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AXPONA 2022

Aretai 100S loudspeakers with Benchmark DAC3, LA4, and AHB2s

Julie Mullins Apr 25, 2022

Discovering new products from new companies is one of the best parts about audio shows. As much as we enjoy seeing familiar industry faces and brands, it's also great to meet new ones.

Aretai was founded in 2018 by Janis Irbe, the technical designer, and Edgars Zvirgzdiņ, the product designer, who hail from Latvia. At AXPONA Aretai presented the 100S entry model from their inaugural Contra collection of loudspeakers.

AXPONA 2022

Dynaudio, Octave, Brinkmann, and Moon Make Glorious Music

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 25, 2022

It took until Saturday for the Dynaudio crew to find the right position for the Dynaudio Confidence 60 loudspeakers ($50,000/pair), but once they did, the towering and far-from-lightweight Octave Jubilee Mono SE tube amplifiers ($80,000/pair), paired with Octave's Jubilee preamp ($32,000) with stepped-attenuator volume control, ensured that this system would sing with captivating beauty.

AXPONA 2022

MoFi Distribution, HiFi Rose, Piega, Cardas, IsoTek

Julie Mullins Apr 25, 2022

As MoFi Distribution is based in the Chicagoland area, it's no surprise they go all out at their hometown AXPONA. They packed the house with exhibits in four rooms featuring plenty of debuts, so I'll divvy my coverage into a couple of parts.

But first, some big news. Illustrious loudspeaker designer Andrew Jones, known for his work for Pioneer, ELAC, and other companies, has joined with MoFi Distribution. Word is, Andrew will be designing a speaker to round out MoFi's own system lineup.

AXPONA 2022

Paradigm's Founder 120H loudspeaker & Anthem Electronics

Rogier van Bakel Apr 25, 2022

My first surprise of the day came when I squeezed what I thought was Colgate from a red-and-white tube onto my toothbrush. It turned out to be hydrocortisone cream, also from a red-and-white tube.

After that, I ventured out and got my second surprise, this one considerably more pleasant. In one of the third-floor Saturday Audio Exchange rooms, I encountered a new flagship Paradigm loudspeaker, the floorstanding Founder 120H ($8499/pair).

AXPONA 2022

The Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 Loudspeakers

Rogier van Bakel Apr 25, 2022

When you're a critic, you get paid to quibble, so here's mine: Bowers & Wilkins' iconic 801 D4 speaker ($35,000/pair) is pretty enough in gloss black, but gorgeous in satin walnut. In the company's AXPONA room, I encountered only the black version.

AXPONA 2022

More Magico/Luxman

Rogier van Bakel Apr 24, 2022

For two years now, pandemic-related supply-chain issues have racked (but not wrecked) the high-end industry. Things still aren't back to normal, and sometimes planned product launches have to be pushed back. Today, when I visited the room featuring Magico loudpeakers and Luxman electronicssee KM's report hereI found out we'll have to wait just a little longer for the next Magico speaker, but I can't imagine that anyone was disappointed when the company's Peter Mackay brought the M6s ($185,000/pair) to AXPONA. A known quantity they may bethe product was introduced five years agobut I was whistling Eric Clapton's "Hello Old Friend" as soon as I saw them.

AXPONA 2022

Harman/JBL at AXPONA

Rogier van Bakel Apr 24, 2022

The Germans have a great word to describe things that are insipid and inoffensive: salonfähig ("fit for the parlor"). On that note: How many Patricia Barber tracks can a man take? After two days at AXPONA, I craved some kickass rock 'n' roll. Green Day, Rammstein, Rage Against the Machine; the Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin would do in a pinch. And fortunately, that's the scene I found in the JBL room. Unapologetic raucous rock emanated from the new 13"-tall JBL L52 bookshelf speakers ($995/pair), powered by a JBL SA750 Class-G streaming integrated amplifier ($3000).

AXPONA 2022

Harman/Revel & Mark Levinson at AXPONA

Rogier van Bakel Apr 24, 2022

In search of beauty and excitement, I struck a lode on the fifth floor, where a pair of just-introduced, double-ported, full-range Revel 328Be speakers ($17,600) played in tandem with a spiffy Mark Levinson front end: the No 5101 streaming SACD player/DAC ($5500), the 5206 preamp ($9000), and the 5302 power amp (also $9000).

AXPONA 2022

Linear Tube Audio, DeVore Fidelity, Spatial Audio, LampizatOr, HoloAudio/KitsunéHiFi, Cardas, Anticables

Ken Micallef Apr 24, 2022

A consistent player both at shows and in the hi-fi world, Linear Tube Audio's Nicholas Tolson brought smart, sparse rigs to two AXPONA rooms that played great music.

AXPONA 2022

The MartinLogan Rooms at AXPONA

Rogier van Bakel Apr 24, 2022

When a brand that's rightly famous for world-class electrostatic panels wants to design a line of in-wall speakers, things can get pretty daunting. After all, electrostats are dipolessound flows from both the front and back. Installing a dipole in a wall is as useless as hanging a stained-glass window in a dark closet.