AXPONA 2025

Craig Hoffman, co-founder and managing director of Rhythm Distribution, presented a system in Room 1229 built from components sourced across Switzerland, the UK, Sweden, and Japan.

It featured a Goldenberg Brilliant MC phono cartridge ($4250); a British Garrard 301 Classic turntable with an SME M2 tonearm ($37,900); an Engström M-Phono Mk II preamplifier ($35,000); and two digital sources from Luxman—the NT-07 streamer and the D-07X DAC, priced at $7495/each.

The system also included Scandinavian electronics: an Engström MONICA Mk III preamplifier ($70,000) and Engström ERIC Encore monoblock amplifiers ($180,000/pair), driving Marten Parker Trio Diamond loudspeakers ($40,000/pair).

Swedish-made Jorma cabling connected the system: Origo XLR cables ($3892/1.5m, $5685/3m); a digital S/PDIF cable ($893/1.5m RCA); a Phono Reference cable ($2595/1.2m RCA); Origo speaker cables ($6695/pair); Origo power cables ($2095–$2988 depending on length); and a Reference Ethernet cable ($1590/2m). An AudioQuest Niagara 5000 power conditioner ($5900) and a Silent Angel Bonn NX audiophile network switch ($3999) completed the setup.

This was one of the most captivating systems at the show. I typically enter rooms in full reporter mode—camera ready, mentally cataloging gear—but this old-school-meets-new-school rig stopped me cold. Music unfolded with a glow that felt both energizing and oddly serene.

On Laufey’s “Lovesick,” the gear delivered great focus and dynamic punch. Roy Haynes’s “Snap Crackle” from Out of the Afternoon followed—a whirlwind of rhythmic energy propelled by Haynes’s ferocious stickwork. I left reset.