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Carlo Lo Raso
Hey Secrets readers, we are here in Schaumberg Illinois, just outside Chicago, covering the AXPONA show. Now officially the largest HiFi show in North America it is being held once again at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center. The show is boasting over 200 listening rooms full of the latest and greatest audio gear along with seminars, concerts, and vendors to be explored over 3 days. Editor-In-Chief Carlo Lo Raso, Co-Editor Jim Clements, and reviewer Stephen Scharf will be roaming the floors and halls, and getting the low-down on best stuff at the show.
They will be posting coverage on the Secrets Facebook and Instagram channels while at the show, and then posting more complete coverage on the Secrets website later on. So please keep an eye out for new posts as they come in and we hope you enjoy our AXPONA coverage.
Note, all prices unless otherwise stated are in US Dollars.
Carlo Lo Raso
Estelon/Vitus Audio
The Estelons were anchored by a complete set of Vitus Audio power and control electronics from their Masterpiece series. A pair of ginormous Vitus MP-S201 Mk l stereo power amps ($115K each) were used to vertically bi-mp the speakers. An MP-L201 MkII stereo preamp ($70K), MP-D201 Mk II DAC ($40K), and SP-103 Mk II phono stage ($45K) rounded out the team. All handmade in Denmark, the Vitus electronics seem incredibly overbuilt and each was finished to an impeccable standard. And with 500 watts/channel into 8 Ohms (times 4) there was no shortage of power on tap. An Innuos Statement music server, an Acoustic Signature Ascona NEO Turntable, and two Stromtank battery power sources and conditioners filled out the component list. All cabling was from Crystal Cable. 
The overall sound had both great depth and width to the presentation along with gobs of detail to boot. The live Diana Krall track that was sampled had a seemingly crystal clear rendering of her voice along with a deep, spotless sounding piano. A really cool experience! 
McIntosh
Nothing like walking into the lobby and being greeted by a big stack of Mac!
DALI
DALI loudspeakers had a very stylish sitting area kitted out with their flagship KORE loudspeakers. When I first took these pictures it seemed like it was only a static display but when I swung back on Sunday they had these puppies playing and it all came rushing back to me how truly badass these speakers are! I could have listened for hours.
Innous
Network streaming powerhouse Innuos was launching their brand new streamer, the Pulsar, here at AXPONA. The Pulsar is a full-featured new music streamer with a specialized USB reclocking output that the company claims, provides the cleanest, most transparent, and musical connection to your downstream DAC. The Pulsar mates with recently updated Innuos Sense app that is a powerful, intuitive music library and robust playback tool. The whole package is encased in an anodized, high grade aluminum case and is designed to work with Qobuz, Tidal, Internet Radio, and other streaming services. The Pulsar does not have any built-in internal storage and will be priced at $6,899. It was demoed at the show hooked into an MSB “The Premiere” DAC via the reclocking USB connection. This was routed to a Vinnie Rossi BRAMA integrated amp which powered a set of Magico A5 loudspeakers. Needless to say this whole ensemble sounded quite amazing!
MICHI
Ricky Miranda from FineSounds USA walks us through the new, just announced, updates to Rotel’s MICHi Series 2 line of products here at AXPONA.
Bayz Audio
The Bayz Audio Counterpoint 2.0 loudspeakers ($130K/pair) along with electronics from Esoteric, VAC, and Taiko Audio. The speaker uses a unusual electrostatic tweeter membrane situated between two vertically opposed woofers that fire into this huge carbon fiber tube. The stereo image was impressive and there were no gaps in the response. Detailed, yet very big sounding without a noticeable sweet spot. It sounded great all around the room!
AXISS Audio
American Audio and Video
Dutch & Dutch
“Look Who I Ran Into at AXPONA I”
In the first installment of the “Look who I ran into at AXPONA” series, it’s Brian Stout of @woodys_soundup ! Always a fun time catching up with him!
Fidelity Imports I
Since audio shows have been coming back on the calendar, Fidelity Imports has been steadily coming on strong, hosting several rooms with a diverse and intriguing series audio manufacturers. French loudspeaker manufacturer Diptyque brought their big guns to AXPONA in the form of the Diptyque Audio Reference Planar Magnetic loudspeakers ($49999/pair). Very much in the same vein as widely loved Magnepans but those wily French have added a new twist to the recipe, and thats BASS. I don’t mean just the hint or suggestion of bass, or bass coming from some combination of dynamic drivers. No, I mean an almost obscene quantity of bass coming from the panel itself. We’re talking “Hide-the women-and-children” levels of low end. I had heard the smaller Diptyque 107 speakers ($8000/pair) at two previous shows and came away impressed at their bass performance but that did not prepare me for the Reference speakers.
Apparently through the creative use of powerful bipolar magnets, the dynamics and output of the panels has been suitably juiced to pump out those lower frequencies. And boy do they ever! The reps played several pop and classical cuts that had me doing multiple double-takes when the bass drums and acoustic bass lines were in fact shaking the room. Imaging and detail was as you would expect from a very fine planar loudspeaker. In total fairness, the speakers probably would have sounded even better in a larger space but these panels have to rank as one of the best surprises I found at the show. Fidelity Imports founder Steve Jain mentioned that Diptyque also makes a smaller sized panel, between these ones and the model 107 which might be the sweet spot in both price and size for many planar speaker fans out there. Other equipment used with the speakers consisted of the Audia Flight Strumento No.1 preamp ($19,999), two Strumento No.8 monoblocks ($29,999/each), the Aurender A20 streamer ($15,000), and a Michell Audio Orb SE turntable with TechnoArm2 ($8498). The rack was a Neo Audio Rack ($3999 – $5999 depending on shelf number and finish).
Quintessence Audio
Quintessence Audio had one heck of a showcase room at the show. Starting with a pair of the Sonus faber Aida Mk II loudspeakers, they were controlled and powered by what look like the craziest of Boulder electronics that I have ever seen. The 3010 preamp, the 2108 phono preamp, and the 3060 power amp. The digital source components were all courtesy of the DCS Vivaldi series including the new Apex streaming DAC. But the coup de grace had to be the Clearaudio Statement turntable with Goldfinger Statement MC cartridge. It has to qualify as the most extravagant, maddest looking turntable I have ever seen. Suffice it to say that the gear in this room was worth a cool million dollars, all told. Now I’ve heard the Sonus faber Aidas on a few occasions and I love the sound of them each time, including now. But when you get to this level of equipment, sometimes the spectacle is almost as important as the sound.
