It’s always fun to see a new company making their first presentation to the public, and AXPONA 2023 marks the debut of Toronto, Canada-based Audio Craftsmen. Headed up by Thom Pahmer (above), the company showed four models, ranging in price from the Laval stand mount at $2699/pair, up to the floor standing flagship Halifax at $10,999/pair.

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.

The Analog Matters room, presented by Big Ear Consulting LLC and original AXPONA cofounder Steve Davis, debuted a variety of components, including the return of (wait for it) Plinius!

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

In what is a first for this reporter but surely not for the brand, Yamaha brought a number of choice components to Chicago, presented by Yamaha marketing manager Rebecca Lynn (above) and several employees from Yamaha Japan.

Here's a list of the complete Dutch & Dutch product lineup:

1. Dutch & Dutch model 8c speakers.

And here's a list of all the audio electronics in the Dutchies' 11th-floor room at AXPONA:

1. Dutch & Dutch model 8c speakers.

That's it.