Warsaw Audio Show 2024

Polish company J. Sikora belatedly premiered in Warsaw what they had unveiled at Chicago’s AXPONA six months before: their new Standard Max Supreme turntable. Only one table below the company’s top of the line, Standard Max Supreme reproduced music with the help of J. Sikora's Kevlar tonearm and an Aidas Mammoth Gold cartridge from Lithuania.

The Standard Max Supreme exemplifies J. Sikora’s underlying philosophy of addressing resonances by combining different metals and alloys in different proportions. Fifteen years of experience with metals and machining have passed since the initial Supreme turntable reached the market. While the platter and bearing remain the same, other materials and proportions have changed. In addition, new software has enabled the company to develop a superior rotation speed control system.

As is too often the case at shows, the room’s handsome Kharma Exquisite Midi 3.0 loudspeakers had a mere five hours on them. No matter the quality of components in the room, which included Doshi Audio electronics (which I’ve reviewed and know to be excellent), and Soyaton cables (from the same Polish company that supplies J. Sikora’s tonearm cables), the Kharmas' overly stiff tweeters made it impossible to assess all that the Standard Max Supreme can do to honor music.

Elsewhere at the show, J. Sikora premiered the latest addition to its line: its least expensive turntable, equipped with a KV9 tonearm. For more information, please check the J. Sikora website.