Sonus faber
And while on the subject of Sonus faber I ran into the always smiling Will Kline, Global Training Manager for Sonus faber. Will was all too happy to accept 2 Secrets Best Of awards for the Lumina II bookshelf and the Omnia All-In-One speaker and a Thumbs Up award for the Sonus faber Gravis III Subwoofer. I have to say that Will does wear those trophies well! Congratulations Sonus faber!
DALI II
Just a little more love for the folks at DALI. First, because the KORE loudspeakers are legitimately cool enough to deserve multiple mentions. Second, it gave me a chance to present a Secrets Thumbs Up award for the DALI Oberon 9 Floor-standing loudspeakers to Jason Zidle of Lenbrook and Thomas Knudsen from DALI, two outstanding gents in their own right! Congratulations DALI!
FOCAL-NAIM
FOCAL-NAIM, as always, brought their “A-game” to the show unleashing a significant display of of what they both retail and distribute in the North American market. Front and center was the new Theva line of loudspeakers set up in a 7.2.4 Dolby ATMOS installation powered by a FOCAL Astral 16 processor/amplifier which sounded very impressive. There were also examples of the Maestro Utopias, the Vestias, the Kantas, all three lines of custom install speakers, the Littora outdoor speakers and subs, and the complete headphone line. And thats just FOCAL!
“Look Who I Ran Into at AXPONA II”
In my next installment of “Look who I ran into at AXPONA” it was the inimitable Sandy Gross! I haven’t seen Sandy since his retirement from the audio scene a few years ago but it was fantastic to run into him at the show and bend his ear for a few minutes. And while retirement may be suiting Sandy well, it looked like he was very happy to be amongst “his people” again. After talking with him I could see that he definitely still had that twinkle in his eye. It’s the look of a man who somewhere, somehow is up to something. Very “on brand” for Sandy.
Fidelity Imports II
In another of the Fidelity Imports rooms, Bartolomeo Nasta from Unison Research and Opera loudspeakers was demonstrating the Opera Callas Diva loudspeakers ($11999/pair) teamed with the gorgeous, brand new Unison Research Simply 845 integrated amp ($9999) that was being unveiled at AXPONA. The sources were a Unison Research CD Uno disc player ($2999) and a Innuos ZENmini streamer. The rack was by NEO Hifi.
Italian loudspeakers just have a “thing” about the way they sound. Nothing like a comparable German or French speaker. They have a richness to their tuning that I like to say flatters the music. People may argue if it’s totally accurate, but it’s definitely addictive! The Callas Diva had this quality in spades and, teamed with the Simply 845 integrated amp, made for a truly sublime listening experience.
Fidelity Imports III
In another Fidelity Imports room, Alex Munro from Armour Home, parent company of Q Acoustics, was looking justifiably proud. And well he should as the company was premiering their decidedly more affordable 5000 series at AXPONA. And while the price points on these new speakers make them very approachable, you wouldn’t know it by the way they look and sound. These suckers swing for the fences with a well balanced, room-filling sound that is suitable for long listening sessions and should elicit wide smiles from the most finicky of listener. These could very well be one of the best speaker values of the year. The 5040 towers ($1499/pair) were being demoed with a Soul Note A-1 integrated amp ($3999) and the Soul Note D-1 DAC ($6999).
Fidelity Imports IV
Fidelity Imports also distributes Perlisten which occupied two rooms at the show. Both these rooms had speaker systems whose bona fides I can personally attest to, having had both in my own listening space. The R5m ($5990/pair) with dual R210s subwoofer ($3995/each) configuration is a decidedly potent one, and Perlisten’s Dan Roemer, Erik Wiederholtz, and Lars Johnansen got them tuned seamlessly for the demo room. They were running the monitors in their sealed mode and full range, low passing in the subwoofers to fill out the bottom end. “Precision imaging with concussive levels of bass” were scribbled in my notes. Amen to that. The electronics were courtesy of Fidelity’s newest brand, Goldnote. The IS-1000 Mk II Deluxe integrated amp ($6299) along with a PA-1175 stereo amplifier ($8199), and a Goldnote Mediterraneo Turntable ($9599).
Then there was the room with my beloved Perlisten S7t tower speakers ($19990/pair). These are on my “handful of speakers I would kill for” list. But these particular models were wearing a fancy new suit, namely, a walnut one in a handsome satin finish. There is little I can say about these speakers that I haven’t already said. Probably one of the most advanced passive loudspeakers available. Sonically, they do it all and do it exceeding well. The only way (in my mind) they could be made better is if they were made active. “Cough, hello Dan? Cough… Cough!”
They were mated with the lovely Audia Flight FLS10 integrated amp ($14999/with DAC board), a Michell Audio Gyro SE w/TechnoArm2 ($5498), and an Innuos Statement streamer. They were making beautiful music. What more can I say?
Geshelli Labs
Geshelli Labs. You will not find more genuine folks in audio than this family operation from Florida. Their unique brand of high tech, homespun audio gear is winning favor with fans all over the country and I, for one, enjoy seeing the success their hard work has earned. Talking to owners Geno and Sherri Bisceglia, I discovered that the Zoofa integrated amp they unveiled at Capital Audio Fest last year will shortly be in full production now that the new production line is in place. They are catching up on backorders of DACs and amps especially with the availability of AKM DAC chips and recently announced Sparkos opamps.
A Zoofa was running in one of their rooms with MoFi SourcePoint 10 speakers and it was an awesome sounding pairing, a notable step up from the Klipsch speakers they’ve had in the past. Geshelli had examples of the Archel 3 PRO headphone amp with the Sparkos Opamps along with their regular J2 DACs and Archel 2.5XL and E2 amps, many sporting the snazzy wood casework that Geno’s father Joe cooks up. I had a great time listening to various combinations of headphones they had on hand with their gear. Sonically, their gear will easily bring the best out of any headphones you pair with them, and not make you poor in the process. Looking forward to seeing what the future brings for this little band of audio nomads.
PSB
The one and only Paul Barton with one of his latest innovations, the PSB Synchrony T800 loudspeaker. A phenomenal sounding speaker from a true audio pioneer.
