Wilson Audio Dances with Audio Research, Clearaudio, dCS, Transparent, and Critical Mass

Wilson Audio Dances with Audio Research, Clearaudio, dCS, Transparent, and Critical Mass

Of Morton Grove, IL dealer Quintessence Audio's three rooms at AXPONA, those in the ground floor Knowledge and Perfection showrooms remained. Since it's hard to imagine Perfection without Knowledge, reality cast the die to first cover a superb Knowledge set-up that mated Wilson Audio Alexx V speakers ($135,000/pair, or $151,000/pair in the show pair's special finish) with Audio Research electronics (see below), Clearaudio Master Innovation Wood turntable with TT-MI linear tonearm ($62,000) and Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement MC cartridge ($17,500), dCS's new Vivaldi Apex DAC/Clock/Upsampler system ($90,000), Transparent XL cabling with PWX power ($73,985 total), and Critical Mass Maxxum component stands ($75,000).

The McIntosh C12000 Preamplifier

The McIntosh C12000 Preamplifier

"Cover McIntosh," Jim Austin wrote by text. "Sure," I replied. "But I don't see them listed in the show guide." "They're behind the escalator," Jim replied.

And there they were. Against a wall, with comfortable couches facing the system, McIntosh's Ken Zelin had set up a lovely system headlined by the new, two-piece McIntosh C12000 preamplifier ($16,000).

JS Audio's Original WAMMs at AXPONA

JS Audio's Original WAMMs at AXPONA

There was one room at AXPONA where I was too in awe to take notes. In shock is more like it. The brothers who own JS Audio have acquired and restored the very first pair of WAMM loudspeakers that the late Dave Wilson began to manufacture in 1981. It seems that after living with the model for a few months, Dave's other half in the truest sense, his beloved wife and life partner Sheryl Lee preferred a different cabinet color for their living room and encouraged him to move this pair along. (If I've got that wrong, please forgive me.)

The Innuos Statement Next-Gen PSU Upgrade and YG Vantage Live loudspeakers

The Innuos Statement Next-Gen PSU Upgrade and YG Vantage Live loudspeakers

Having reviewed the top-of-the-line Innuos two-piece Statement music server, I was eager to hear an A/B demo of the version I reviewed with an Innuos Statement that contains its forthcoming Next-Gen power supply upgrade. Thanks to two extremely helpful and enthusiastic Innuos staff people, Director of Sales Steven Gomes and North American Director of Sales, Kevin Jackson, it was easy to hear the improvements.

Fidelity Imports: Michell Engineering, Cyrus Audio, Q Acoustics, English Acoustics, QED, Titan Audio

Fidelity Imports: Michell Engineering, Cyrus Audio, Q Acoustics, English Acoustics, QED, Titan Audio

Tucked away in a corner of the 6th floor were two Fidelity Imports rooms showing a few new gems. Fidelity Imports focused one (room 604) on its imports from the UK.

Fidelity Imports: Perlisten, Unison Research, Aurender

Fidelity Imports: Perlisten, Unison Research, Aurender

Fidelity Imports' second room showed on passive display the latest speaker from Perlisten, the three-way S5t tower, a smaller sibling to the Perlisten S7t in the active setup (and that Kal Rubinson reviewed in December 2021, bottom photo). A (forthcoming) new Aurender A15 music server/streamer with DAC (top photo) decoding full MQA served as the source.

American Sound of Canada: Avantgarde Acoustics, dCS, VAC, Transparent, VPI, HRS

American Sound of Canada: Avantgarde Acoustics, dCS, VAC, Transparent, VPI, HRS

Toronto-based American Sound of Canada, with Angie Lisi at the helm, had a striking showing at AXPONA: Huge horns. If you saw and heard them, you'd remember them. It was a popular room, so I made an early first stop on Sunday when it wasn't crowded.

American Sound's Second Avantgarde System with Phasemation, VPI, Analog Relax

American Sound's Second Avantgarde System with Phasemation, VPI, Analog Relax

American Sound presented a second demo in the suite's smaller room: Avantgarde Acoustics' Uno XDs, a smaller model soon to be upgraded to G3 status, driven by Japan's Phasemation amplification.

Next Level HiFi: Børresen, Aavik, Ansuz

Next Level HiFi: Børresen, Aavik, Ansuz

When I heard Usher's "Yeah!" being blasted out from the, uh, Serenity Room, I wondered whether to go in or hang back from the crunk. Not hating on the song, but it was awfully early in the day for this. (It turns out there was someone shooting a video in there.) But the real surprise was that the bumping, club-worthy music wasn't coming from outsized tower speakers, but from a pair of stand-mounted two-ways with some innovative porting.

Revinylization #29: Bill Evans, Inner Spirit: The 1979 Concert at the Teatro General San Martin, Buenos Aires

Revinylization #29: Bill Evans, Inner Spirit: The 1979 Concert at the Teatro General San Martin, Buenos Aires

Do we need yet another unearthed recording of the Bill Evans trio? I count 22 albums or boxed sets—a total of 49 polycarbonate or vinyl discs—of posthumously released sessions, many of them in just the last few years. But this latest discovery, recorded in Buenos Aires in September 1979, is a stunner. So, to answer the question above: Yes, we do need this recording.
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