T.H.E. Show 2022

AV Luxury Group International, based in Las Vegas, unveiled a system that stood out for its speed, openness, and impressive range of colors. A case in point: O-Zone Percussion Group's "Jazz Variants," that did a fine job of evoking the system's well-controlled deep bass and striking highs.

Heading the front end were Margules of Mexico's i-240 integrated amplifier ($6000, below), a pure class-A tubed component that outputs 25Wpc into 4 ohms; a prototype Margules M-S01 media server ($TBD) whose DAC can handle DSD128 and PCM up to 32/192, and works with either Roon or Volumio software; Margules TT10 turntable with arm ($5000), Ortofon MC Black cartridge, and Margules prototype step-up transformer ($TBD); Margules FZ47 phono stage ($995); Raidho TD3.2 loudspeakers ($70,000/pair in black finish) that boast a 90dB specified sensitivity and a 4 ohm nominal impedance; and a mixture of RSX and DH Labs cabling.

I ended my listening with a bit of Dave Brubeck's Time Out LP, which proved a show favorite. The midrange was especially lovely, smooth, liquid, and warm.