YG Acoustics
YG Acoustics is a well known and admired audiophile brand that has gone through some significant changes over the last few years. At this year’s AXPONA show, YG is featuring a new, more approachable speaker line called the Peaks series. Peaks consists of two stand-mount models, three tower models and a subwoofer. YG brought a pair of the smallest towers called the Talus and a single subwoofer called the Descent. Talus is a streamlined looking 2-way sealed design combining the significant aluminum construction YG is known for with a dense 1-inch thick curved resin cabinet and handsome wood veneer.
The tweeter is ensconced in a large waveguide mated to a 7” aluminum midrange driver. The Descent subwoofer uses an 11” aluminum driver with a 3” voice coil mated to a 1000 watt amplifier with extensive DSP resources. Duncan Taylor, YG’s marketing director was telling me that of all the Peaks series speakers, the Talus ($14200/pair) was particularly suited to acoustically mate with the Descent sub ($7800 each) for a serious 2.1 or 2.2 channel audiophile music setup. The Talus/Descent combination played big, throwing a huge image that was very appealing. The midrange sounded very articulate and clean, rendering vocals with almost complete transparency. The electronics were the brand new Bel Canto Black DAC system ($40K) and Black EX Dual Mono Amp($10.5K). Overall the entire package was a very appealing combination of looks and sound that should find favor with a lot of traditional and new YG customers.
AVM Audio
Udo Besser is the main man behind well regarded German brand AVM. In fairness I had honestly just stumbled onto some material about Udo’s company last year, but found his products and frankly his way of doing things compelling enough that we pestered his US distributor for an AVM product to review. They sent us an A5.2 Evolution integrated and we found both it’s design and performance so good that we awarded it our 2022 best integrated amplifier. It was a pleasure to meet him in person and present him with the award. Udo had a number of new products at the show but of particular note were the CB 2.3 2-way bookshelf loudspeakers ($3275/pair) and the R5.3 MK2 belt drive turntable ($12995) in what is called the “Cellini” (chromed) finish. All AVM components are built and finished to exceedingly high standards and that Cellini finish is one of the sharpest looks I’ve seen on an audio product. German heirloom quality products of the highest order. Enough said.
Cinetec “All Canadian Room.”
Sorry, I had to say it!
Saturday Audio Exchange/Anthem-Paradigm
And whilst on the subject of “Hosers,” dealer Saturday Audio Exchange was hosting Paradigm and Anthem in it’s room. Playing some seriously good music was the Paradigm Founder 40B bookshelf speakers ($2399/pair), powered by an Anthem STR integrated amp ($4999), and augmented by one of the new Paradigm Defiance 11 subwoofers ($3999/each). Cables were supplied by Tributaries. I really like the Defiance sub’s trick touch sensitive Control interface. And using Anthem’s ARC Genesis room correction system to dial in the interfacing between sub and speakers made for a seamless blend between the two. And that Defiance subwoofer showed repeatedly that it was able to hit deep and hit hard.
While there I was also able to present Chris Sipes and Jeff Lodwig from Paradigm/Anthem the Secrets 2022 Product of the Year award that the company earned for the Founder 120H loudspeaker. Congratulations Paradigm!
Audio Excellent
Distributor Audio Excellent had a room that was featuring the, dare I say, “excellent” pairing of French Hifi brands Atoll Electronique and Atohm loudspeakers. As I’ve personally experienced in my own home when I reviewed the Atohm GT2 HD loudspeakers, it is delightful sounding synergy. I have a review of the Atoll IN300 integrated amplifier coming soon to further attest to this fact. During my visit, owner Emilios Mandalios had an Atoll SDA300 SIG integrated amp/streamer ($5500) running a pair of the big Atohm GT3 HD loudspeakers ($12995/pair). The combination had a big, appealing and cohesive sound with an exceptional level of bass impact and midrange appeal. Highs were clean without any hint of abrasiveness. Another very fine sounding room!
Aurender
Aurender had basically laid out a huge footprint at AXPONA, supporting at least 20 rooms with their digital gear. For it’s part, Aurender was premiering their newest component, the AP20, essentially an integrated amp with streaming and DAC capabilities. It’s amplifier section is rated to put out 200 watts into 8-ohms and 350 watts into 4-ohms. Price is still yet be determined but availability is expected to be in Q3 of this year. One thing I can say is that the AP20 sounded positively dynamite as paired with the Wilson SabrinaX loudspeakers ($19K/pair). The company also had what appeared to be topless display units of most of their current models laid out for show goers to inspect. Perfect for those of us who like to know if the awesomeness on the outside of the gear we admire, extends to the inside too!
Linn
I just want to say that as man of Italian heritage who married a fine lady of Scottish ancestry, I fully endorse this multicultural union between Linn and Sonus faber! This Linn Klimax system powering the new Sonus faber Amati loudspeakers was an instantaneously enjoyable listen. A glass of Barolo with your haggis, perhaps?
Yamaha
Yamaha had a room full of new everything at the show. And while Jim Clements will go into more detail of the new Yamaha 5000 series component later on, a couple of other thongs caught my eye. First was the new YH-5000SE flagship headphones ($4999.95) that I got to listen to back at CanJAM NYC. These headphones look, feel, and sound on a whole other level entirely. But the real surprise was the HA-7A desktop USB DAC and headphone amp (price TBD) which looked equally otherworldly. Supporting both balanced and single-ended headphones, the HA-7A also includes 7 available sound-field modes that can be completely turned off if you’re a purist. Not much additional info was available on this but imagine if a nuclear reactor, a portable transistor radio, and Darth Vader had a baby and you wouldn’t be far off!
Yamaha also had a new 3-way, 4 driver tower speaker called the NS-2000A ($3999.95/each). Said to use several technologies from the 5000 series speakers including a material called Zylon for the drivers, and Yamaha’s patented Resonance Suppression Chamber in the internal construction. And finally, the decidedly retro inspired R-N2000A Network Receiver ($3,999.95) with 90 watts per channel into 8-ohms and 145 watts into 4-ohms. It’s fully stocked with an ESS 9026PRO DAC, USB, Ethernet, and HDMI ARC input along with a MM phono stage and with both Pre-out and Subwoofer outputs.
