Fidelity Imports: Opera, Soulnote, QED, Titan Audio
Steve Jain and his Fidelity Imports crew presented six rooms at AXPONA, stuffed with debut products from across the world.
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LATEST ADDITIONS
Spin Doctor #12: EMM Labs DS-EQ1, The Wand 14-4 Turntable, M•A Inner Sleeves
"I think both moving coil and moving magnet cartridges are terrible." That's what legendary Canadian audio designer Ed Meitner told me when I asked about the pioneering transimpedance current drive phono stage he created for his Meitner PA6 preamp some 40 years ago.
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Meitner has been designing innovative hi-fi gear for the pro and consumer audio markets for more than 50 years, but for most of the last 30, he has been best known for his work with high-resolution digital audio and DSD recording. Despite this focus on digitaland despite that comment about the two leading phono cartridge technologiesdeep in his heart, Ed still loves analog and has fond memories of the Kenwood optical cartridges from the 1970s, which I discussed in last month's Spin Doctor column. So when Ed read that a company in Japan called DS Audio was bringing back an improved version of the optical cartridge using modern materials, he contacted designer Tetsuaki Aoyagi to learn more.
Zesto, Tidal from The Voice That is, Dr. Feickert, Tri-Planar, Ortofon, Cardas, and Stillpoints
Oh, how I love the look of Zesto Audio equipment. Here it found its ideal visual complement in Tidal Piano speakers ($57,000/pair) from Philly-area dealer The Voice That Is and a catchily titled (not) Stillpoints ESS42-26-4 rack with acrylic shelves ($13,788).
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Treehaus Audiolab
Rich Pinto of Treehaus Audiolab, which is based in Southport, Connecticut, has been dedicated to developing SET amplifiers and high-efficiency speakers since 2017. Here at AXPONA, he introduces the A/Machines 300B monoblock amplifiers ($39,000/pair), which showcase his commitment to classic design, in the sound and the aesthetics.
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Luxman and Magico
To say that I had good memories of the Luxman-Magico room at an earlier AXPONA would be an understatement.
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Vimberg, Kalista, Karan, Entrec, and Fono Acoustica
It was a mixed show for Wynn Wong, mastermind of Canadian-based Wynn Audio importers. Soundwise he did very well, with Ayama Witter-Johnson’s take on Hoagy Carmichael / Ned Washington’s “The Nearness of You” so satisfying on every level, from solidity of bass to clarity of voice.
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T+A
Brian Damkroger’s recent review of the T+A Solitaire S 530 was laudatory. I was eager to hear it.
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Børresen / Audio Group Denmark from Next Level HiFi
It was hard to tell where distributor / dealer Next Level HiFi ended and Audio Group Denmark began. Or, vice-versa), it was equally hard to tell if more action was taking place in the room during the demo or in the hallway. Suffice to say, there was a lot of energy flowing, and all that talking made listening a challenge.
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Dynaudio, Octave, Moon, Grimm, Brinkmann, and Torus
It was great to hear monoblocks I'd just reviewed—the new, German-made Octave MRE 220 SE mono amplifiers ($28,500/pair) with their Super Black Box PSU upgrade modules ($7000/pair)—in the context of a different system.
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Artisan Fidelity’s TIDAL room with Garrard, Schroeder, VDH, and Signal Projects
TIDAL made a fine showing in the room sponsored by one of its three US dealers, Christopher Thornton’s Artisan Fidelity. Totally drug-free I swear, I melted into the exceptional smoothness and beauty of “The Girl from Ipanema” on vinyl.
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