I’ve commented on this combination so often—five of these eight brands occupy my music room—that I didn’t linger long in Quintessence Audio’s excellently assembled “Knowledge” room. That didn’t stop me from admiring the contrast between the riveting yellow finish of Wilson Audio’s Chronosonic XVX loudspeakers ($387,000/pair) and the bold black-and-copper livery of Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems’ Relentless M800 monoblocks ($195,500/pair). I began to wonder if the lovely blue of my Wilson Alexia Vs is a bit too sedate. When I chose my speakers’ finish I almost opted for the perfect shade of orange—bolder, like the XVX’s yellow—and now I wonder what the past few years might have sounded like had I gone that route.

From the 1088 establishment of the University of Bologna, the oldest university in the Western world, to the invention of the radio by Guglielmo Marconi in the mid-1890s, Italy has been at the forefront of innovation and artistic pursuit. Modern Italy stands as a testament to its vibrant past.

"The Italian Renaissance, which began in Florence in the 1380s, marks the first moment when Europeans stepped away from the traditional and medieval pious Christian view of man to embrace values and attitudes they had discovered through studying the culture of the ancient world," wrote William ("Bill") Adams, a former professor of Italian history, in an email. "Those values, belief in the dignity and worth of man, in human development through education which, having spread through Europe, led to the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment."

In 1996, Bill and I journeyed to Tuscany, where we stayed in a mountaintop castle nestled within the ancient walls of San Gimignano. Returning to Italy in the summer of 2024, I embarked on a tour with kindred spirits. Our travels took us from savoring perfectly al dente pasta in Rome to indulging in boot-sized portions of tiramisu in Tuscany. We also ventured into the Treviso countryside, where we toured the Unison Research (UR) factory. This is where I had my first exposure to Unison Research's S6 Black Edition Integrated Amplifier ($6999).

It had been too long since I’d heard Vinnie Rossi’s gear, so I was pleased to encounter the brand’s Brama Gen2 preamplifier ($38,995), Brama Gen2 monoblocks ($59,995/pair), and Rossi himself. The system also featured Rockport Technologies’ new Lynx loudspeakers ($78,000/pair in Satin Titanium Metallic) and the Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC ($13,500). I was curious to hear how it all came together sonically.

In the Renaissance Hotel’s Connection room, Quintessence Audio of Morton Grove, Illinois presented Boulder’s new 1151 power amplifiers ($48,000/pair as monoblocks, see Stereophile’s June issue), a 1110 preamp ($24,000), and a 1108 phono preamp ($24,000), all making their AXPONA debut.

Stenheim, VTL, and Nordost returned as AXPONA system partners, joined this year by several notable additions. The analog front end featured Grand Prix Audio’s Monaco 3.0 turntable ($56,250) with Fuel Station battery power supply ($15,250), Kuzma’s Safir 9 tonearm ($23,140), and a Lyra Etna cartridge ($8995). Nordost showcased four rare Odin Gold power cords ($43,999), alongside its familiar Odin 2 and Valhalla 2 cables and a broad range of accessories. Digital duties had shifted from last year’s dCS Rossini Apex to the full Vivaldi Apex stack: DAC ($46,500), Upsampler ($27,000), and Master Clock ($21,000).

At Munich High End 2024, my biggest discovery was Switzerland’s Wattson Audio. It’s easy to hear a sonic kinship between Wattson and its new owner, CH Precision—an affinity that helped explain CH’s acquisition of the company last year.