AXPONA 2022

A large, almost loft-style suite on the 16th floor housed a big, all-out system presented by Bending Wave USA, the Florida-based distributor/dealer for Germany's Göbel Audio (among other brands); their name nods to Göbel Audio's bending wave drivers. At the end of a no-holds-barred chain, a pair of glossy black Göbel Divin Marquis speakers (see John Atkinson's review; $90,000/pair) pumped out soundwaves. Their bold geometric form with all its angular surfaces kind of resemble a robot; I mean that in a good way: They're neat-looking.

An AMT tweeter—a heavily modified Mundorf model—delivers high frequencies down to 1.6kHz. The midrange array uses "a copper-coated aluminum voice-coil wound on a glass-fiber former and powered by a neodymium magnet," according to John Atkinson's review. The speaker's symmetrical bass-reflex design uses four triangular ports and a Helmholtz resonator "coupled to the internal volume with a 3cm-thick layer of ceramic foam—'this tightens up the bass,'" stated Atkinson's review; the embedded quote is from Göbel.

Top-tier Swiss amplification drove the Divin Marquis: a CH Precision L10 stereo preamplifier ($76,000) and a pair of stacked CH Precision M10 monoblock amplifiers ($104,000/pair).

Playback originated from Wadax's latest digital components: the Wadax Atlantis Reference Server ($76,500) with optical option and Akasa cable and a Wadax Atlantis Reference DAC ($145,000).

Sure, the sound was big and filled the room. The low-end was full and well-defined. You could feel organ music's deep, mellifluous tones. Basslines on some Chicago blues tunes were easy to follow, hitting the spot in (or just outside) the Windy City.

But for all its upscale scale and grandiosity, the system conveyed delicacy in equal measure: A short listen to Bruch's "Kol Nidrei," from the album Hebraic Lagacies by violinist Aaron Rosand and pianist John Covelli, played back via Roon reproduced those instruments' fine microdynamics of bow on string and hammers on strings. There was a convincing illusion of Covelli's hands striking the keys. Timbre and tone seemed spot-on. Backgrounds were silent. Attacks were fast. Sustains and decays were long, suspended in air.

Göbel Audio supplied all cabling ($5900 to $27,900). Timbernation provided custom supports. The German company, now run by Oliver Göbel, the second-generation son, will be unveiling new products at High End Munich next month.