesch/Audia Flight
Unless you’ve been living under the proverbial “Audiophile Rock,” these days you no doubt know that revered UK brand Wilson-Benesch is now distributed in the USA by Fidelity Imports. The brand brought their analog A-game to AXPONA this year in the form of their Omnium loudspeakers and GMT One turntable.
Both these pieces of engineered audio sculpture are completely designed and manufactured in their facilities in Sheffield, England, using advanced materials and Formula One-style construction techniques. They even design and manufacture their own speaker drivers, which is almost unheard of anymore.
They were mated to massive Audia Flight Strumento No. 8 mono block amplifiers, a No. 1 EVO preamplifier, a FLS 20 SACD player, and an Esoteric phono preamp. An absurdly powerful and beautiful system, and Christina Milnes from Wilson-Benesch and Massimiliano Marzi from Audia Flight both seemed pleased with the results.
TEAC/Vienna Acoustics
Playback Distribution had representatives from TEAC Japan in town for AXPONA, and they were introducing the new AP-507 power amplifier to the US market. The new amp makes exclusive use of a new Hypex NCOREx Class-D amplifier module that TEAC engineers have also modified to achieve their desired sonic signature. The new amp puts out 85 watts per channel into 8-ohms and 170 watts into 4-ohms. It can also be bridged into mono for 350 watts into a single channel at 8-ohms, all in a compact letter paper-sized footprint.
The TEAC AP-507 ($2,799.00) was paired with other matching 5 and 7-series TEAC gear and were ultimately driving a pair of new Vienna Acoustics Mozart SE Signature Loudspeakers ($8,295.00/pair in standard finish, $9,395.00/pair in premium Rosewood) and an MJ Acoustics Pro 50 Mk-4 subwoofer ($1,649.00). A killer-sounding, modestly sized system.
Here is TEAC Senior Manager Hiroyuki Machida giving me the rundown on the new TEAC AP-507 Stereo Power Amplifier.
Advance Paris/PMC
In talking with Cédric Léon and Juliette Shigo from Advance Paris, they did let slip that the company was prepping for some major announcements at the upcoming Munich High-End show. They were, however, showing off a full suite of new cables that Advance Paris recently introduced.
An examination of a pair of XLR interconnects showed the cables to be well constructed and of high quality. The conductors are advertised as being made from 99.9999% pure OCC copper, and as is the brand’s way, are priced quite reasonably as cables go these days. A half-meter pair of RCA cables retails for $99.00, while the 1.5-meter pair of XLR interconnects I was looking at costs $279.00.
The very nice sounding system in the room consisted of the Advance Paris A12 Classic Integrated Amp ($4,499.00), the MyConnect 250 All-In-One Amplifier ($4,999.00), the X-CD9 CD Player ($1,399.00), the WTX-StreamTubes Network Streamer ($699.00), the PMC Prophecy 7 3-way Floor-standing Speakers ($9,999.00/pair), and an MJ Acoustics Pro 50 Mk-4 subwoofer ($1,649.00). A great sounding system all around.
While there, I presented our 2024 Best Bookshelf Loudspeaker Award (for the PMC Twenty5 22i) to Franco Lock from PMC.
Amphion/Esoteric
In another room sponsored by Playback Distribution, Amphion was premiering their new Argon 7LX speaker ($9,999.00/pair as shown in walnut), which now uses the same tweeter found in the company’s flagship Krypton3X speaker.
It was complemented by a brace of gear from Esoteric, including the F-02 Integrated amplifier ($20K) and the N-05XD Network Streamer ($12K). Cables and power conditioning were all furnished by Esprit. Another excellent sounding room.
Vienna Acoustics/Java HiFi/Esoteric/MJ Acoustics
In the room next door, the big Vienna Acoustics Liszt Reference 3-Way Towers ($21,995.00/pair) were making some beautiful music teamed up with an MJ Acoustics Henley 12” Subwoofer ($4,999.00 each) to cover the very lowest notes. 
This was driven and controlled by a Carbon Double Shot 400 Integrated Amplifier from Java Hi-Fi ($18,695.00). The Double Shot 400 is a Dual Mono, 400-watt int 8-ohm, Class-D GaN-FET amplification beast, all in a nicely tailored carbon fiber suit hailing from New Zealand. Esoteric also had their N-05XD Network Streamer ($12K) and K-05XD SACD player, all in a matching black finish to round out the system. A big, rich, and appealing sound was coming from this setup, and I could have hung around for a long time here.
Perlisten
Perlisten came to AXPONA with a very simple yet intimidating system. The flagship S7t tower speakers were center of it to be sure, and we’re more than a little familiar with their abilities and charm, but the main attraction was the new imposing D8is Universal Subwoofer. What is a “Universal Subwoofer?” Well, according to Perlisten, the D8is is designed to be either mounted in-wall, on-wall, or used floor-standing, as you see in the images.
