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Days after AXPONA 2025 wrapped, organizers announced a record 10,910 attendees—a 5% increase over 2024. Trade passes grew by 20%, which either points to a surge in legitimate press coverage or an uptick in blog-based glamor shots (aka audio porn) aimed at securing free entry.

With 213 listening rooms across 12 floors, featuring products from more than 700 manufacturers and brands, there had been plenty to photograph, ogle, and—better yet—audition. The Ear Gear Experience also grew, complemented by a Record Fair and a new Car Audio Showcase. Thanks to the draw of Patricia Barber,…

The Only Ones formed in 1976, at the dawn of the punk era. The South London quartet never quite fit in, being more Dylan and Velvet Underground than Damned or Pistols. After three good albums and a masterpiece of a single ("Another Girl, Another Planet"), the group split in 1982.

Happily, we hadn't heard the last of lead singer Peter Perrett, although it took a few decades. After two albums with The One, Perrett released the solo albums…

What is this? That question is reasonable to ask after hearing Alpha's new concept album, Electric Fields. The plans for this recording began with the Labèque sisters. They teamed up with the ever-adventurous soprano Barbara Hannigan and composer/performer David Chalmin, who combined spiritual texts by…

Pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and guitarist Mary Halvorson came to New York within four years of each other, on either side of the new millennium. The former arrived from her native Switzerland, the latter from Massachusetts with a three-year stopover in Connecticut to study with experimental composer and alto…

Fidelity Imports’ room 1221 featured electronics from Audia Flight and loudspeakers from Perlisten. Both brands are relatively new to the US market, though Perlisten has gained wider recognition more quickly.

The system consisted of an Audia Flight FLS1 preamplifier ($9999); two FLS8 monoblocks ($23,998/pair); Perlisten S7t SE floorstanding loudspeakers ($23,990/pair); and the new D8is subwoofer (price TBD). QED cables linked it all together.

The D8is weighs approximately 176 lb, including its rigid, vibration-resistant aluminum cabinet and internal components. The product…

When Kalman Rubinson reviewed this affordably priced amplifier in the January 2025 issue, he was impressed by what he heard. "Sonically, the Buckeye 1ET9040BA monoblocks are superb," he concluded, adding that "to their credit, they are transparent, open and balanced, and with the right program material, thrilling. ... Physically, they are compact, lightweight, and utilitarian in the best meanings of the word. I could happily adopt them into my own system."

The issue of how to balance and mesh measurements and subjective observations is interesting and rich. Stereophile's traditional policy is to have the subjective, listening-based report performed first, before a product is measured on the test bench. The intent is to ensure that the reviewer is not biased by prior knowledge of the test results, good or bad—but the downside is situations like this, when technical faults, which may or may not be audible, are discovered only after the subjective review is completed. Of course, there's a middle course…

For me, one of the biggest surprises at Munich High End 2024 was the performance of Constellation’s new Revelation 2 stereo amplifier ($30,000), preamplifier ($25,500), and phono stage ($29,000). I’d expected refinement, but not this level of clarity; previous Constellation gear had sometimes struck me as a little dark. In Munich, the sound was beautifully illuminated, with wonderful colors and an ideal amount of brightness in the treble.

Those impressions were confirmed at AXPONA 2025. Revelation 2 isn’t even Constellation’s top tier—two higher lines are on the way—but its sound…

Room 1225 with Fidelity Imports offered a jolt of musical energy—vinyl spinning, bookshelf speakers punching, and a vibe that was more “groove and grind” than “rise and shine.” Even early in the day, the system sounded wide awake.

Michell Engineering, a British maker of high-quality turntables, was in pole position with its Gyro SE Bundle player ($6199), fitted with a Goldring E3 cartridge ($189), followed by Michell’s Apollo and Muse phono preamp and power supply ($4999). Amplification duties fell to the Primare I35 Prisma streaming integrated amplifier ($5999), which drove Q…

AXPONA 2025 marked the debut of Computer Audio Design’s 1543 DAC Mk.III ($19,500), presented by CAD founders Scott Berry and Isabel Whitley. Also on hand were the CAD CAT (Computer Audio Transport, ca. $15,000) and a suite of CAD noise-reduction devices.

The 1543 DAC Mk.III runs 20 Philips TDA1543 chips in parallel. According to CAD, its power supply transformers and choke rectification improve dynamics and transient response. “Even though the chip is 16-bit, it can decode 24-bit/176.4kHz files natively,” Berry said.

An array of CAD’s passive ground control…