AXPONA 2025

Angie Lisi of American Sound Distribution exhibited several systems in multiple spaces. Room 1620 showcased gear from Grimm Audio, Wadax, Analog Relax, Avantgarde, Phasemation, and Rethm; Room 1642 offered a more compact setup focused on the latter three brands.

System One featured a Grimm MU2 streamer ($18,000) and a Perpetuum Ebner PE 1010 MKII turntable ($3495) equipped with an Ortofon 2M Red Verso cartridge ($160). These front-end sources fed Avantgarde’s fully active ZERO iTRON horn-loaded loudspeakers ($26,000/pair). The iTRON’s bass drivers are powered by a 500W Class D amplifier; the tweeter/midrange horn is driven by a 3W current-mode Class A amplifier—an unusual and intriguing design. Transparent Audio provided the cables, power cords, and interconnects (estimated total: $10,000).

System Two, located in a smaller room, paired the Japanese-made Phasemation SA-1500 300B integrated amplifier (8Wpc, $20,800) with the German-made Avantgarde UNO SD horn loudspeakers ($38,200/pair).

System Three consisted of the new $13,000 Perpetuum Ebner PE 7070 turntable with an Ortofon Cadenza cartridge, a Wadax Studio Player ($40,000), and an MSB Technology Cascade DAC ($135,000). These fed 10W Phasemation MA-2000 300B single-ended monoblock amplifiers ($49,000/pair). The system drove the new Avantgarde Mezzo G3 horn loudspeakers ($103,800/pair); optional iTRON amplification adds $29,000/pair. A Phasemation CM-1500 preamplifier ($8529.27) and a Phasemation EA-550 phono stage ($7200) completed the electronics. Transparent Audio cables (approximately $65,000 total) tied the system together.

The Synthesis Art FCO-300B single-ended integrated amplifier was on static display—handsome but silent.

“The Mezzo G3 is our newest floorstanding horn loudspeaker,” Lisi said. “It’s available in passive mode for use with an external tube amp or solid-state. The new iTRON option powers the tweeter and midrange drivers with a current-mode, high-current 3W amplifier—ideal for a 107dB-efficient loudspeaker.”

In Room 1642, Lisi showcased an Aurender A30 music server ($19,000) feeding a Jeff Rowland Capri S2 stereo preamplifier ($5900), with signal routed to the world-premiere active Rethm Maarga loudspeakers ($24,000/pair). Each Maarga features a 6" wideband driver and four 7" bass units in an isobaric array—powered, unexpectedly, by tubes.

“The valves we use in this loudspeaker,” Lisi explained, “are the 6922, which handles the input and preamp stages, and the 6N6P, which drives the hybrid amplifier. What sets this amplifier apart is that the tubes feed an FET stage, and the final output is transformer-coupled.”

Kenny Burrell’s Midnight Blue poured from System Three with the kind of ease and tonal warmth that makes you lean back and loosen your jaw.

Moving through these rooms felt less like a demo and more like a party—loose, inviting, and a little chaotic. Listeners moved freely; the rooms connected without clear dividers to interrupt the flow. It was hard to find a listening spot, easier just to follow the crowd. Not friends or strangers, just people caught in the same quiet spell.