The D8is sports a rigid and heavy aluminum enclosure that houses eight 8-inch woofer drivers arrayed in a “push-pull” configuration. This is all driven by an external 3000-watt amplifier with the trademark flexible and exhaustive Perlisten DSP resources on board. Perlisten’s Lars Johansen was saying that the D8is has the equivalent active displacement of a 24” subwoofer driver. Price is TBD, but figure on at least $20K for this beast for starters. Consider us intrigued. VERY intrigued!
Marten/Goldmund/Garrard
Rhythm Distribution had a few rooms at AXPONA. This particular one had a beautiful-looking and sounding array of equipment, starting with a stunning (retro-but-not) Garrard 301 Advanced Turntable with an SME VA Tonearm.
This was connected to a full array of Goldmund electronics, including an Eidos streamer, Mimesis phono stage, a matching preamp, and a pair of Telos 2800 Monoblock power amps. The speakers in play were the lovely Marten Mingus Quintet 2 Statement Loudspeakers. Another impressive sounding room.
Be forewarned, the price tag of everything in this room, including cables by Jorma, a Silent Angel Bonn MX Network Switch, AudioQuest Niagara 5000 Power Conditioner, and Goldenberg Maestro T MC Cartridge, is just north of $660K. So, save your shekels, kids!
Opera Loudspeakers/Unison Research
When I visited both Opera and Unison Research in Treviso, Italy, last year, they were putting the finishing touches on their new Black Edition line of tube amps and were well into development on the new Classica line of speakers.
They had prototypes of the Prima and Quinta V2 speakers for us to listen to, and, while not fully finalized, they both showed great promise after extended listening. Fast forward to now, and I am listening to production versions of the Unison S6 Black Edition Integrated amp playing through a set of Opera Classica Quinta V2 towers.
The new Prima V2 Bookshelf speakers were on static display while I was visiting. The combination produced a very lush and appealing overall sound that made me want to sit and stay for longer than I could budget. Looking forward to reviewing either or both of these fine products at some point in the future.
Geshelli Labs/Sound Solver/Viablue
That little ol’ Biscegila family from Florida was on a roll again at AXPONA this year. On the headphone amp and DAC front, Geshelli Labs has been offering some additional options such as Sparkos Labs’ discreet Op-Amps, and AKM or ESS DAC chip choices for a little while now.
The gang has also teamed up with a new startup, Sound Solver, to create custom three-tiered racks to perfectly house a small stack of Geshelli headphone gear. Sound Solver owner, Grant Hollingsworth, was also showing examples of a prototype larger rack that would fit modestly larger components (such as Benchmark or TEAC 500 Series gear). He also had put together a couple of full-size component racks for Geshelli Labs to use in their rooms at the show.
And speaking of other equipment, Geshelli Labs was showing the latest iteration of their upcoming separate HiFi components. These are the Torc DAC (with dual mono AKM 4499EXEQ chips and eight socketed OpAmps), the Giuseppe preamplifier (with tone controls, built-in phono stage, and both RCA and XLR inputs and outputs), and the Z-Blok Class AB monoblock power amplifiers (rated at 220 watts into 8-ohms with RCA and XLR connections). These separates will be available through a partnership with Fidelity Imports. Pricing is targeted at $2,499.99 for each component.. All cables were furnished by Viablue of Germany.
Legacy Audio
Legacy Audio had its usual ballroom space at AXPONA, with no less than five complete systems (four active and one passive) that showed off exactly what the company could do. Legacy jumped into the digital correction game with both feet a few years ago with their original Wavelet preamp/processor, and three of the systems at the show were using the new Wavelet 2 with more advanced processing over the original. One of the big systems consisted of Legacy Audio VALOR speakers in a gorgeous Olive Ash Burl finish, complete with a Wavelet 2 processor ($92K per pair as shown) and a Legacy iV2 Ultra Stereo Power amplifier ($4,785.00).
Another system had the Legacy Audio AERIS XD in Cabernet Sapele Pommele finish ($23,400.00 per pair as shown) and the Legacy Audio Calibre XD stand-mounted speakers ($7,800.00 per pair). Adding a Wavelet 2 to either of these would cost an additional $7,950.00.
Here we have Legacy Founder and Chief Engineer Bill Dudleston demonstrating the Wavelet 2 processor to showgoers on the Legacy Audio Focus SE system ($13,200.00 per pair).
EMM Labs/Credo Audio of Switzerland
This is the third year that I have attended AXPONA, and I have seen these two brands together. Why? Well, because they just work, and really well together.
