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The Czech List: Remton and Fonolab Bring the Goods

At High End Munich, the shared booth of Prague-based Remton Audio and Fonolab inevitably caught my eye. Beautifully crafted phono gear always stands out, especially when it reflects deep analog passion.

Remton Audio focuses on hand-built phono stages. The company offers nine products, most of which were on display in Munich. The lineup at the show included a Remton RHA tube headphone amplifier ($2900, all prices approximate when converted from non-US currencies), the 383 tube phono stage ($2900), an additional unnamed tube phono stage, the LCR tube phono stage ($7900, MM/MC),…

Revival Audio Instinct: French Speakers, Nordic Muscle

Jacky Lee, CEO of French manufacturer Revival Audio, presented a fine system that included an Electrocompaniet ECM 1 MKII high-end DAC and music streamer ($5800, all prices approximate when converted from Euros), an EMC 1 MKV Reference CD player ($7300), an EC 4.8 MKII Reference preamplifier ($5700), and Electrocompaniet's AW 800 M Reference stereo/monoblock amplifiers ($24,000 each).

Lee's Revival speakers, which I'd previously heard in the rooms of US distributor Tone Imports, included the new Atalante 7 Évo (about $10,000/pair with stands), and the Atalante 5 ($2700/pair; stands $430…

Ortofon Sharpens Its Stylus Game with MC X Series

Ortofon's Louis Dorio was demoing the brand's new cartridge lineup, featuring the MC X10 with elliptical stylus ($299), MC X20 with nude elliptical stylus ($499), MC X30 with nude fine-line stylus ($699), and MC X40 with nude Shibata stylus on a boron cantilever ($999).

"The MC X Series was the result of some lofty goals on our part," Dorio explained, adding that the products offer better dynamics, lower distortion, and higher resolution—much of it coming from refinements of the magnet system and rubber dampers.

Dorio also noted that the production process has been…

Doshi Does It Again (With Help from Avalon, Kuzma, SOtM, and a $3100 Salad Container)

This massive system—anchored by the world premiere Avalon Acoustics SAGA Signature loudspeakers, amplification from Nick Doshi, and Acustica Applicata's Volcano Modular Variable Resonator—produced deeply involving sound.

A Kuzma Stabi Reference II turntable ($15,773) was fitted with a Tri-Planar U2-SE 9.8" tonearm (damped carbon fiber wand, silver wire, $9500) and a My Sonic Lab cartridge. Digital playback came via a Kalista Mantax DAC (approx. $63,500) and a SOtM music server. A Studer 810 reel-to-reel deck rounded out the sources.

In my experience, when Nick Doshi's components…

Aequo's Ensium Speaker: Three Drivers, Two Halves, One Hell of a Debut

Impressively full-range sound was the hallmark of a fine system dominated by Aequo Audio's new three-driver Ensium speakers with active, room-corrected bass ($44,900/pair, or approx. $40,000/pair in the passive version). Connected by AudioQuest cabling (approx. $100,000), with Aequo's own Ferroguard power cables ($4100) for the woofers, the Dutch company's speakers absolutely sang. As I discovered from playing musical chairs, the sound was at its best in the front row; there, on Yello's "Till Tomorrow," colors were the most saturated and involving.

Audio show demos too often…

Lots of Luxman at Common Wave

L.A.-based dealer Common Wave Hi-Fi is presenting in six rooms in Costa Mesa this year. The one I visited was showing a Luxman PD-151 Mark II turntable ($5995) with Luxman's LMC-5 cartridge alongside other Luxman components from the 100-year-old Japanese maker's limited Black Edition Centennial series.

Instead of the company's ubiquitous silver chassis, these come in, yep, black: a Luxman L-509Z integrated amplifier ($12,995), D-07X SA-CD player ($10,495), and NT-07 streamer ($7995). Music was played back through a pair of QLN Signature speakers with stands ($24,500/pair).

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Onkyo Is Alive and Well (Case in Point: Its New Icon Series)

Guess who's back from the brink of existence? It's Onkyo, the storied Japanese audio brand that filed for bankruptcy in 2022. Like Mark Twain's rumored demise, reports of its death were greatly exaggerated. In Munich, Akihisa "Alec" Watanabe, project leader at Onkyo Technology, and Dave Gans, VP of Marketing & eCommerce at Premium Audio Company (Onkyo's U.S. distributor, which also handles Klipsch) convinced doubters that the brand is alive and well.

Klipsch revealed its new La Scala AL6 in March, and the large speaker sure stood its ground in Munich, but I was there to get the…

A Little Boom Goes a Long Way: Avantgarde's New Twin Sub

Avantgarde Acoustic provided a close look at its latest offerings, including a new compact subwoofer, the Twin Sub (price not yet announced).

The company explained that the sub expands Avantgarde's subwoofer lineup with a more compact, easier-to-integrate option. The new product was designed to offer the Trio G3's full-range impact in a more compact form, as it's easier to integrate than the company's larger SpaceHorn subwoofer.

A Clearaudio Reference Jubilee turntable ($21,500), fitted with a Unity tonearm ($16,300) and a Goldfinger MC cartridge (about $17,500), fed an…

With New Reference Speakers, JBL Scales a Sonic Summit

"Immerse yourself in extraordinary acoustics and thrilling inspirational insights," trumpeted the JBL "Summit of Sound" press release. Present at the event were Harman Luxury Audio top brass Dave Tovissi, Jim Garrett, and Paul Neville, with Harman's David Glaubke moderating. The men proudly pointed to the elevated sonics of their new Summit speakers, including the JBL Ama ($19,995/pair with stands), the JBL Pumori ($29,995/pair) and the JBL Makalu ($44,995/pair).

The Makalu is a 3-way floorstanding reference loudspeaker with a 12" woofer and 8" midrange driver, both made with JBL'…

Glory and Hallelujah: My Time at Kondo Audio Note

My last stop of the show was a real highlight. The only Kondo Audio Note equipment I'd heard up till then was at a friend's home in New York City. His setup included a Kondo Ongaku integrated amplifier, a Kondo KSL-SFz SUT (step-up transformer), Kondo silver interconnects (KSL-LPz and Ls-41), and Kondo KSL-SPz silver speaker cables. The sound was consistently beautiful, very natural, with a touch of romanticism.

But even that setup didn't prepare me for what I heard in Munich. The show system was fronted by a Kondo Ginga turntable ($68,000) mounted with a Kondo IO-XP MC cartridge ($8900…