AXPONA 2025

No fewer than five Stereophilers visited Fidelity Imports’ Utopia-D room during AXPONA 2025. I focused on the Audia Flight Strumento No.8 monoblocks ($34,999/each) that had joined forces with Audia Flight’s Strumento No.1 EVO preamplifier ($29,995), an FLS 20 SACD player/streamer ($21,999), and a Flight Phono ($6999).

Ken Micallef no doubt ogled the Wilson Benesch GMT One turntable system ($370,000), which shared the room with Wilson Benesch Omnium floorstanders ($149,999/pair) and the company’s $34,999 IGx Infrasonic Generator, a cylindrical subwoofer that plays frequencies as low as 12Hz. An AVM PC 5.3 power conditioner ($6999) kept the system’s power as clean and clear as it gets in Utopia.

The Strumento monoblocks—named for both instrument and measurement—come in two versions: the No.8 and the $20,000-more-expensive Signature model. Both weigh 200 lb each, with the transformer accounting for half that heft. According to Audia Flight’s Massimiliano Marzi, the Signature includes upgraded parts and improved cabling. Rogier van Bakel reviewed Audia Flight’s FLS10 integrated amplifier in the February 2025 Stereophile; Marzi says that amp offers a comparable sonic character.

“Our transformers are normally used in tube amps,” Marzi said. “They’re more expensive than toroidal transformers, but they sound better. We use current feedback rather than voltage feedback. This results in lower impedance and a faster circuit.”

Before I could enjoy a good long listen and talk with Wilson Benesch’s Luke Milnes about his products, Stereophile’s Julie Mullins and Mark Henninger arrived to record the videos embedded here, featuring Milnes and Marzi.