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…
In Room 1129, the company introduced the Air Tight ATC-6 line-stage preamplifier ($14,975) and the matching ATE-5 phono stage ($13,575). The ATE-5 offers native MM inputs with 40 dB of gain and MC support via an external step-up transformer, specifically the ATH-3S ($4475).
Room 1129 also featured an Air Tight Opus 1 MC cartridge ($15,975) mounted on a Reed 3P 10.5" Panzerholz tonearm ($7414), which in turn sat atop a Reed 3C friction-drive…
First unveiled in passive display at Munich High End 2024, the new D’Agostino Pendulum Integrated amplifier made its US consumer audio show debut in two places at AXPONA 2025: a hallway setup—where listening was possible only at close range—and in a room sponsored by Innuos.
The Stereophile team caught up with Dan D’Agostino during his brief visit to Chicago to get the lowdown on the newest and lowest-priced integrated in his line. Some of his remarks on sound versus measurements make this video a must-see.
The all-balanced Pendulum Integrated has one single-ended input…
System One featured a Grimm MU2 streamer ($18,000) and a Perpetuum Ebner PE 1010 MKII turntable ($3495) equipped with an Ortofon 2M Red Verso cartridge ($160). These front-end sources fed Avantgarde’s fully active ZERO iTRON horn-loaded loudspeakers ($26,000/pair). The iTRON’s bass drivers are powered by a 500W Class D…
Mark Sossa of Virginia-based distributor Well Pleased AV brought a sweet lineup to Chicago, including the world-premiere Merason Mountain DAC ($20,000).
The DAC, the company’s first to eliminate output capacitors, is part of a new line that also includes Mountain Pre and Mountain Power amplification.
“By removing the caps, we’ve managed to tighten and deepen the bass response, delivering sound that is both more powerful and more precise,” Merason founder and managing director Daniel Frauchiger claimed.
Other upgrades include improved internal reclocking, an…
At AXPONA 2025, Jonathan Halpern of Tone Imports and Matt Rotunda of Pitch Perfect Audio teamed up in room 2025. Very au courant. I first met Halpern and speaker designer John DeVore years ago, when both worked at Steve Mishoe’s In Living Stereo, a high-end store in New York. Their careers have long intersected—and so has their gear.
The duo’s analog front end featured a MusiKraft moving-coil cartridge—misread by my editor as “Muskrat”; happily, its performance was anything but furry. The cart ($2950–$3650) was mounted to the tonearm of a JC Verdier La Platine magnetic-bearing…