AXPONA 2025

Steve Mishoe of True Source Audio Distribution originally introduced me to Shindo Laboratory and DeVore Fidelity—brands that shaped my listening sensibility and critical framework. His colleague Steve Cohen often assists with system setup and calibration. In fact, he helps with every review I write for Stereophile, fine-tuning gear and speaker placement and acting as a sounding board.

Their latest import from Japan, G.I.P. Laboratory’s 506 and 4165 horn-loaded, field-coil loudspeakers ($82,000/pair), commanded attention for reasons well beyond personal ties. Along with the speakers, True Source Audio Distribution’s AXPONA system included an AMG Viella Forte turntable with a Turbo tonearm ($32,000) and a Benz Micro LPS cartridge ($5000). Amplification consisted of a G.I.P. Preamp 1 ($48,000) feeding 30 Wpc G.I.P. 6L6 monoblocks ($55,000/pair). A Box Furniture Co. HD3S rack ($5000) and isolation platform ($5995) provided structural support and vibration control. Chord Company Epic interconnects ($600/1m pair) and Chord Company Epic X speaker cables ($1100/3m pair) rounded out the rig.

The G.I.P. Laboratory 4165 field-coil, horn-loaded loudspeakers use the Japanese company’s replicas of the original Western Electric 4165 drivers. A TW 38 tweeter sits atop each unit. The 4165s’ large radiata-pine cabinets very nearly took up half of the modest demo room at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel.

One of my top five systems at AXPONA, the mighty G.I.P. assemblage had it all—natural, dimensional, and musical to a T. From Johnny Cash’s “Orange Blossom Special” to a surreal 1974 bossa nova LP recorded for a Brazilian airline (Tamba USA Varig DC-10, by Luiz Eça, Bebeto, Hélcio Melito, and Tamba Trio), the G.I.P. rig conveyed ghostly authenticity and great presence.

At its best, the system dissolved the usual analytic distance, leaving only the music. It’s not cheap, of course. But there’s comfort in knowing that this level of audio artistry is still being pursued—by craftspeople who treat stereo gear as a calling, not a commodity.