Both the big Credo Cinema LTM Line Arrays ($199,995.00/pair) and the EV1202 Reference speakers ($16995.00/pair) were excellent matches in the big ballroom with the EMM electronics. This included the MTRS – Stereo Amplifier ($65,000.00), the PRE – Reference Stereo Preamplifier ($25,000.00), the DA2 – D/A converter ($30,000.00), the NS1 – Streamer ($4,500.00), the DS-EQ1 – Optical Equalizer ($12500.00), and the DS Audio W3 Cartridge ($5,000.00). The whole system just sounded effortless, and that was with the smaller Credo EV1202 Reference speakers. The big line arrays were on a whole other level.
T+A
It is always a pleasure to get a closer look and interact with T+A gear. The design, the engineering, the build quality, the attention to detail, and ultimately the sound. For a lot of us, it is aspirational equipment that looks like it would last a lifetime.
That could very well be why we awarded our 2024 Best Of Award to the T+A HA 200 Headphone amplifier. Or it simply could be that it’s a damn fine piece of equipment. Take a listen to one, and you be the judge.
VPI
And speaking of awards, we tracked down one of the busiest guys in audio, Mat Weisfeld of VPI, to present him our 2024 Best Of Award for his VPI Dragon Turntable with Shyla Phono cartridge. It’s a great-sounding beast of a turntable and an incredibly worthy product. Pictured above is the VPI Avenger Direct turntable found in the Acora Acoustics room.
Focal
Focal had a significant footprint at AXPONA, with a ballroom that had an excellent cross-section of their product offerings. The centerpiece was an excellent 7.4.4 channel Focal Utopia Cinema Home Theater set up that Jim Clements will describe in more detail in his commentary below. What I took note of is the new Focal Bathys MG ANC wireless headphones ($1,299.00) that were set up at the listening station. Beyond the striking new “Warm Chestnut” colorway, these updated Bathys feature a new 40mm “M-Profile” Magnesium driver and updated electronics and App control.
I’ve spent a good deal of time with the original Bathys, which I like a lot, so I was curious to sample the new one to get a sense of the improvements. In the quiet demo room before the show officially started, I took a good listen to some familiar tracks via the network streaming stations that Focal had set up. Immediately, I noticed a fuller and richer character to the sound that I really liked, and the comfort level was at least as excellent as the original Bathys. We are working to get a set for review shortly because what I heard here was extremely promising. Surpassing an already well-designed product is a difficult challenge, but Focal may have just pulled it off with the Bathys MG.
GoldenEar
GoldenEar seems to be on the cusp of a potential new “golden age” under the stewardship of Paradigm. The T66 floor-stander was an absolute hit at the recent Florida show and here at AXPONA, the company was premiering its newest loudspeaker, the T44.
Standing a little shorter than the T66, it uses an AMT tweeter and a single 4.5-inch midrange driver versus the MTM configuration in the T66. It retains the powered bass section using a single “quadratic” active bass driver mated to two large passive radiators, one mounted on either side. Run by a fairly modest (at least for McIntosh) McIntosh system, the T44 surprised with a big, beautiful soundstage and tight, accurate imaging in the decently sized conference room that was sponsored by dealer, Saturday Audio Exchange.
I expected the bass impact to be impressive, and it was. For someone looking for modestly sized floor-standing speakers, these GoldenEar T44s are going to be a very compelling choice. As a side note, if the company ever offers them in white, I bet they would sell a boatload of them in Europe!
Paradigm
And while on the subject of Paradigm, the Canadian brand had one of the few home theater setups at the show (5.3 channels) with a pair of their Founder 100F speakers with a Founder 90C center channel in front and a pair of Founder 80F speakers in the rear. The three subs in the system were part of their newly redesigned Defiance Line. Two Defiance S10 subwoofers ($1,199.99 each) were in front with a single Defiance S12 ($1,599.99 each) at the rear of the room.
The new Defiance subs feature a whole host of new updates, including a more robust driver, high-power Class-D amplification (S12 – 800 watts, S10 – 500 watts), wireless connectivity, Anthem ARC Room Correction, and a very complete set of inputs and outputs on the back panels covering many installation options.
There is also a very “fly” illuminated volume control back there for easy tweaking in those dark room corners. Watching the demo clip from Ford v Ferrari on this system put me right in the center of the action in the best way possible!
Yamaha
Venturing into the show’s “Ear Gear” Area, I stopped in to visit our friends from Yamaha. Available for demonstration, they had their flagship YH-5000SE open-back headphones, along with two new sets of headphones that were spawned from all the development work on the 5000SE. The first is the YH-4000, which is essentially a distilled version of the flagship headphones available at a more approachable price. It is also an open-back design with some minor design and driver differences. The second is a closed-back headphone called the YH-C3000. This one is a more significant design departure with its oval ear pads and piano gloss finished real wood ear cups. The drivers in all three models are presumably very similar in design, being a type of circular planar magnetic driver which Yamaha calls “Orthodynamic.”
