Mimic Audio's room with Ampsandsound, Acora, SW1X, VAC, TW Acustic, Charisma, and Cardas

Mimic Audio's room with Ampsandsound, Acora, SW1X, VAC, TW Acustic, Charisma, and Cardas

Two months ago, at the Tampa audio show, I got better acquainted with Acora Acoustics and its flagship loudspeaker, the VRC. They made some of the most impressive music at the expo—as they should for a price north of 200 grand.

For 15% of that small fortune, could an Acora speaker further down the line, like the SRC-1 ($35,000/pair), keep pace? I found out in Mimic Audio's dealer room on the hotel's 12th floor, where a high-level UN meeting of sorts was going on, with brands from four countries.

Analogue Productions Vinyl Reissues Just Keep On Coming

Analogue Productions Vinyl Reissues Just Keep On Coming

Acoustic Sounds' Chad Kassem has every reason to look as happy as he does here, because this really has become a new golden age for vinyl, with so many high-quality reissues of classic albums on vinyl that it's hard to know where to start.

Alex Sound Technology Shows Japanese SET (Takatsuki) and Digital (Sforzato), & German loudspeakers (Blumenhofer Acoustics)

Alex Sound Technology Shows Japanese SET (Takatsuki) and Digital (Sforzato), & German loudspeakers (Blumenhofer Acoustics)

As an enterprising Stereophile reporter, I do my homework. When I saw that Alex Sound Technology, of Windermere, Florida, was bringing the gorgeous Japanese Takatsuki 300B TA-S01 SET amplifier ($32,000, 8Wpc, new to the USA), along with new Japanese brand Sforzato (below), including their DST-050EX network transport ($4600), DSC-030EX Zero Link DAC ($9900), DSP-030EX Network Player ($9900), and PMC-015EX Master Clock ($4990), plus the Blumenhofer Acoustics Genuin FS 2 Mk2 horn-loaded loudspeakers ($22,850/pair), a bee flew into my Southern man's bonnet and I requested room coverage to major domo Jim Austin.

SOTA debuts new Quasar Turntable

SOTA debuts new Quasar Turntable

I have long found it kind of disappointing that just a handful of companies still manufacture turntables in the United States, but SOTA is a true survivor, having delivered their first turntables way back in 1979. At AXPONA, SOTA co-owner Donna Bodinet was displaying their new Quasar model, which moves the suspension-less Urban product series a few steps upmarket.

SVS and its Prime Wireless Pro Soundbase

SVS and its Prime Wireless Pro Soundbase

Last year's AXPONA brought the debut of SVS' Prime Wireless Pro active speakers ($899/pair). In the fall, I spent a couple of months listening to them, and came away impressed. "No sub-$1000 all-in-one system can attain anything close to perfection, but night after night the Prime Pros surprised me," I wrote in my review, praising their sonic balance and satisfying low-frequency extension.

The Ohio company recently launched a product that approaches streamable music from the other direction: What if you already have a good pair of speakers . . . and are in the market for a versatile, nicely-outfitted streamer/amplifier to drive them?

Mytek Meets Chicago

Mytek Meets Chicago

Michal Jurewicz, Mytek CEO and designer, of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, brought new and not-so-new equipment to AXPONA. The "Tall Wizard" had two rooms, one including the Mytek Empire Streamer (currently with Editor Jim Austin, for review, $25,000), new GaNFET-powered Empire monoblocks (400Wpc/800Wpc into 4 ohms; $20,000/pair), and his very own pair of 1990s-era JM Labs Point Source 5.1s standmount monitors with JM Labs PS 10 dual subwoofers. ArgentPur cabling was used throughout.

AXISS Bold as Air-Tight (& Franco Serblin)

AXISS Bold as Air-Tight (& Franco Serblin)

It's a rare occurrence when this hi-fi reporter experiences sonic serendipity, so when it strikes, I'm all in from the downbeat. Such was my good fortune with my first AXPONA assignment of the day, covering the hallowed sound room presented by Nashville's AXISS Audio.
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