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At AXPONA 2025’s Ear Gear Experience, Manley Labs president EveAnna Manley unveiled a long-rumored project: the company’s Precision Line and Phono Stage. Designed to marry tube tradition with modern functionality, the unit houses 10 triodes powered by Manley’s proprietary switch-mode supply. Behind its sculpted faceplate are six inputs, each assignable for line-level or RIAA-equalized signals, offering up to 75dB of gain.

A single encoder allows cartridge loading from 30 to 960 ohms (with a standard 47k-ohm option) and offers 30–480pF of user-selectable capacitance for MM cartridges…

What stood out most to me was how different the rig sounded compared with last year’s AXPONA setup. This year, Filippelli showcased Estelon Extreme Mk II loudspeakers ($296,000/pair) driven by four Vitus SM-103 monoblock amplifiers ($81,000/pair). Completing the system were a Vitus SL-103 preamp ($42,000) and SD-025 DAC ($35,000), two SonoruS ATR10 tape…

The main system included a McIntosh MDA200 DAC ($4000) feeding a McIntosh C55 preamplifier ($9000), which in turn drove MC1.25KW monoblocks ($13,500 each). An AudioQuest Niagara 5000 power conditioner ($5900) scrubbed the signal.

Monitor’s Hyphn looks more like a Kubrickian sci-fi art object than a traditional loudspeaker. Twin vertical columns curve like the legs of a praying mantis, joined across the upper midsection by what appears…

I am part of a small music demographic that I described in 1998, in an article in Positive Feedback, as "high-end composer." Another applicable term might be "audiophile composer." There are others who work this way, but not many. Few musicians are as interested as I am in the recording and reproduction of their music. I like to hear the sausage getting made.

Vu showed three turntables at AXPONA. The Master Reference ($39,000) and Maestro ($9000) were each paired with Osiris MK2 Diamond 12" tonearms ($9000) and Apollo MC cartridges ($7999). The Hathor ($4000) featured a Horus 12″ tonearm ($4400) and a Zeus MC cartridge ($4800).

Amplification came from the TriangleArt P200 dual-mono phono stage ($18,000) and the $12,500 I-20 integrated amplifier—a tubed, single-ended, dual-mono design. That able combo drove the horn-loaded TriangleArt Metis loudspeakers ($60,000…

The Stereo Haven rig was built around the Amadeus 254 GT turntable ($8750)—a next-generation model from Well Tempered—fitted with a Dynavector DRT XV-1t cartridge ($9750). The system used a Jadis JP80 preamplifier with built-in phono stage ($25,900), paired with the Sugden Sapphire FBA-800 power amplifier ($…

Sierra Sound’s Michael Fajen assembled a system that stopped more than a few showgoers in their tracks—built around not one but two turntables.

Turntable one featured Benz Micro Ruby Z and ACE Mono cartridges ($4000 and $1000 respectively) mounted on a ViV Laboratory Rigid Float HA-9″ tonearm ($4500), which was installed on an AMG Giro MK II Wood turntable with an AMG 9WT tonearm ($17,500). A Sierra Sound NAB-1 tonearm platform ($500) supported the assembly.

Turntable two featured the Connected Fidelity **TT Hub**, paired with a Sorane TA-1 tonearm and a Benz Micro…

Ruark’s room featured a full lineup, but it was the compact Sabre-R speakers ($899/pair) that stood out—surprisingly powerful and musically engaging.

Also on display: the Ruark R810 mid-century-style all-in-one console ($4499), an R410 integrated system ($1799), an R610 streaming integrated amp ($1599), and an R1 Mk4…

The AP-507 is a half-width stereo power amp in TEAC’s Reference 500 series, delivering 170Wpc into 4 ohms or 350W (bridged-tied load, BTL mode) into 8 ohms. It employs an NCOREx (latest-generation Ncore) module from Hypex, tuned by TEAC and supported by a large toroidal transformer and low-noise Schottky diodes. Capacitance per channel is rated at 18,800µF.

The system included the world-premiere Vienna…

And who’s got just the solution? Why, Kii does! Reichardt and Kii’s Alex Ligeti enthusiastically demoed two of their all-in-one, just-add-a-source systems. At $8585/pair, the Kii Seven stand-mounts are the more affordable option. Each speaker is Class-D-powered by a 600Wpc amplifier module designed by Bruno Putzeys, inventor of…