I currently have a pair of YH-5000SE headphones in for review, along with the matching HA-L7A Flagship headphone amplifier/DAC. They are, without a doubt, some of the most comfortable headphones I have ever worn, and the construction quality is very much second-to-none. I find the sound signature of the YH-5000SE to be on the warm side, particularly in the upper bass area. For my tastes, it is enjoyable, but it’s definitely a sonic flavor that may not appeal to everyone. My quick sonic impressions of the YH-4000 were that they feel and sound very similar to their bigger brother, where the C3000, while also very light and comfortable, sounded a little more on the neutral side while still keeping a surprisingly big image for closed-back cans. The build quality for both new headphones was exceptional.
The C3000 is still in the final stages of development, and the YH-4000 looks just about ready to be launched. Pricing and availability are TBD. Exciting times for the folks at Yamaha!
VPE Electrodynamics
VPE Electrodynamics is a small company out of St. Louis comprised of retired aerospace engineers and consultants who are now in the speaker and subwoofer business. Besides making crafty dipole subwoofers that are designed to properly integrate with panel speakers like Magnepans, they also have some unconventional full-range speaker designs. At AXPONA, they were showing the latest iteration of their active Airfoil loudspeakers.
The Airfoils use a clever cardioid dispersion design for the tweeter and midrange sections of the speaker. This sits on a down-firing, slot-loaded, open-baffle 12” woofer. The Airfoils are completely DSP-controlled with regard to signal routing and their crossovers. One has the option to order the Airfoils with a MiniDSP HTx box or the more advanced Danville Signal dspNEXUS Audio Processor.
I’ve had a pair of pre-production Airfoils in my home with the MiniDSP box and will be writing about my impressions soon. Needless to say, the Airfoils sounded very impressive in my studio space, throwing a big and detailed image, and the gorgeously finished two-tone Walnut show samples with the Danville box were equally immersive and enjoyable. I love finding independent designers cooking up unconventional solutions that make you say “Wow!”
Dynaudio
I’d heard about the Confidence 20A active stand-mount speakers from various friends whose ears I trust, but I have never had the opportunity to experience them for myself until now. All I could say was “Wow!”
Connected to a MOON by Simaudio 891 Network Player/Preamplifier, these little guys sounded cleaner and bigger than they had any right to. And the bass capabilities were almost absurd for their size. Dynaudio should be proud, they seem like one heck of an achievement! We need to review a set!
Aretai/Analog Audio Design
It was great to catch up with Jānis Irbe from Aretai loudspeakers in Latvia and Brian Tucker from Analog Audio Design. Janis was featuring his Contra 100 bookshelf and Contra 200 tower loudspeakers at AXPONA with their trademark white tweeter waveguides. I’ve always enjoyed the sound of Jānis’ speakers, and this year was no exception.
Brian returned to AXPONA with his AAD TP-1000 reel-to-reel tape deck and its nifty digital control display. Both sounded fantastic together.
ELAC
The Debut 3.0 DB6.3 bookshelf speaker that ELAC’s Chris Walker was demonstrating for us at the show has to be one of the best values in audio. Outrageously good sound for $450 bucks a pair. Buy a set! That is all!
Theoretica Applied Acoustics
Professor Edgar Choueiri conducted one of the most convincing demonstrations that I’ve ever sat through at an audio show. Dr. Choueiri developed the BACCH-SP processor, which creates an incredibly convincing 3-dimensional audio image from just a pair of speakers. When I’ve heard BACCH-SP demos in the past, they were conducted with floor-standing electrostatic speakers. The Popori electrostatic loudspeaker demonstration at the recent Florida Audio Expo was the latest example where a BACCH-SP system was utilized. This time around, Dr. Choueiri was demonstrating a newly developed 2.1 channel desktop system using a pair of small custom-made planar-magnetic speakers and a dual-driver subwoofer. The system also uses a Mac mini computer, specially developed software, and a head-tracking camera. Called the BACCH DrC2, it involves putting a pair of special IEMs in the listener’s ears and having the software take measurements. The software uses that data along with the head tracking camera information to personalize the 3D processing to the listener’s hearing. The demo involved playing downmixed Dolby ATMOS tracks through the system along with standard stereo tracks. The sense of envelopment, along with seemingly discreet spatial cues (if the music has enough recorded sense of space), was astonishing and all from this compact little system! If nothing else, I am excited to see where this technology goes from here. Well done, Doc!
