AXPONA 2025

Refined Audio’s room 688 featured an almost entirely new system, with the exception of Dave Slagle’s familiar EM/IA gear. (Slagle, co-founder of EM/IA and a specialist in transformer-based designs, is known for his minimalist, high-purity audio components.)

At AXPONA 2025, Refined Audio’s Jon Ver Halen and Steve Dear, together with Vladimir Bazelkov of Audio Mirror, assembled a system that blended high-end analog and digital components.

Starting with the vinyl playback system: a Jan Allaerts MC1 Boron cartridge (approximately $4000) was mounted on the US premiere SUPATRAC Nighthawk tonearm ($16,000), installed on a TW-Acustic Raven GT2 turntable ($12,500). The signal passed through an EMIA LCR phono stage ($33,750) and an EMIA Silver step-up transformer ($6000).

Digital duties were handled by the world premiere Audio Mirror Wave DAC ($22,000) and a Taiko Audio Extreme server ($36,000).

An Audio Mirror Wave preamplifier ($13,000) fed a pair of Audio Mirror Addiction amplifiers ($20,000/pair), which drove the US premiere Cube Audio Lotus 10 loudspeakers ($20,000/pair). The Lotus 10s combine Cube’s F10 Lotus full-range drivers with dedicated 10" woofers. The speakers include a four-position switch that adjusts the full-range driver bandwidth, with three levels of 1.5dB attenuation and a default bypass setting. An additional impedance-correction switch is designed to improve compatibility with low-power tube amplifiers.

Accessories included a Jena Labs Sequoia Sapling 2 line conditioner ($8000); Jena Labs Aurora XLR cables ($2625/pair); Jena Labs Symphony RCA cables ($1625/pair); and Silversmith Audio Fidelium speaker cables ($995/pair). My notes were emphatic: “Sweetly spacious, infectiously fun, with a naturalness that makes me forget the technology.” Gillian Welch’s voice—already captivating—took on new depth and intimacy through the Refined Audio system. Subtle details emerged with clarity and grace. This wasn’t just another strong showing; it hinted at end-game potential.