Linkwitz
The Linkwitz LX521.4MG loudspeakers. I’ve both seen and heard these speakers evolve over the years since the late Siegfried Linkwitz first brought them in rough form to RMAF built up from a flatpack kit. Fast forward to now and all I can say is they sound like nothing else. They are in their most perfected form and I want to review them! That is all.
MartinLogan
Popped into the MartinLogan room to get a listen to the new Motion XT loudspeakers. The big Motion XT F200 were in the rotation when I sat down in the room. Oh. My. Word. I remember being at a launch event for the previous Motion series and getting a good listen to the line. I came away impressed with what ML had achieved then. This new Motion series is straight up a whole order of magnitude better. The improvements in transparency, imaging, and bass impact are not a subtle thing. You can be certain we will be reviewing these. Bravo MartinLogan! Bravo!
JansZen Audio
I keep forgetting that JansZen Audio is practically in my backyard, about a half hour away from me in Columbus, Ohio. And while I’m aware of some of their other, smaller speaker designs, at AXPONA, they brought a big set of hybrid panels called the Nine.Five ($20K/pair). These speakers are the company’s take on the original KLH Nines from the 1950s. On this iteration, we have a large electrostatic panel that crosses over to an array of six 8” ceramic woofers at about 200 Hz. The sound was big and transparent and the substantial bass capacity was seamlessly integrated. With a sensitivity of only 82dB and a nominal impedance of 5 ohms, these panels will need some power to get the best from them, and at the show, it was dutifully provided by a pair of GanFet monoblock amps courtesy of AGD productions and an exaSound e62 DAC as a front end.
AGD Productions
And speaking of AGD Productions they had a room full of their GanFet-Class D-masquerading-as-tubes amplifiers and sounding glorious in the process. The AGD gear was powering a pair of Ocean Way Audio Eureka monitors. It certainly some of the coolest looking gear around and I don’t think I’ve heard “The Girl from Ipanema” sound any better than here.
AV Luxury Group
I can always count on a great-sounding room when Margules equipment is in play and sure enough, AV Luxury Group had two rooms full of their beautiful sounding tube gear mated to Raidho and Scansonic speakers. I settled into the room with the Scansonic speakers and spoke with Julian Margules about what was new for the show. That being the new ARCH 4 hybrid Integrated amp. The ARCH 4 hybrid has a tube line stage with a 100-watt per channel solid state amp stage. It also has a very mesmerizing magenta/copper-colored window to view the tubes through. Priced at $4300, it’s targeted as a gateway for younger audiophiles to enter the brand’s portfolio and experience its sound. Which, at the moment, was sounding smooth and very appealing in that room.
Benchmark Media Systems
The afternoon before the start of the show I ran into John Siau of Benchmark Media Systems. He says to me quietly, “Make sure you stop in our room, we have a surprise!” With curiosity suitably piqued, Co-Editor Jim Clements and I paid a visit on the Saturday to be greeted by two 87” tall white sticks in the middle of the room. These skinny posts that for all the world could pass as antennas were in fact a pair of line array speakers by a company called Laufer Teknik. Called The Note, each speaker is an array of 50 tiny full-range drivers. The arrays are crossed over to a pair of SVS subwoofers. The whole shebang was controlled by a DEQX preamp/processor. Next in the signal path was a pair of Benchmark DAC3 B DACs and a pair of AHB2 amplifiers running in mono. An Elephant memory player rounded out the gear. The intent of this setup is to create a 360-degree sense of sound with an image that didn’t change at any point in the room. Jim and I tested this out by walking the room and even standing between them. The results were pretty astonishing. A stable, enveloping stereo image that was devoid of any distortion whatsoever. The price of the Note is $32k for a pair.
Vinnie Rossi
In the category of “It doesn’t get much better than this” I submit for your consideration, the Vinnie Rossi Brahma integrated amp, the Innuos Statement Music server, the MSB Premier DAC, and the Rockport Technologies Atria II loudspeakers. Expensive? Yes. But for a much smaller footprint than some of the other mega systems at the show, this one more than held its own sound-wise. A very “less is more” sort of vibe happening here.
Plinius
In the Analog Matters room, New Zealand’s Plinius Audio was holding court with their pair of RA 150 Class A power amps ($15K each), RM 10a preamplifier ($19250), and a Koru phono preamp ($4620). They were joined by the sweet-sounding Alta Audio Adam Speakers in Beech finish ($18K), and an impressive Acoustic Signature Typhoon turntable ($18K) with a TA 5000 tonearm ($7895). The Esoteric Audio K-01XD CD/DAC rounded out the ensemble here.
Plinius was also introducing their new Inspire 100 all-in-one digital player and amp (Price TBD). A beautiful compact unit with traditional Plinius build quality and aesthetic. With 100 watts into 8-ohms (150 watts into 4-ohms), Roon Ready, along with Tidal Connect, HDMI ARC input along with a dedicated subwoofer output, it’s a compelling piece of kit!
SVS
SVS was suitably blowing showgoers down the hall and into next week with their 5.2.2 channel Prime Pinnacle home theater demo. A Rammstein concert was being played at the requisite SPLs to make you feel like you were actually in the audience.
The sounds pouring out of this eminently affordable setup were, clean and undistorted, even though the Rammstein guys looked filthy dirty on the HDTV screen! The next room had a setup of SVS’s Prime Wireless Pro Soundbase ($799) running Ultra Bookshelf speakers and a standalone set of their Prime Wireless Pro powered speakers ($899.99). An SB1000 Pro sub ($599.99) could be used with either speaker set to demo what that would do to the sonic results. Either setup sounded great and had its advantages for a given situation.
Mo-Fi Electronics
Lenny Mayeux from Mo-Fi and circuit designer extraordinaire, Peter Madnick we’re both excited to show me something. Knowing Peter’s background it could be just about any analog or digital component. No sooner do the three of us get to the Mo-Fi rooms than Lenny left us waiting in the hallway while he entered a packed demo room. A couple of minutes later, Lenny comes out with a huge grin on his face carrying what at first blush looks like a fine piece of studio or lab equipment with a plexiglass top. Peter begins to explain that this is the new Mo-Fi Electronics MasterPhono Phono preamp that he has designed. The target shipping date is in June and for the price of $4995. It is a very cool-looking design with a complete separation of the power, control, and, EQ sections. It has provisions to connect up to three turntables with a special input designed for Transimpedance cartridges. The front panel meters are also trick in that they can be used, with the aid of a test record, to help dial in channel balance on a cartridge.