Popori Acoustics
Popori is a name in speakers that I have just recently been made aware of, mostly through my friend Jason Messina, “The Audiophile Junkie” on YouTube. I first got a solid listen to a set of Popori electrostatic speakers at this last Florida show, and I came away extremely impressed with what I heard. Essentially all the qualities I love from speakers like MartinLogans, but with proper, visceral bass that comes from the panel and not a hybrid dynamic driver. Here at AXPONA, Popori was demonstrating a pair of their WR2 model electrostatic speakers ($34K per pair), which follows just below the middle of the company’s five-model range. They are just shy of 73 inches tall and put out a wonderfully effortless sound with plenty of detail and body. And when the track called for bass impact, the Popori WR2 did not wimp out, hitting hard with authority. Anyone who has a thing for flat panel speakers should run out and give these a listen, post-haste!
Michell Audio
This renowned maker of turntables, based in the UK, was premiering their all-new Apollo phono stage at AXPONA. This marks a return of the brand producing electronics to accompany their vaunted platter-spinners. I got a chance to spend some time with Jonathan Nye from Michell as he walked me through a little company history, along with a tie-in to the original Star Wars movie production, some design highlights of one of their Gyro SE turntables, and an examination of their new Apollo Phono Stage.
Monitor Audio
Saturday Audio Exchange, a local Chicago Hi Fi retailer, had loads of amazing equipment on display in several rooms again this year.
This was my chance to see and hear the highly anticipated Monitor Audio Hyphn flagship speakers ($95,000/pr.) These bad boys are a three-way design with four force-coupled 8” RDT III bass drivers in a unique M-Array configuration. This lower unit hands off to six 2” RDT III midrange drivers in an array surrounding the central MPD III tweeter. It is obviously a very unique design.
This was the first room I visited on Day One. They had some EDM on when I came in, and I was immediately impressed with the tight and extended bass response. I returned on the last day and felt the system was not quite as impressive on some acoustical music. Nevertheless, they do warrant serious evaluation and would definitely benefit from a better setup, like in your home!
There was another Monitor Audio debut on display in Saturday Audio Exchange’s first-floor room. That would be the Studio 89 speakers ($2,499/pr.) These were also an AXPONA debut, similar to the HYPHN speakers. The Studio 89s are two-way stand mount speakers in an MTM array with one MPD III tweeter and two 4” RDT III mid-bass drivers. They were accompanied by a Monitor Audio Anthra 12” powered sub ($3,000).
This was a larger room that had two systems available for audition. I feel the system had promise, but unfortunately, it was being over-driven during my audition. I like it loud sometimes, but every system has a sweet spot. In this case, that sweet spot was several dBs below what they were trying to achieve. So, same as the HYPHNs, I would never rule out a great speaker just because of the challenging show conditions. If these are compatible with your needs and budget, I would definitely seek out an audition in a friendlier setting.
AXISS Audio
Major high-end distributor, AXISS Audio, was showing a lot of new equipment in their large room on the first floor.
The turntable pictured here is a new model from Yukiseimitsu Audio, the AP-011EM Turntable ($31,975). This table was fitted with two tonearms from Glanz. The cartridges are from Accuphase and Shelter. This was being fed through another debut product, the Accuphase C-57 Phono Stage ($13,975).
Other new equipment shown would be the power management solutions from Telo: The Tai Chi Yin/Yang Monster Power Station ($92,000) and their Grounding Noise Reducer ($8,000). All cabling was newly released product, also from Telos.
The speakers were the Gauder Akustik DARC 100 3-Ways ($85,975).
They were playing some smooth jazz with female vocals, piano, drum kit, and a trumpet for my audition. (Apologies, I did not take down the artist and track details when I was in the room.) The system accentuated the lusciousness of this performance. The clean treble with extension beyond human hearing was also incredible, though the recording wasn’t the most pristine I have heard. The next track was fusion jazz, which highlighted the incredible mid and low bass. It was extremely musical. This system was a testament that good sound can be had at a major trade show. And, of course, this was a cost-no-object system which doesn’t hurt, ha!
On top of this rack is the all-new Accuphase E-3000 integrated amplifier ($8,000). This is a Class A/B design that generates 100 wpc into 8 Ohms and 150 wpc into a 4 Ohm load. It has a high-end AAVA analog volume control, very low output impedance, and tons of other exquisitely engineered internals. I love the throw-back look, ample control capabilities, and the power meters!
I did not audition this amplifier at the show, but we are working to get a review unit in the hands of one of our reviewers for a full and complete evaluation.
Magico
OK, so like many others, I had to give the incredible Magico M9s a listen. These bad boys weigh in at 1,000 pounds per channel. The power supply for the crossover itself is 60 pounds! They are six-driver four-way behemoths with claimed bass extension to 18 Hz with a quite high sensitivity of 94 dB. I immediately wondered how they were able to get these up the freight elevator until I was told they are modular, so they were brought up in pieces, most likely.
