AXPONA 2022

Peter Mackay of Magico Loudspeakers (pictured above) and Jeffrey Sigmund and John Pravel of Luxman America brought a fantastic-sounding system to the Prosperity room. Exceptional scale, resolution, depth, dynamics, precision, and juicy tone could all be heard—audio prosperity of the highest order.

Luxman granted AXPONA multiple North American product debuts, including the class-AB M-10X stereo power amplifier ($19,995, specified as delivering 150Wpc into 8 ohms, 300Wpc into 4 ohms, and 600W into 8 ohms (mono); reviewed by JA in the May 2022 issue), D-10X SACD player ($16,995; backordered for months, said Sigmund), PD-151 Mk.II Reference belt-drive turntable (price TBA), and the LMC-5 MC cartridge ($2695), Luxman's first cartridge in 40 years (currently in residence chez Micallef for review).

Completing this magical rig, the Magico M6 floorstanding loudspeakers ($185,000/pair) played with incredible precision, power, nuance, and control. Having never heard the Magicos properly setup, I found them a revelation.

"All credit goes to Peter Mackay," said Sigmund. "He spent hours fine tuning the system to this room, which, with its multi-layered ceiling, presented a real challenge."

AudioQuest provided cabling and conditioning: FireBird Zero speaker cables ($18,900/pair) and interconnects ($8000/pair—$20,900/pair); Blizzard ($1295/4.5m), Thunder ($1300/3m), Tornado ($1995/3m), and Dragon ($11,300/3m) power cables, and Niagara 3000 Low-Z Noise Dissipation System ($3300).

From bold and bombastic electronic dance music to the cool swinging jazz of Patricia Barber's Step, the Luxman/Magico blew the roof off.