This looks like a killer of a phono pre and we can’t wait to get our hands on one to test!
More Mo-Fi
This room was constantly mobbed with people. By the time I was able to make it in, I spied the new SourcePoint 8 hooked up to a HiFiRose streaming amplifier, but in an empty part of the suite. In the other part was the set of SourcePoint 10s with a full crowd and the ever-jovial Andrew Jones conducting the demo. It seems I had just missed the demo of the smaller speakers and due to time, I wouldn’t be able to stay long enough to hear them. I did hang around enough to hear a little of Andrew’s pitch and listen to a few tracks on the 10s and just say Hi. I use the word “Pitch” loosely as Andrew is a heck of a storyteller and I always end up picking up or learning something whenever I get to listen to him. This is the fourth time I’ve covered these speakers at a show and there really isn’t much more to say except, they sound awesome. Still!
If I had to describe the sound, I’d say Andrew has been able to distill some of the best sonic qualities of what he was working on at TAD and imbue that into these speakers so that more people can enjoy that type of presentation. For their part, the SourcePoint 8 look like Andrew pulled a “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” routine on a pair of 10s. And I’m sure they sound every bit as good. Maybe they don’t go quite as loud or as deep but I bet they will otherwise sound much the same.
Monitor Audio
I don’t get to experience Monitor Audio’s speakers very often. Secrets reviewer Taps Das is our resident Monitor Audio fanboy, and after listening to the Platinum 200 3G ($13900/pair) I could understand why. They are simply outstanding from top to bottom. Saturday Audio Exchange sponsored this room and they had a Roksan Attessa streaming amp ($3400, and which funny enough, Taps is in the middle of reviewing) switching between the 200 3G and a pair of 100 3G standmounts ($6900/pair). An Attessa turntable and an Audiquest Niagara 1200 power conditioner rounded out the gear list.
Vanatoo
Gary Gesellchen was premiering an updated version of his original Transparent One Encore active speaker here at AXPONA. Called the Vanatoo Transparent One Encore Plus ($649.99). They are still diminutive, still active, and they still punch well above their weight sonically. Vanatoo always has creatively managed to pull serious bass out of small boxes and the new Plus is no different. Gary also mentioned that modifications like a new tweeter waveguide and a slightly toned-down midrange all help to balance out the sound a bit more. They certainly sounded impressive with the selection of Dire Straits cuts that were in rotation. Vanatoo has always made killer little speakers with an eye for high performance and value. Glad to see that they are still at it!
Notable Audio
I said in my coverage of the Florida show that I have never heard a bad Joseph Audio room, and luckily for Jeff Joseph, I still haven’t! Distributor Notable Audio loaded a large conference room with a pair of gorgeous Joseph Audio Pearl Graphene loudspeakers ($44K/pair), an eye-popping J.Sikora Reference Turntable ($47K), control and amplification by Doshi Audio Evolution pre ($20K) and mono power amps ($44K) an Alpha DAC Reference ($28K) by Berkley Audio Design, an Aurender N30SA music server, and cables by Cardas. Steely Dan’s “Cousin Dupree” streamed from the Aurender, has never sounded better. Clarity, definition, and soundstage were outstanding and the bass lines were borderline subterranean. I could have stayed seated there for days.
Mytek
In the Mytek room, the big news was the availability of the new Brooklyn Bridge II streamer, preamp, and general “Swiss army knife” of an audio component. Mikal Jurewicz pretty much considers the Brooklyn Bridge II a shrunken-down Mytek Empire in a lot of respects. Add the Brooklyn Amp+ and you have a diminutive audio system that can legitimately run with the big boys. Just add speakers.
Bluebird Music
Distributor Bluebird Music had a room full of AVM gear that included the PH 8.3 phono stage, the PA 8.3 preamp, a pair of MA 8.3 monoblock amps, and an MP 6.3 media player. The was also a Weiss DAC501 and a pair of stunning Canton Reference 3K loudspeakers. Cables were courtesy of Kubala-Sosna (I swear I’ve heard that name in a Frank Zappa song somewhere, but I digress). But the thing that caught my initial attention was the big SME Model 60 turntable. This thing looked like a serious device for those who take spinning their black platters of petroleum byproducts very, very seriously! While there are some turntables that look like Rube Goldberg carnival rides, the SME 60 looks purposeful, substantial, instrument-grade. Essentially, a whole other kind of cool.
Duke Ellington’s “Cottontail” spun on this table, and rendered through this system sounded sublime!
VPE Electrodynamics
The gang from VPE Electrodynamics were sharing a room with Cube Audio, Pass Labs, Magna Risers, MiniDSP, Dayton Audio, and SB Acoustics. The VPE guys make their clever Little Dipole Woofer (LDW), a pair of which fit right under a pair of Magnepan LRS+ or 1.7i, and basically make those speakers full-range reproducers. And they work especially well. It looked like the LDW have come a long way since I reviewed the prototypes 2 years ago, now with nicer trim and finish options. They were also showing their Crystal dipole loudspeaker, an open baffle design that uses a 10” Cube Audio full range driver and a 15” down-firing woofer. The woofer is controlled by an integral 500-watt amp with built-in DSP, crossover, and PEQ with no high pass filter needed to the full-range driver. The company also has a new full-range speaker in development called the Airfoil coming out later this year.
AudioShield/Credo/EMM Labs
The AudioShield/Credo/EMM Labs room was the very last room I visited at the show and being the only listener in this room on the Sunday was a fitting capper to a hell of a weekend. I am familiar with Credo of Switzerland’s small speakers but had no idea that they had a line array in their product line. Yet here was the behemoth Cinema LTM line array controlled and powered by superb EMM labs electronics, including their DS-EQ1 optical phono cartridge phono stage and an NS1 streamer. Van den Hul and Meitner Audio had equipment in here as well. And the turntable was the awesome VPI Avenger Direct with 2 tonearms. The guys manning this room let me turn it up a little and those Credo line arrays filled that huge ballroom space like they were barely breathing. Their sheer “lung capacity” was enormous! Christian McBride’s bass playing literally started shaking the room on “It’s Your Thing.” Then Joe Bonamassa’s “The Ghost of Macon Jones” just sounded huge with a massive image. Those big Credo sounded so transparent and devoid of any distortion it was almost breathtaking. Out of curiosity, I asked if they could switch over to the smaller Credo EV1202 Reference towers that looked like toys next to the line arrays. They obliged and I was gobsmacked again at how good these otherwise unremarkable-looking Credo speakers sounded. Smaller for sure, but damn if they didn’t sound like they were cut from the same cloth as those line arrays. Bonus points for Credo and hats off to the electronics for making the speakers sound their best. I must get my hands on a pair of those EV1202 to review!
