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Setup and rocking
These big, heavy speakers are packed in wooden crates. Two adults in good physical shape, with strong backs, are required to move them around. They're not on wheels and thus need to be "herc'd" into place. I set them up on rugs for easier shifting to their final places and toeing in.

From the start, the Krypton3Xs sounded familiar. They presented the same sharp-focused images and fast dynamics as my smaller studio monitors, and they did it on a room-filling scale. In fact, I ended up moving them farther back and apart after my initial, instinctive setup.…

Description: Three-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive units: 1" (25.4mm) titanium-dome tweeter with "5th Generation" plastic waveguide, two 8" (203.2mm) papyrus-cone mid/bass units in vented internal enclosures for "cardioid" dispersion, and 10" (254mm) aluminum-cone side-firing woofer with rear ports. Crossover frequencies: 160Hz, 1.6kHz. Frequency response: 21Hz–55kHz, –3dB. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Sensitivity: 89dB. Recommended power: 100–300W.
Dimensions: 55.1" (1400mm) H × 13" (330mm) W × 18.9" (480mm) D. Weight: 154.3lb (70kg) each…

Turntable: Technics SL-1200MKV with KAB fluid damping and tonearm wiring, Hana SL MKII MC cartridge.
Digital sources: dCS Bartók streaming DAC, Cambridge Audio EXN-100 streaming DAC, Oppo UDP-203 universal disc player.
Phono preamplifier: Pro-Ject Phono Box RS2.
Preamplifier: Benchmark LA-4.
Power amplifier: Benchmark AHB2.
Loudspeakers: Amphion Two18.
Accessories: Butcherblock Acoustics equipment rack, SME turntable cable.—Tom Fine

I measured one of the Amphion Krypton3X loudspeakers, serial number 1035, in Tom Fine's listening room, driving it with his Benchmark AHB2 amplifier. I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone with an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Amphion Krypton3X's farfield frequency behavior and dispersion. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike, which has a small, ¼"-diameter capsule, for the nearfield responses. Although TF and his friend Mike Barney were able to lift the 154lb speaker onto a small dolly, the first reflection from the…

This system, largely composed of Viva Audio components—including three world premieres—was supported by a mix of modest and high-end source components.

A humble Oppo CD player was joined by a Viva Audio Numerico DAC ($26,000), a CVS Vintage Revival Rek-O-Kut J34 turntable, an Innuos Zenith Mk.3 music server ($6299), and a PhoenixNET network switch ($4800).

The signal chain fed a trio of debuts: the Viva Cantabile phono preamplifier ($85,000), Armonico line preamplifier ($90,000), and Forte monoblock amplifiers ($290,000/pair), which drove Viva Audio's recently introduced…

For the occasion, I made my first jaunt to Southern California in a handful of years. I arrived partway through the first day, blurry-eyed yet excited to see what was new. (The Eastern Time zone jet lag hasn't hit yet.)

Plenty seems new, and not just products. T.H.E. Show has a new name, a new rationale for the old acronym. T.H.E. used to stand for "The Home Entertainment…

What more delightful way to end the third day of High End Munich than having a cup of tea and a short chat with Jean-Christophe Calmettes, owner of Jadis Electronics? He had some interesting news to share about the French company's two forthcoming integrated amplifiers, the Aria class-AB ($5200, all prices approximate when converted from Euros) and the Ode 30W pure class-A (available fourth quarter 2025, price TBD).

Calmettes said that innovation with tube circuits is difficult, but that his team was equal to the task of making the new designs more attractive, modern, and user-…

Also in the system: an Engström M-Phono phono stage ($32,500), plus, on the digital side, an APL Hi-Fi DSD-WR DAC and an NSP-GR streamer ($21,500 each), along with an ANS-MR network switch ($2500). An Engström Arne 300B integrated amplifier ($40,900) drove Kroma Atelier Macbeth standmount speakers ($29,000/pair). Ikigai Audio cables, an…

The debut Klaudio Magnezar KD-MGZ-TT1-NC turntable ($50,000) with Klaudio KD-ARM-AP12 12" tangential tonearm ($18,000) had attendees craning their necks around the display in the Klaudio room.

Klaudio claims on its site that "the Magnezar's platter floats entirely on permanent magnets, so there are no mechanical thrust bearings... Liquid is used to enhance stabilization." Also, the company says, an automatic clamping system "flattens both center and periphery of the LP." The Magnezar supports dual tonearms.

The Klaudio KD-ARM-AP12 was also new, styled in a way…

The great-sounding rig, largely unfamiliar to me, featured the Thuono Audio TH400 turntable and TH12 tonearm ($52,000, all prices approximate when converted from Euros), an Omega Audio Concepts Zenith CD Player ($107,000), and the four-chassis Omega Audio Concepts Accordo integrated amplifier ($85,000). These components powered the AlsyVox Michelangelo loudspeakers ($530,000/…