AXPONA 2023

Several surprises awaited in the AXPONA room sponsored by Gary Leeds's Hear This, North American distributor of WestminsterLab, and Von Schweikert Audio in association with Lampizator, NA and Small Green Computer. (Bonus points if you can read that out loud on one breath.) First was the "hard launch" of equipment from WestminsterLab: the Rei monoblock ($32,900/pair), which despite the title is not recommended for summer hikes in Yosemite, and Quest balanced preamplifier with full carbon-fiber component shielding upgrade ($25,100, or $22,900 in basic configuration). Next were the speakers—not the usual behemoths usually transported to shows by Von Schweikert Audio, but rather their smaller Endeavor SE ($27,000/pair plus eight Critical Mass Systems footers that cost $650 each).

This is not to suggest that the room's Lampizator Horizon DAC ($50,000), Small Green Computer i9 with optical connection and 4TB SSD ($3499), Sonore Ultra Rendu reclocker ($5499), and WestminsterLab cabling were anything to scoff at. On the contrary. Everything worked together as one to produce extremely clear and open sound, with welcome silence between notes and fine soundstaging, on a 16/44.1 file of Michelle Jonasz's "Le temps passé."

There's more to say, of course. But first, WestminsterLab. WestminsterLab products are designed manufactured in Hong Kong and designed by UK-educated Angus Leung and his team. Leung started the company when he was 27, deriving the name from the Westminster neighborhood in London. The Rei monoblock (below) is a 38 lb, class-A, solid state baby that, thanks to its sliding-bias design and noteworthy asymmetric heatsinks, is said to run surprisingly cool. The amp is specified as putting out a cool 100W into 8 ohms doubling down to 400W into 2 ohms.

Once I learned the origins of the company name, I conducted a search for music recorded in Westminster Abbey, which is located in Westminster. Rather than searching for minutes, I settled for a 24/96 recording of "Faire is the heaven" from The Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge. It sounded wonderful and spacious, with an excellent presentation of voices and true timbres. Color me impressed by WestminsterLab components and everything else in this winning system.