HARMAN Luxury Audio
HAMAN may not have debuted any brand-new equipment at AXPONA, but they made up for it with sheer brand diversity. Choice pickings from JBL, Mark Levinson, ARCAM, and Revel were present to entice show goers. Personally, it’s always a good day when you run into a pair of Revel Ultima Salon 2 to listen to!
Jim Clements
Reviewers on Reviewing Panel
Synergistic Research
Their set up was in a small suite where they were holding private demos with the door closed. This is a great idea for a show demo.
CAT
AURALiC
T+A
Nordost, Stenheim, VTL
Dutch & Dutch
Nexus
GTT Audio & Video
Phillips Design
Grimm Audio
Legacy Audio
Technics
Technics was showing two new products in collaboration with Alma Music & Audio.
The first new product was the SU-GX70 ($1,999.95), an upgraded Network Audio Player and Integrated amplifier. This is a super-flexible amp that has a multitude of ways to hook it up and play music. You can stream wirelessly or via Ethernet. It can accept all sorts of wired digital connections, including HDMI ARC. It even has a phono stage in there. It is rated at 40 wpc. We listened to Eric Clapton over the HDMI input and the sound was warm and rich. The amplifier will be available this summer.
Yamaha
Luxman
Dynaudio/Octave Audio
Another one of the show’s big rooms featured equipment from Dynaudio and OCTAVE Audio. I listened to two of the three systems they had on display.
The first system was a delightfully simple affair. It was nothing more than a streamer and a pair of Dynaudio Focus 50 active tower speakers ($11,000/pr.) These are three-way four-driver powered speakers. They can accept analog, digital, or wireless inputs (WiFi). You only need to connect one of the speakers to the source, which will send the signal over to the other channel via WiSA (up to 24/96kHz). Each speaker is tri-amped with a total of 670 Watts per channel.
These speakers impressed on Bob Dylan’s “The Man in the Long Winter Coat”. The system really captured the texture of Dylan’s voice unencumbered by any audible, artificial harmonics. I loved how the bass response from this system provided a firm foundation in the large space.
Then I listened to the room’s big system: Dynaudio Confidence 50 speakers ($33,500/pr.), OCTAVE MRE 220 monoblocks ($22,400/pr.), OCTAVE HP 700SE preamplifier with tone controls and phono stage ($18,500), Moon 780D v2 streaming DAC ($18,000), Brinkman Taurus turntable with a tube power supply ($37,560), RMT JSD Novel Gold MC cartridge ($7,995), Torus power transformer, and Cardas Clear Beyond cabling.
We enjoyed Roseanne Cash’s “Western Wall” on this rig. The holographic soundstage was almost impossible to believe in this setup. Massed voices were easy to parse. I also found the bass to be nicely balanced. It was quite the demo!
Oh, and did I mention the OCTAVE tube amps are 200+ Watts per channel?
Saturday Audio Exchange/Goldenear
GoldenEar was at the show with a working prototype of their upcoming new release, the T66 towers ($TBA). These are modest-sized three-way towers with five active drivers and a powered bass/subwoofer system with claimed bass extension down to 29 Hz! (Like all GoldenEar speakers, they are reflex-loaded with massive passive radiators.) According to GoldenEar, the drivers are all new designs. I also loved the high-grade plinths which appear to be a massive upgrade.
The rest of the system included McIntosh MA352 hybrid integrated amp ($7,000), McIntosh MDA200 DAC ($4,000), McIntosh MCD350 CD player ($6,000), LUMIN u2Mini high-resolution streamer ($2,400), Audioquest Niagara 5000 power conditioner ($5,900), and cabling by Audioquest.
We listened to Marcin Patrzalek’s cover of Zeppelin’s “Marcin”. The bass pulses were very satisfying and the timbral accuracy throughout the audio band sounded spot-on to my ears. Next up was Johnny Cash’s “Sound of Silence”. This may have sounded as close to a live voice as I heard at any time throughout the show.
BAACH-SP
BACCH was at the show demoing the BACCH-SP which is their top line “Stereo Purifier for Virtual Reality 3D Imaging”. It’s a high-tech spatial synthesizer that was developed by Professor Edgar Choueiri at Princeton University. This processor is rich with all kinds of features and can serve as a preamp/DAC in your system. With this particular model, you can use the BACCH-BM in-ear binaural microphones to tailor the sound to your head and pinnae. The system also has a camera you set up, center stage, that tracks your head movements and adjusts the processor on the fly.
At first, the effect was pretty cool but the exhibitor kept stopping and starting the music too much for me to get a grasp on what was happening. This improved dramatically when he put on Pink Floyd’s “Grantchester Meadows” and let it play. All the bugs and birds filled the room. It was pretty incredible, to be honest.
Rogue Audio
Rogue Audio launched a new monoblock power amp at AXPONA this year. It’s dubbed the DragoN ($5,995). It is a Hybrid Class-D design that puts out 310 wpc into 8 Ohms and 525 wpc into a 4 Ohm load. The tube preamp was the incredible Rogue RP-7 ($4,995). Other equipment included Magnepan 3.7i speakers ($8,795), an Aurender A-15 music server and DAC ($8,400) with cabling from Darwin.
We started with a 2L classical release that I didn’t recognize but it set the stage for what was next – Fink’s “Trouble’s What You’re In” (Live). This system really did an amazing job of capturing the performance venue. Later on a Sonny Rollins song, the sax was absolutely delectable! Class-D amps have come a long way and this system rocked my world!
ELAC
In the ELAC room, you only find gear by ELAC even the power conditioner! The speakers were the VELA FS407’s ($2,899.98 ea.) which have claimed bass extension to 30 Hz which I believe both from listening to these speakers but also based on my recent experience with the ELAC Concentro S 507 speakers. https://hometheaterhifi.com/…/elac-concentro-s-507…/ Neither set really needs a sub.
