Also present in the room, which was hosted by Michael Vamos of importer/distributor Audio Skies, were Ideon Audio’s Absolute Epsilon DAC ($49,900) and Absolute Time Signature V ($22,000), JMF’s…
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Off by itself near Expo Hall, the Journey/Creation rooms sponsored by Scott Walker Audio and Synergistic Research utilized so many Synergistic Research products—eight models of cables, seven for power conditioning (including fuses), six acoustic room treatment thingees, four racks, three grounding devices—that I was tempted to adapt the product list into lyrics for an audiophile Christmas carol.
Oh, how I love the look of Zesto Audio equipment. Here it found its ideal visual complement in Tidal Piano speakers ($57,000/pair) from Philly-area dealer The Voice That Is and a catchily titled (not) Stillpoints ESS42-26-4 rack with acrylic shelves ($13,788).
LP was the medium of choice in this room. From Blue Note 1595, Somethin’ Else, Cannonball Adderly’s sax sounded gorgeous, the top lively. “Jupiter” from Zubin Mehta’s take on Holst’s perpetual The Planets was ideally open, clean, and shiny. I didn’t write down what else was played, but my impression was, open, warm, lively,…
It was great to hear monoblocks I'd just reviewed—the new, German-made Octave MRE 220 SE mono amplifiers ($28,500/pair) with their Super Black Box PSU upgrade modules ($7000/pair)—in the context of a different system. In partnership with the Octave HP 700 SE preamplifier with RIAA phono, tone controls, and MC step-up transformer ($24,500 as configured); Moon North 791 streaming preamp ($16,000); Grimm Audio MU-1 Roon server ($12,500); and Dynaudio Confidence 60 loudspeakers ($50,000/pair), the system sounded top-rate.
The Beatles' "Come Together" excelled in bass, and Fred Hersch…
It was a mixed show for Wynn Wong, mastermind of Canadian-based Wynn Audio importers. Soundwise he did very well, with Ayama Witter-Johnson’s take on Hoagy Carmichael / Ned Washington’s “The Nearness of You” so satisfying on every level, from solidity of bass to clarity of voice.
The other half of the experience was learning of the very recent death of Milan Karan, owner and chief designer of Karan Acoustics, at age 59. I reviewed the Karan Acoustics POWERa mono amplifier ($106,000/pair), which I heard in this room in spring, 2023, and found it a “phenomenal achievement.”
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It was hard to tell where distributor / dealer Next Level HiFi ended and Audio Group Denmark began. Or, vice-versa), it was equally hard to tell if more action was taking place in the room during the demo or in the hallway. Suffice to say, there was a lot of energy flowing, and all that talking made listening a challenge.
The system in the Serenity room was relatively affordabl by the standards of Audio Group Denmark: Børresen C1 loudspeakers with stands ($16,500/pair), AXXESS Forté 3 streamer/DAC with class-A headphone amp ($11,000), plus AXXESS cabling. The system cost $35,000…
Brian Damkroger’s recent review of the T+A Solitaire S 530 was laudatory. I was eager to hear it. On my first visit to T+A’s large Schaumberg G space that I opted for a Sunday pre-show listen. The S 530 wasn’t on display, but I did get the opportunity to hear the Solitaire S 540 floorstanding speaker ($59,900/pair), which sits above the S 530 in the T+A lineup and costs $12,000 more.
Jim Shannon and Dave Nauber explained that the speaker exhibits qualities of a planar loudspeaker by sending more energy toward the listener, with less energy dispersed to the ceiling, floor, and…
To say that I had good memories of the Luxman-Magico room at an earlier AXPONA would be an understatement. Two years ago, I heard Magico's phenomenal, $185,000 M6 speakers driven by two just-launched Luxman M-10X stereo amplifiers running in mono. The preamp was a Luxman C-900u. I wrote that "the sound pressure changes in the large room were felt more than heard, but they came as a package alongside top-notch dynamics, slam and impact." The combination made such a strong impression that I still occasionally thought and talked about it through the rest of 2022 and '23.
When I…
Rich Pinto of Treehaus Audiolab, which is based in Southport, Connecticut, has been dedicated to developing SET amplifiers and high-efficiency speakers since 2017. Here at AXPONA, he introduces the A/Machines monoblock amplifiers ($39,000/pair), which showcase his commitment to classic design, in the sound and the aesthetics.
Engineered and built by Radu Tarta (of simplepleasuretubeamps), the 6Wpc A/Machines consists of a 10Y/801A tube driving a Western Electric 300B though a Finemet-Core interstage transformer made in Japan for Treehaus Audiolab. The output transformer, also with a…
Steve Jain and his Fidelity Imports crew presented six rooms at AXPONA, stuffed with debut products from across the world.
Room 1215 featured Soulnote electronics—a D-3 DAC ($24,999), Z-3 Network Transport ($14,999), X-3 Clock Generator ($4999), and A-3 Integrated Amp ($24,999)—and Opera Callas Diva loudspeakers ($11,999/pair), connections by QED cables and Titan Audio power cords.
This gorgeous-looking system played cool of tone but engaging of soul. A stream of cellist Jacqueline du Pré’s classic recording of the Elgar Cello Concerto with Sir John Barbirolli and the…
Last year in the large Schaumburg F air-walled room in the Convention Center, Stenheim, VTL, and Nordost put together one of the finest sounding rooms I’ve heard at any show. This year, the sound was again among the best I encountered in the over 40 rooms I auditioned.
Given the room’s sponsors, it's not surprising that classical music was given the volume it deserves. If the first two selections, Jordi Savall’s interpretation of the Lacrimosa from Mozart’s Requiem and “Le Spectre de la Rose” from Berlioz’s Les Nuits d'Été, sung by the magnificent Sandrine Piau, were too downbeat for a…