I am not sure how any other pair of speakers could be more adept at commanding a room the way these speakers can. I mean the first phrase in my notes was, “Oh, Mama!” I went on to say that they were the “full meal deal”. (Even the treble goes up to 50 kHz.) In my view, this system sounded like it had not a single limitation in terms of frequency extension, musicality, staging, you name it. They also had a panoply of top-of-the-line gear in the room, which brings to mind the old adage: If you have to ask . . .Car Audio Event
AXPONA went and did a thing for their 2025 Expo: They had an IASCA car audio competition on the first floor of the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center. No kidding, it wasn’t just a demonstration or a show, it was an actual car audio contest.
I didn’t get a final count on the number of vehicles that were entered, but it was around a dozen or so. These car audio aficionados are legitimately working to get the best sound possible in their cars. What I mean is these aren’t the ridiculous cars with flabby, one-note bass you can hear a few blocks away. Not at all. The judging of the vehicles’ systems is along the lines of what audiophiles are looking for in their home systems – imaging, stage width, stage depth, low distortion, etc. Of course, the bass response is a big part of the judging, but the bass should blend with the rest of the audio bands.
The judges listen from the driver’s seat, and that is where the competitors focus their attention. The driver gets the sweet spot, and the other seats in the car may or may not sound as good.
We auditioned three of the cars and enjoyed the sound in two of them. (The third one had a problem with the right tweeter. When we got out, the proud owner asked what we thought, and we gave him the thumbs up since we didn’t have the heart to tell him that he had a bad tweeter.)
For the most part, I was largely impressed. However, as a practical engineer, I would never do this to my vehicle because, when you are done, there is no space left for your groceries. Ha! It was definitely a fun event!
Grimm Audio
Two new products were debuted by Grimm Audio at this year’s show – the LS1c active loudspeaker with motion-feedback subwoofer ($39,250 to $48,100 depending upon finish) and the PW1 phono preamplifier ($4,900). The LS1c is available now to order, and the PW1 ships in May 2025.
ARCAM
ARCAM had a live demo of their all-new SA45 Streaming Integrated Amplifier ($4,999). It is the box on the top of the rack in the image. With apologies, I will refer to this component as the “Swiss Army Knife” of amplifiers.
It is a streamer that can connect over Ethernet, WiFi, or via Bluetooth with Snapdragon Sound and Auracast. It is compatible with Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, and Tidal Connect.
Does your system sometimes fill in on movie night? Well, they threw in HDMI eARC for good measure.
By the way, the SA45 supports digital signals up to 32-bit/384 kHz.
Do you listen to records? The SA45 has a built-in MM/MC phono stage with a wide range of loading options.
Would you like to add in one or two subs? Check.
Have a challenging room? Dirac Live is onboard.
It has oodles of power, able to generate 180 wpc into an 8-ohm load. The amp section is the popular and well-received Class G architecture. They also claim balanced analog and digital audio paths.
The icing on the cake is its large, high-resolution display for clearly visible album artwork and metadata.
The cherry on top of all that is that it sounded amazing through the big Revel speakers in the picture.
I have an SA45 in the house for a complete and thorough review, so I will be reporting back regarding my hands-on experience. Please stay tuned.
JBL
These are updated versions of the prior throwback offerings and are dubbed the L100 Classic MkII. They are 12” 3-way bookshelf speakers. I say “bookshelf” because that is how JBL classifies them, but I have not seen any of them that did not have the little stands. JBL claims performance enhancements to the woofer, midrange, and tweeter. There is also a revised crossover to include bi-wire/bi-amp capabilities via a terminal cup with dual sets of gold-plated binding posts.They sport walnut satin wood veneer cabinets and Quadrex foam grille available in a choice of black, orange, or blue. I would definitely audition a pair if I were looking for a new pair of speakers!
Benchmark/Studio Electric
This was one room I decided to spend a little time enjoying the music. I have normally flown through rooms at shows, especially in times when I covered these shows on my own. But this year, Carlo Lo Raso was there, so we divided and conquered in 2025. (Robert Kozel was also scheduled to attend, but he had to back out at the last minute.) My point is that I had more time though to slow down and smell the roses.
In any event, I first thought these boffins have to be off their rockers with the subwoofer smack dab in the middle of the room. I would not normally recommend such a placement. They somehow made it work, though. I also felt that the big, all-new Studio Electric M10 “Statement” speakers ($34,950) looked steely, so they would sound steely, right? I couldn’t have been more wrong on both counts.
This system sounded huge, even in this small room. The system was so musical and engaging, I could have listened all afternoon. The sub added in the lowest octave, and the result was an honest full-range sound of a high order.
Other components in action were a Tascam CD player, Benchmark DAC3 B DAC ($1,899), Benchmark LA4 Preamp ($3,499), and a nifty trio of Benchmark AHB2 X3 monoblock amps ($3,499 ea.) I did not collect info on the subwoofer, but their show special was, buy a pair of these incredible speakers and they throw in the sub for free. Well worth an audition if you are in the market.