The other demo equipment included Varro DS1200-GB subwoofer ($2,999.98/ea.), Alchemy DDP-2 preamp ($2,899.98), Alchemy DPA-2 amplifiers ($1,749.98 ea.), Discovery DS-S101 Roon server ($999.98), and the Protek PR-81B power conditioner ($449.98).
This was an extremely fine-sounding room on this day. We started the demo with the subs off and the sound was definitely full-range. The female vocals were highly transparent. Then we engaged the subs and they played Pete Belasco’s “Deeper” and woah, Nellie, this system slammed! I loved it.
Alta Audio/Infigo Audio
I felt transported to a concert hall when I stumbled into the Infigo Audio room. This system was among the best I heard at AXPONA this year. The song that was playing involved a chorus singing that sounded so real and correctly sized. But it was the wood xylophone that sounded as if it were in the room right in front of me. This system surely stood out to my ears.
Infigo did all electronics and cabling while the speakers were from Alta Audio. Here is the equipment breakdown – Infigo Audio Fluvius streamer ($1,750), Infigio Audio Method 4 DAC ($35,000), Infigo Audio Method 6 stereo power amp ($20,000), and Alta Audio Titanium Hestia II ($40,000).
The Class A power amp impressed me very much. It is rated at 100 wpc and is claimed to be cool running. I was impressed not only by the sound but by the build quality as well. Infigo is on my list of components for an in-depth review.
Antal Audio Group/Electrocompaniet
Antal Audio Group sponsored a room featuring electronics from Electrocompaniet. What stood out here was the rhythm and pace qualities of the system as a whole. There was not even a hint of smearing or timing issues. This was all helped along by the clean transients and the attack on the leading edges of the notes. And, hey, they spun some vinyl in this room! Why the heck not when you have a Soulines Kubrick DCX turntable in the system? It revealed the system’s breadth by laying the music down with the appropriate level of warmth.
The Electrocompaniet equipment in play was AW 800M Nemo 2 800 wpc monoblocks ($45,000); EC 4.8 MKII preamp ($4,900); EMC 1 MKV CD player ($6,800); ECM 1 MKII media player, streamer and DAC ($5,700); and ECP 2 MKII phono pre ($2,900).
Refined Audio/Cube Audio
Local high-end retailer Refined Audio features Cube Audio, First Watt, and Pass Labs in their stable of products. They were demoing a pair of the new Cube Jazzon speakers ($8,490 base; $10,490 as shown). These are 10″ full-range drivers in a TQWT-designed cabinet. The speakers are a very easy load at 10 Ohm nominal impedance and 90 dB/W/m.
We listened to Bill Evans Trio’s “Waltz for Debbie” on vinyl. As one would expect the all-around performance of the system was seamless Also, the bass extension was eyebrow-raising (claimed bass extension to 35 Hz -6dB). These may be the best full-range drivers I have heard of before. They were much more refined than the Zu Audio speakers I have auditioned in the past.
Other equipment in this system included First Watt SIT-4 power amp ($5,000), Pass Labs XP-27 phono preamp ($12,075), Pass Labs XP-32 preamp ($18,375), TW Acoustic Raven GT turntable ($12,500), Audio Creative 12″ Groovemaster III tonearm ($2,500), and Metronome DCS streamer and DAC ($31,000).
Musical Artisans/NAGRA/Stenheim
Musical Artisans is a Chicago-area dealer and distributor of high-end components. They sponsored a room with a system that featured Stenheim speakers, Nagra electronics, and a De Baer analog rig. After a dearth of rooms playing analog, I came upon a skein of rooms that were doing just that, this room included.
We auditioned the system by enjoying “So What” [Live]. What struck me most in this room were the clean cymbals floating out above it all. The midrange came through with a natural timbre, especially on the intoxicating piano. Also, the plucked bass sounded amazingly real. I have to admit that the Nagra equipment has a sort of vintage vibe but the build quality and performance of their components have always impressed me.
The system included the following: Stenheim Alumine Three SE speakers ($43,250), Nagra Classic INT integrated amp ($22,500), Nagra Tube DAC ($29,500), Nagra Classic Phono ($21,500), De Baer Saphir turntable with reference power supply ($62,500), Xquisite GT phono cartridge ($14,500), Lumin U1X network streamer ($9,200) with cables and accessories by Organic Reference.
TAD
It was refreshing to not hear any Stevie Ray Vaughn for most of the show but that changed suddenly when I entered the TAD + Wolf Audio room. It was kind of nice to hear a little SRV at the show, to be honest.
Anyway, TAD speakers are my jam and these did not disappoint. They always surprise me with their overall fidelity and particularly in the bass department considering the modest cabinet sizes.
This simple yet pricey system included the TAD CE1TX-WN speakers ($32,500), TAD stands ($2,500), TAD DA1000TX-S DAC ($15,900), TAD M1000-K/S amplifier ($19,500), Wolf Audio Systems Red Wolf 2SX audio server ($16,500), with cabling by Wireworld.
Next Level HiFi
Next Level HiFi had a total of three rooms at the show. The equipment pictured here was in Rooms 1607 and 1608. The room with the bigger system had a full range that was extremely high-quality in reproduction. I listened to “End of Days” by Rick Miller and enjoyed the excellent depth of stage with recessed vocals and somewhat more forward instrumentation. There was no hole in the middle but I did feel that the side-to-side image would be improved with the speakers more closely spaced. The bass was undoubtedly satisfying.
The big system comprised Borresen X3 speakers and Axxess Forte 1 ($5,000) [World Premier]
Gobel High-End
The Gobel High-End Room may have been the most cost no object setup at the show. It was hard to evaluate at first because there was a constant dialog between the presenter and the guests. After a minute, the talking stopped and I enjoyed Johnny Cash with an acoustic guitar. This big system definitely got the scale right, even on smaller instruments. The designer’s goal was to evoke an emotional reaction from the listener and I must say unequivocally, “mission accomplished”.
The speakers were the Divin Noblesse priced at $250,000/pr. The electronics you see are from Audio Research and Wadax. This was an over-the-top system and I sometimes wish I had a spare million in my back pocket.
Scaena
Scaena had the most musical sound I heard on day one. I wasn’t sure what to make of the entire grouping of components. It would obviously be best suited for a dedicated listening room versus the family room. I think I’ll dig into their tech a little when I get home. Suffice it to say, these were some quirky but great-sounding speakers.
