AXPONA 2025

Room 1225 with Fidelity Imports offered a jolt of musical energy—vinyl spinning, bookshelf speakers punching, and a vibe that was more “groove and grind” than “rise and shine.” Even early in the day, the system sounded wide awake.

Michell Engineering, a British maker of high-quality turntables, was in pole position with its Gyro SE Bundle player ($6199), fitted with a Goldring E3 cartridge ($189), followed by Michell’s Apollo and Muse phono preamp and power supply ($4999). Amplification duties fell to the Primare I35 Prisma streaming integrated amplifier ($5999), which drove Q Acoustics’s Concept 300 speakers ($4999/pair, including stands) and a Q Acoustics 12" Sub120 subwoofer ($1199). QED handled cabling.

On static display: the Michell TecnoDec Bundle turntable ($2199)—which I raved about at [AnalogPlanet.com]—mounted with the already mentioned Goldring E3.

Also shown: Q Acoustics’s Sub80 ($899) and Sub100 ($1049) subwoofers, plus the Knosti Disco-Antistat Ultrasonic 2.0 record cleaner ($1299) that I hope to review soon for [AnalogPlanet].

An unidentified rock track exploded into a vast soundfield—guitars rich as chocolate layer cake, hard-hitting drums, and a soaring, Ann Wilson-worthy vocal. Even Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” usually about as thrilling as a wet mop, became a beat-stomping delight through the Michell-driven system. At around $22,000, this rig wasn’t just good—it was an AXPONA knockout.