Should you be so lucky to sit behind the wheel of a Bugatti Chiron, you would be commanding a 1500-horsepower supercar that can accelerate from 0 to 62mph in 2.4 seconds. Quintessence Audio put together an audio system equivalent to a Chiron in their Knowledge room at AXPONA 2026—but unlike the Bugatti supercar, I (and all in-the-know attendees) got to experience it firsthand.
The room's analog front end consisted of a Döhmann Helix One Mk3 turntable with vacuum hold-down ($150,000; shown above) sporting a two-arm setup: a Wilson-Benesch Graviton Ti tonearm ($60,000) with a Tessellate Diamond MC cartridge ($22,500) and a Supatrac Nighthawk 12" tonearm ($21,000) with a DS Audio Grand Master EX cartridge ($25,000).
Phono preamps for these arms were an Audio Research Ref 20 ($48,000) and a DS Audio TB-100 tube equalizer ($22,000), respectively. The digital front end included a dCS Varese digital music system ($354,500) fed by either a dCS Varese transport (price included) or an Innuos Nazaré streamer ($55,000 plus installed storage)—the latter flanked by an Innuos Net network switch ($32,000) and Innuos Flow output stage ($32,000).
Preamplification was by Audio Research's Ref 20 ($48,000) and power amplification came courtesy Audio Research's Ref 330 tube monoblocks ($90,000/pair). Speaker duties were aptly fulfilled by Wilson Audio’s XVX ($464,000/pair). System cabling was Transparent's Magnus Opus ($371,700 total), and the racks were Critical Mass's Olympus Ultra ($231,625).
Like in the case of the Chiron, it is no surprise that this was a stunning-sounding system. The analog front end produced a sound field that extended in all directions; powerful and nuanced. The digital system produced one of the most realistic orchestral crescendos I have experienced outside of a live performance. The pairing of the tube amplification with the precision and scale of the Wilson speakers was masterful. An incredible experience of effortless delivery at an enormous scale. Remarkable.
The room's analog front end consisted of a Döhmann Helix One Mk3 turntable with vacuum hold-down ($150,000; shown above) sporting a two-arm setup: a Wilson-Benesch Graviton Ti tonearm ($60,000) with a Tessellate Diamond MC cartridge ($22,500) and a Supatrac Nighthawk 12" tonearm ($21,000) with a DS Audio Grand Master EX cartridge ($25,000).
Phono preamps for these arms were an Audio Research Ref 20 ($48,000) and a DS Audio TB-100 tube equalizer ($22,000), respectively. The digital front end included a dCS Varese digital music system ($354,500) fed by either a dCS Varese transport (price included) or an Innuos Nazaré streamer ($55,000 plus installed storage)—the latter flanked by an Innuos Net network switch ($32,000) and Innuos Flow output stage ($32,000).
Preamplification was by Audio Research's Ref 20 ($48,000) and power amplification came courtesy Audio Research's Ref 330 tube monoblocks ($90,000/pair). Speaker duties were aptly fulfilled by Wilson Audio’s XVX ($464,000/pair). System cabling was Transparent's Magnus Opus ($371,700 total), and the racks were Critical Mass's Olympus Ultra ($231,625).
Like in the case of the Chiron, it is no surprise that this was a stunning-sounding system. The analog front end produced a sound field that extended in all directions; powerful and nuanced. The digital system produced one of the most realistic orchestral crescendos I have experienced outside of a live performance. The pairing of the tube amplification with the precision and scale of the Wilson speakers was masterful. An incredible experience of effortless delivery at an enormous scale. Remarkable.