Magico
I had a chance to enjoy some Mark Knopfler on a lovely pair of Magico S3 speakers. I could hear why this is the preeminent speaker brand of this day. It was a lively, musical, and fulfilling listening experience with no obvious deficiencies in the performance.
Other pieces in play were the CAT JL-7 monoblocks, CAT SL-1 preamp, Wadax Atlantis DAC, and Antipodes Olyndra server.
And did you ever want to know what the new Magico S3 has going on inside its aluminum enclosure?
Stephen Scharf
I attended AXPONA for the very first time this year. This is the largest high-end audio I’ve ever attended, as my previously attended favorite show, Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, was not the scale of AXPONA, and, unfortunately, was also canceled during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rather than being a comprehensive report of an exhaustive list of rooms, this will be a summary of my favorite half-dozen or so rooms at AXPONA 2023.
New Mo-Fi SourcePoint 8
Andrew Jones, who joined Mo-Fi about 18 months ago, debuted a smaller version of his well-regarded new co-axial driver full-range loudspeaker, the SourcePoint 10. Coming in a $3000/pair, the SourcePoint 8 uses a smaller, 8” full-range driver rather than the 10” driver in the SourcePoint 10. The speaker drivers are a proprietary paper blend of Andrew’s design and utilizes an innovative new surround structure. The bass driver also functions as the waveguide for the coaxially-mounted tweeter. Using a Hi-Fi Rose digital streamer/integrated amp for content, and with in-room response down to 47 Hz, the SourcePoint 8 retains the natural-yet-neutral and accurate presentation of all of Andrew’s speakers, with superb responsiveness, tonal balance, clarity, and focused imaging. Ideal for smaller rooms, at this price point, the SourcePoint 8s will be sure to be another hit from Andrew Jones.
MonAcoustic
A company I’d not heard of before, MonAcoustic, impressed me with its two-way stand-mount speaker, the PlatiMon Virtual Coaxial One. The larger of the two speakers shown here, the PlatiMon Virtual Coaxial One utilizes two stacked “mid-woofs” and a folded ribbon tweeter. MonAcoustic also makes speaker cables, and the wiring inside the speaker is the same specification as their speaker cables. Jun Hyeog Seo, the founder of MonAcoustic and the chief engineer, characterizes his sonic signature as an emphasis of attack time, sustain time, and release time to create an engaging and lifelike listening experience.
With a neutral, spacious, room-filling, and responsive presentation, these speakers presented scale and dynamics that belied their size. I’d like to get a pair of these in for review.
Blumenhofer, Sforzato, and Takatsuki
Blumehofer Acoustics makes lovely, crafted speakers. The Genuin FS 2 MK2 shown here utilizes a bass reflex construction and a true compression driver horn for the mid and high frequencies. Powered by a beautiful low-watt Takatsuki SET tube amplifier playing content provided by the Sforzato Network Player, this system had it all: speed, power, and dynamics, combined with naturalness, subtlety, and nuance. Really lovely.
Borreson, Aavik, Ansuz
The Borresen/Aavik/Ansuz room was one of the most impressive (and expensive rooms) at the show with the $280,000/pr Børresen M3 loudspeakers powered by Aavik electronics, Ansuz cables, and power distribution. Amplification duties were handled by the Aavik P-880 power amplifier ($70,000) and C-880 preamplifier (also $70,000). This system had an extremely impressive “performance envelope” with outstanding transparency and clarity, and superb dynamic range, power, grip, and control.
Clarisys Audio and Hegel
Clarisys Audio and Hegel made a big impression on many showgoers with two rooms, one powered by Hegel and the other with Constellation amplification. and both rooms with Shunyata cabling, grounding, and power distribution. Both rooms were excellent, though different in character.
The Hegel room, shown here, powered by the P30 A preamplifier and PH30A amplifier using Shunyata Venom-X cabling throughout and a (now-discontinued) Hegel DAC had an energetic, dynamic, presentation with impressive transient response, and true to Danish sensibilities, the tonal and timbral qualities of the Hegel amplification componentry was neutral, tonally accurate and musically-involving. I heard a number of attendees saying this was their favorite room of the show.
Clarisys Audio, Constellation, and Shunyata Research
The other Clarisys room presented itself as an all-out assault on “the high-end” with Constellation Inspiration amplification, a full dCS digital front end, and Shunyata’s top-of-the-line Omega cabling throughout. As an owner of Constellation gear, I’m well familiar with its ability to be exceedingly transparent, resolving, dynamic, and tonally accurate, very yet possessed of an ineffable quality of musicality and ability to draw the listener into the presentation. The speed, responsiveness, and dynamics of the Clarisys Minuets extended the qualities of this amplification foundation and were one of my top-three rooms of the show. This room also had Caelin Gabriel of Shunyata Research providing very informative and well-received talks on the Basics of Grounding, and demonstrating its importance with the new Shunyata Research Altaira grounding hubs.
Lumin and Devore
One of my favorite rooms at AXPONA was Source System’s room with FiData source, Lumin electronics, and De Vore speakers. Source System’s Mark Gurvey put together a wonderful room with the DeVore “O Baby” speakers and using the Lumin P1 “integrated” streamer, DAC, and preamp (which I also happen to own, and, IMHO, is amazing), powered by the impressive Lumin amplifier, aptly named, “Amp”. Source content was provided by the extremely quiet and transparent FiData music server. This system was characterized as being exceedingly musical, involving, and “just right” in the overall balance of the presentation. As an owner of Lumin’s wonderful products, I’ve found adjectives that describe fine musical instruments to be more fitting and accurate than “traditional audiophile terminology”, and this fine system was no exception in that regard. Just wonderful, (and, I would love to review Amp sometime).
Westminster Labs/LampiZator/Von Schweikert
Another room that was a standout for me was the Westminster Labs room. With Von Schweikert speakers, LampiZator Horizon DAC, and the Westminster preamp and monoblock amplifiers, this room had it goin’ on with superb tonality, imaging, responsive, and dynamic drive.
Aside: the Westminster amps and preamp are designed by Angus Leung, who also designed Lumin’s amp, appropriately named “Amp”, and is also in charge of Lumin’s global sales and marketing.