Focal/Naim
This wasn’t a music demo, per se, but it was probably the most fun I had at AXPONA 2025. Focal and Naim set up a 7.4.4 Focal Utopia Cinema home theater in one of the big rooms on the second floor. The newest members of the family were the Focal Utopia Cinema LCRs and subwoofers. The electronics were courtesy of Naim, of course. The total system cost would run $150,378. That is for the components only, and you would need to budget for cabling and other ancillary things. That sounds like a lot of money, and I guess it is, but I can say unequivocally, this may be the best $150k you’re going to spend in your life – it was really that good.
I got delayed waiting for the shuttle from the hotel, so I missed the first part of the demo. (The shuttles were only running every half hour from the Hyatt Regency, say what?) I did see two movie clips and one music demo. The first clip was a 007 offering with Daniel Craig. (I was not sure which film.) The second was Lady Gaga singing “Always Remember Us This Way” from A Star is Born. Both of these clips were pure cinematic gold, and the system was resolute in laying it all down at reference levels without a hint of distortion or deleterious sounds. I even noticed several people in the audience tearing up when Lady Gaga was singing.
The last demo was a remastered Dolby Atmos presentation of Elton John’s “Honky Chateau”. That track was playing during the second image. In that picture, you can see an animated graphic on the screen that shows each channel, and the graphic reacts in real time depending on the signal, indicating which channels are playing and at what level. It was very slick and reminiscent of a pro audio application (which Focal and Naim apparently do). Needless to say, I have never heard this song sound better, and I grew up with that album being in heavy rotation. What a pleasure!
There was another Naim component that caught my eye – the CI-Uniti 102 Streamer Amplifier. This little amp was on static display, and that is why it only caught my eye and not my ear.
It’s a compact, high-powered streaming amp that has limited inputs but has a high degree of flexibility in how you implement it. It is rack-mountable and scalable for audio distribution as a zone amp or a single zone. It is app-controlled and puts out 150 wpc into 8 Ohms at a claimed 0.006% THD+N.
It is decidedly affordable at $1,499 each stereo amp. I could think of a lot of uses for this sweet little amp.
Klipsch
This was a highly anticipated debut at AXPONA 2025. Klipsch has completely revamped two of its “heritage” speakers – Klipschorn and La Scala. When I say they revamped these, I mean they left no stone unturned. They updated the horns for improved dispersion; added tweeter phase plugs for greater clarity; developed a new compression driver for the midrange for increased output; added patented vented/horn loading for the massive 12” woofer; and, finally, developed an active crossover. Oh, and they upgraded the cabinet finishes just because they could. Whew, that’s a lot of stuff.
A little background on me – I grew up in the city where Bjorn’s is. They are one of the major Klipsch dealers in the USA. Furthermore, my dad had a pair of Electro Voice Cardinal IV speakers that I listened to as a kid and a teenager. I have been a horn-head ever since. I love the low distortion and punchy dynamics you get with horn speakers. Horns also pave the way for a more rational amplifier choice than some ungodly behemoth.Anyway, what I am saying is that the La Scala demo left me suitably impressed. The sound was way beyond the vintage models, and that is saying a lot because they were not slouches. I especially heard much improved bass extension over the classic versions. It was something special for sure. It was satisfyingly loud, if not louder than most demos I heard that day. I looked over at the meters on the amps during a loud passage: 0.2-Watt peaks. You could drive these speakers with a cell phone, but don’t. They really deserve mating with the best amplification you can muster. I really, really like what they are doing down there in Arkansas.
GTT Audio & Video
This system comprised the following: Ethernet and WiFi from Dejitterit; Roon Core and Streamer, Grimm MU1 ($12,500) with built-in Mola Mola DAC ($8,500); Mola Mola Maku preamp ($12,200); Mola Mola Stereo amps (bi-amped) ($9,850 ea.); VIVID Audio Giya G3s2 ($47,800/pr.); Kubala Sosna Xpander Power Distribution ($5,400); all cabling was from Kubala Sosna. Now that I typed that out, I guess this is pretty pricey after all 🙂
They played some Linda Ronstadt when we were listening. The room sounded huge and holographic at once. The audio filled every corner, but the placement of the various instruments was very precise, and there was no hole in the middle despite the speakers being pretty far separated for the main listening position.Technics
Technics had two interesting and promising new products for the home.
The other new product launch was the Wireless Speaker System – SC-CX700 ($2,999.99). As the name suggests, these are active speakers with built-in streaming. I like that they have a small form factor for real-world spaces. Each channel is bi-amped (60W to the 6” woofer and 40W to the ¾” concentric tweeter). Compatible streaming services are many – Spotify Connect, Deezer, Amazon Music HD, TIDAL, TIDAL Connect, Qobuz, Internet Radio, Roon Ready (OTA). There are also physical phono and digital inputs.
