AXPONA 2025

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AXPONA 2025
A Baltic-Kiwi Alliance Pays Off: Silent Pound, Perreaux, Aurender, Titan Audio, Life Audio, and Solid Tech
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 23, 2025  | 
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.
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AXPONA 2025
Songs in the Life of Kii
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 22, 2025  | 
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.”
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AXPONA 2025
Watt’s Up? TEAC and Vienna Acoustics Bring World Premieres
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 22, 2025  | 
In partnership with Playback Distribution, TEAC debuted its new AP-507 stereo power amplifier ($2799) early in the day, luring this reviewer with strong coffee and stronger specs.
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AXPONA 2025
Axiss, Accuphase, Yukiseimitsu, Gauder, and a Room That Made Me Want to Spend My Nest Egg
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 22, 2025  | 
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.
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AXPONA 2025
Fidelity Imports Demos Ruark Gear: British Bite on a Budget
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 22, 2025  | 
At AXPONA, Steve Jain’s Fidelity Imports and UK-based Ruark Audio teamed up to present a stylish, musically satisfying system. Founded in 1985 on England’s south coast, Ruark is known for combining classic British design with forward-thinking engineering.
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AXPONA 2025
Sierra Sound, Aesthetix, AMG, Benz, ViV, Connected Fidelity: A Vinyl Victory Lap
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 22, 2025  | 
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.
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AXPONA 2025
Vinyl With a Vengeance: Stereo Haven, Toffco, Well Tempered, Dynavector, Jadis, and Reynaud Bring It On
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 22, 2025  | 
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.
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AXPONA 2025
A Room With a Vu: TriangleArt Spins Gold
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 22, 2025  | 
Tom Vu founded TriangleArt in 1999, and he’s not about to let up now.
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AXPONA 2025
Saturday Audio Exchange, Monitor Audio, McIntosh, and AudioQuest: Style from Mars, Sound from Binghamton
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 19, 2025  | 
With the debut of the futuristic Hyphn loudspeakers ($95,000/pair), Monitor Audio and Chicago’s Saturday Audio Exchange made an unmissable statement.
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AXPONA 2025
Estelon, Vitus, Sonorus, Taiko, Crystal Cable, ART, and Ekustik: A New Kind of Clarity
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 19, 2025  | 
Aldo Filippelli of Luxury Audio Group brought essentially the same system he showed at the Florida Audio Expo, where Mark Henninger and Julie Mullins filed a comprehensive video report. Familiar or not, the performance was still superb.
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AXPONA 2025
This Tubed Line/Phono Stage Has an IP Address: Manley Labs Goes Remote
Mark Henninger  |  Apr 19, 2025  | 
At AXPONA 2025’s Ear Gear Experience, Manley Labs president EveAnna Manley unveiled a long-rumored project: the company’s Precision Line and Phono Stage. Designed to marry tube tradition with modern functionality, the unit houses 10 triodes powered by Manley’s proprietary switch-mode supply. Behind its sculpted faceplate are six inputs, each assignable for line-level or RIAA-equalized signals, offering up to 75dB of gain.
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AXPONA 2025
Do-It-All, Done Right? Arcam’s SA45 Makes the Case
Mark Henninger  |  Apr 18, 2025  | 
Arcam’s $4999 SA45 aims to prove that “do-it-all” and “high-end” can coexist. For the first time at a show, Jim Garrett, a senior director of product strategy & planning at Harman International, gave a live demo of the British brand’s SA45 streaming integrated amplifier.

Watch Mark Henninger’s interview with Jim Garrett.

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AXPONA 2025
DeVore Fidelity, Leben, Well Tempered Lab, Box Furniture: Vinyl, Intention, and the Art of the Demo
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 18, 2025  | 
John DeVore brings more than music to his rooms: he brings thoughtfulness, a sense of discovery, and superbly curated recordings.
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AXPONA 2025
Jeffrey Catalano’s Show-Stopping System: DaVa Soul, Fuuga, Red Sparrow, Miyajima, TW-Acustic, Alieno, Cessaro, Stein, Codia, Silent Running, Shun Mook, ADD-Powr
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 18, 2025  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  | 
High Water Sound’s Jeffrey Catalano could give a master class in room setup. A veteran of hundreds of audio shows, he not only presents exceptional-sounding rooms but also curates adventurous vinyl selections. I invariably leave his room with music titles scribbled in my notebook, like recipes for marvelous dishes.
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AXPONA 2025
AXISS Audio, Soulution Amplification, Telos Power Gear, Acoustic Grove Treatments: Beauty, Brawn, and Billie
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 17, 2025  | 
Before I heard the new Soulution 717 monoblocks ($109,975 each), I spoke with Cyrill Hammer, Soulution’s CEO and Chief Designer, and Cliff Duffey, President of AXISS Audio. The conversation was illuminating. The listening? Something else entirely.

Watch our exclusive video interview with Cyrill Hammer and Cliff Duffey.

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