AXPONA 2025

Tony Santos of Stereo Haven and Mike Pranka of Toffco brought a Well Tempered Lab turntable—a common sight in rooms with standout analog sound. In Room 624, the Well Tempered Lab Amadeus, for which Pranka serves as US distributor, delivered a sense of musical ease and warmth.

The Stereo Haven rig was built around the Amadeus 254 GT turntable ($8750)—a next-generation model from Well Tempered—fitted with a Dynavector DRT XV-1t cartridge ($9750). The system used a Jadis JP80 preamplifier with built-in phono stage ($25,900), paired with the Sugden Sapphire FBA-800 power amplifier ($8500). This mighty combo drove the J.M. Reynaud Abscisse Jubilee speakers ($9000/pair). The Lateral Aria four-tier rack ($2600) really tied the room together—rug not included.

Santos and Pranka, both old-school R&B heads with a taste for grits and gravy, skipped the usual audiophile fare and cued up a recording by organist Charles Kynard—growling Hammond textures and snare hits that land like body shots. Next, tenor-sax titan Joe Henderson’s Multiple grooved with fierce energy, while the system kept its cool at full boil, controlled and propulsive.