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Among the many systems at AXPONA 2025, Magico’s claimed the triple crown: most expensive, most imposing, and most sonically impressive. Entering the hushed, curtained-off, two-story Club Room felt like crossing into sacred space.

I’d heard Lithuania’s Silent Pound speakers paired with New Zealand’s Perreaux amplification at several audio shows in Warsaw. This year at AXPONA, the two companies brought that same transcontinental partnership to Illinois. It was my first encounter with Silent Pound’s flagship Challenger II floorstanders ($32,500–$36,150/pair, depending on finish), and they didn’t disappoint. The system also included Perreaux’s 300ix integrated amplifier ($9995), fronted by an Aurender A15 server/streamer/DAC ($8400). Cabling from Life Audio and Titan Audio, plus a Solid Tech Radius Solo 3 rack, completed the setup.

On the 14th floor of the Schaumburg Renaissance hotel, Kii Audio CEO Chris Reichardt had a question about hifi’s future. “How many 30‑year‑olds say, ‘I need these seven components that will cost 50k?’” Reichardt asked, reasonably. “People are tired of wires.”

February 2025 marked the release of a new recording of my compositions: Fillmore Street/Little Woodstar. This is the sixth album of my music. My first solo outing as a composer—Steel Chords i-5, on AudioQuest Music—was in 1993.

When I set out to assemble something musical, I don't think in terms of songs, tracks, or playlists—I'm trying to put together an album. Even more old-school: I'm thinking in terms of an album that has two sides, two parts to the program, like an LP. Figuring out what that program should be takes a long time.

In the case of Fillmore Street/Little Woodstar, I decided on a two-piece set consisting of one old composition and one new one. These two works live in two different musical ballparks. Fillmore Street, on side 1 of the LP, is scored for a jazz orchestra. It tells musical stories about three locations in California. The older work on the album, Little Woodstar, which I composed while in grad school, leans classical.

There’s nothing like a new turntable to set my pulse racing. So when I first saw the thread‑drive, magnetic‑bearing Yukiseimitsu Audio AP‑01 ($31,975) at last year’s AXPONA, my jaw dropped, my scalp tingled, and my ears pricked up. It’s back this year in its new EM edition—still sleek, still strange.

Sierra Sound’s Michael Fajen assembled a system that stopped more than a few showgoers in their tracks—built around not one but two turntables.

Tony Santos of Stereo Haven and Mike Pranka of Toffco brought a Well Tempered Lab turntable—a common sight in rooms with standout analog sound. In room 624, the Well Tempered Lab Amadeus, for which Pranka serves as US distributor, delivered a sense of musical ease and warmth.