We listened to them for a few songs. These rooms aren’t usually the best, so it can be difficult to make any sort of judgment at a show like this. The only solution, I think, is that we need to get some of these components in the hands of our reviewers.Wynn Audio
In the large Wynn Audio room, we got a chance to listen to some really incredible products from around the world. I like to think of this as an “international” system:
Acora Acoustics
I hate to admit that I have always thought that these VRC Reference loudspeakers were unnecessarily gimmicky. I mean, the enclosures are granit,e and the ones at the show are translucent. That has to be a gimmick, right?
Well, not so fast. I was able to relax and enjoy them this year, and I was literally floored by what I heard. These 3-way 5-driver speakers have claimed bass response to 18 Hz, and I think that may be a fair claim based on what I heard on Day 2.
They were being driven by these beautiful-looking and equally beautiful-sounding VAC power amps. This system blew my socks off.
GoldenEar
This room also featured the all-new McIntosh MSA5500 2-Channel streaming integrated amplifier. The amp streams all the major services and includes a phono input. It manages 100 WPC output into 8-ohms.
As far as the McIntosh amp is concerned, we are working to get a unit in the hands of one of our reviewers for a complete evaluation.YG Acoustics/Soulnote
My advice is to take every chance you get to listen to a $498,000 pair of speakers. In this case, the speakers in question are the YG XV3 Signature 4 Towers. For those not familiar with the layout of the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center, the area where this system was set up is in a mezzanine on the second floor of the hotel, which is open to the lobby. I assume the people running the show want to maximize all the spaces but the fact is, speakers like these deserve to be in a room with a door. I mean, look at that poor guy cupping his ears trying to hear better. Maybe they should put some closed-back headphone demos in this area next year.
The rest of the system was Bergman Modi Turntable with Thor Tonearm ($14,990), Hana Umami Cartridge ($3,950), AirTight ATE-3011 phono preamp ($34,975), AirTight ATH-2 step-up transformer ($6,975), Soulnote P3 Preamp ($22,900), Soulnote M3 Monoblocks ($21,900), and Soulnote 3 MX Monoblocks ($24,389).REVOX
Here is the new REVOX B 77 MK III reel-to-reel deck. Ryan O’Connor, President – North America within the REVOX Group, was there to describe the new deck. We listened to Alice Cooper over headphones from the built-in amp. A friend of mine has ordered one of these R@R decks, and I plan to hopefully review his for Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity if all works out OK.
Here are some details on the new deck (taken from their press release and in the words of REVOX)
· Superior Sound Quality: The new REVOX control and audio electronics are newly designed from the ground up. The audio electronics are fully balanced based on mastering quality, with no electrolytic capacitors in the audio path.
· NAB and IEC eq: Front panel switching.
· 320/514 nWb/m flux density switch.
· 0 dBm/+6 dBm; switch for consumer/pro level interface
· Neutrik XLR termination.
· Class A headphone amp.
· Price: $15,950
Manley Labs
EveAnna Manley of Manley Laboratories was at the show to promote her newest product. This preamplifier is a labor of love for her, and it shows in every aspect of its design and unique control/switching scheme.
I am sure you would get the hang of this method of front-panel over time, but why bother when you can control all the functions from a phone, tablet, laptop, etc? This was a “beta” unit that was not available for audition. However, like all things Manley, I am confident it will be a piece worthy of consideration when it comes to market.Ear Gear Area
I spent a fair amount of time checking out headphones and IEMs in the Ear Gear area on the first floor. Many manufacturers had headphone displays in their rooms as well, but I focused my headphone listening on the room set aside for that purpose. There were so many great choices, but I wanted to list out the ones I enjoyed the most –
My favorite wireless IEMs were the new Technics EAH-AZ100 ($299.99). These babies have Dolby Atmos, excellent noise cancelling, and scintillating bass response.
Another standout for me was the Sennheiser HD 550 headphones ($299). These were an excellent value for the price.
For wired IEMs, I think you can’t go wrong with any of the offerings from Campfire Audio.
My all-around favorite headphones were without a doubt the Meze Audio Empyrean II headphones ($2,999). I felt like these had the most balanced and musical sound I heard in the Ear Gear area of the show.Cambridge Audio
It has 14 (yes, fourteen) 50W amps inside. It has 4 ~ 1” soft dome tweeters, 4 ~ 2.25” aluminum cone midrange drivers, and 6 ~ 2.75” long-throw woofers. Let’s see that come to ten fingers and four toes. Good thing I have all my appendages. It has claimed bass extension to 32 Hz (-10 dB).
This could serve as the entertainment hub in a decent-sized living room. It really sounded incredible, which supports my theory that loudspeakers of today are literally light years ahead of vintage speakers of old.