AXPONA 2019

Across the hallway, Paragon Sight and Sound set up a more "modest," albeit hardly chump-change, system that included Wilson Alexia 2 speakers ($59,900 with this special red finish), brand-new tubed Rogers KWM 88 Corona integrated amplifier ($14,000) plus PA2 phono stage ($7300), dCS Bartok DAC ($13,500), Clearaudio Ovation turntable with 9" arm and custom finish ($11,000) and Clearaudio Jubilee cartridge, Transparent Reference and Reference XL cabling, a Transparent Reference Power Isolator ($5995), and Harmonic Resolution System RXR 4V with R3x base audio rack ($9330). Listening to a cut from Jack Johnson & Friends' Best of Kokua Festival LP, Madeleine Peyroux's rendition of "Dance Me to the End of Love," also on LP, and a file of "Kiss in Blue" by Yello with Heidi Happy, I noted the beautiful midrange and lively but uncommonly musical top. The sound was pretty spot-on neutral, but with a silvery finish on top and that special tube glow that so many audiophiles crave. Notable is the Corona Integrated's new phone/pad app, which offers complete remote control plus a tube bias check. The latter lets you know when the tubes have aged beyond the auto-bias feature's ability to get them back into line.