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MSB Technology S500 Stereo Amplifier, Reference DAC, and Reference Transport with Magico M2 Speakers

A visit to the MSB Technology room yielded a formidable debut, the company's new S500 stereo amplifier, which delivers 500W of power with apparent ease and efficiency, demonstrated with the mighty Magico M2 loudspeaker ($63,600/pair with required MPod bases), which was featured in the February 2020 Stereophile.

The hybrid class-AB amp uses zero negative feedback—which, according to MSB, might not have been achieved before at 500W. It boasts a million microfarads (or one farad) of capacitance in the power supply and a 136dB dynamic range for an extraordinarily low noise floor.

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Joseph Audio Perspective 2 Speakers, Doshi Audio V3 Stereo Amplifier and Line Preamplifier and Evolution Series Tape Preamplifier, Berkeley Reference Series 3 DAC, Aurender W-20SE Streamer, Cardas Clear Beyond Cabling

I'm surprised how many principals and designers are at this show, as opposed to local dealers and distributors—although perhaps I shouldn't be, considering that it's February and this is Florida.

In the Cardas/Joseph/Doshi room, I found both Jeff Joseph and Nick Doshi. I also found very good sound, produced by Jeff Joseph's Perspective 2 Graphene loudspeakers ($15,000/pair), which John Atkinson reviewed in the July 2018 issue of Stereophile. I won't comment on the speakers except to say that they sounded great; I'll just refer readers to JA's review.

Here, I'll focus on Doshi…

Pure Audio Project Quintet10 Horn2 Speaker, Pass Labs XP12 Preamplifier and XA25 Amplifier, VPI Prime Turntable, Luminous Audio Arion Phono Stage

It's not every day that you encounter a high-end loudspeaker that the end user actually assembles. Pure Audio Project has taken this unorthodox approach in introducing its brand-new Quintet10 Horn2 speaker at the Florida show.

It's a two-way design with five open baffles, four housing 10" drivers and the fifth housing a natural wood horn paired with a 1.4" compression driver. The frame is made of aluminum for the global market, but steel is deployed for the US. The horn handles quite a wide range of frequencies-a remarkable 550Hz to 20kHz. The other lower-frequency drivers/woofers are…

Piega Premium Wireless 701 Loudspeakers

This was a surprise.

When I walked in to this room and saw these skinny towers, I didn't expect much. When I saw that they were wireless, I expected even less. But the Piega 701s made some very fine sounds, with good bass, tweeters that didn't draw attention to themselves, and a stereo image that didn't collapse when I moved off-center. The Piega Connect wireless interface accepts digital or analog inputs and sends music to the speakers over its own proprietary network on one of three wireless bands. Tall and skinny, with DSP correction for wall and corner placement, they'll be…

Raven Audio Ce'Lest and Corvus Speakers with Osprey MK3 Integrated Amplifier and Silhouette MK2 Reference Preamplifier and Monoblock Amplifiers

Known primarily for its sharp-looking tube amplification ranges, Raven Audio of Texas has been busy cranking out a plethora of new products, including some entirely new categories for the company: the debut of two loudspeakers (with the same high efficiency, spec'd at 94dB) and a line of cables. Raven presented two active demos: a reference system and a more affordable setup featuring the maker's latest offerings.

The new Corvus tower speaker system ($12,995/pair) comprises two separate and stacked cabinets: an active bass enclosure containing 1000W of amplification and 32-bit DSP for…

Kiso Acoustics HB-N1 Speaker, Metronome DSS Streamer and Le DAC, Thales Slim II Turntable, Karan Acoustics KAL MK3 Preamplifier, KAS 400 Stereo Amplifier, and PH1 Phonostage, EMT STX 5/10 Step-Up Transformer

Wynn Audio of Toronto presented a lovely demo with a couple of new products: the Swiss-made EMT STX 5/10 step-up transformer ($9280), which employs a toroidal transformer with pure silver wiring to provide output options for 14dB or 20dB of gain with a lower noise floor for higher resolution, and the Métronome DSS Streamer (DSS stands for Digital Sharing Streamer), which was released in January but seen for the first time here in the U.S. The French manufacturer’s DS (Digital Sharing) lineup was launched three years ago with a streamer/server; market demand led to the development of the DSS,…

Stenheim Alumine 3 Loudspeakers; VAC Master Line Stage and Signature 200iQ Stereo Amplifier; Acoustic Signature XX Turntable, TA-2000 Tonearm, and TANGO Reference Phonostage; Dynavector XX2 MC Phono Cartridge; Critical Mass Systems Sotto Voce Rack; Cablin

When I heard the Stenheim Alumine 3 at AXPONA last year, I frankly wasn't impressed. The tweeter seemed a little hot, the character a little buzzy. I learned just this morning that Jean-Pascal Panchard, Stenheim's CEO and designer, wasn't happy with them, either. He didn't think they were ready, but they had committed to presenting them at AXPONA, so he kept his commitment. They only produced three pair in that configuration. After that show, changes were made.

The version being demoed here at the Florida Audio Expo—by Panchard, one of many designers and company chiefs at this small show—…

Fyne Audio F702 Speakers, Pass Labs INT-60 Integrated Amplifier and XP-17 Phono Stage, Aurender W20SE Music Server, Aqua LaScala MkII DAC, VPI HW-40 40th Anniversary Turntable

Suncoast Audio presented Fyne Audio F702 speakers ($8995/pair) in their US debut. Handmade in Scotland, the two-and-a-half-way floorstander features a concentric point-source tweeter/midrange array with a titanium center that seemed almost hornlike in its appearance and delivery.

The Suncoast folks noted that the speakers were still breaking in when I came by on Friday but the sound was still quite pleasing-some articulate upright bass, for instance, which might have been benefiting from the "secret" downward-firing port on the bottom side of the cabinet.

The F702…

Volti Audio Special Edition Rival Loudspeaker, BorderPatrol P20 EXD Power Amplifier and DAC SE-i, Innuos Zenith Music Server and Phoenix USB Reclocker, Triode Wire Labs Cables

In celebration of their first 10 years in business, Volti Audio unveiled a newly redesigned version of their Rival SE (Special Edition) speaker ($19,900/pair), seen here in an eye-catchingly exotic bubinga wood veneer (a rosewood option is also available). Although its side-curved form appears quite substantial, the horn-loaded hybrid floorstander can be sonically suitable for larger or smaller spaces. With its horn drivers and a sensitivity spec of 100dB, the Rival SE also makes for an easy to load-perfect for the 300B-powered BorderPatrol P20 EXD amplifier. The three-way Volti also features…

Gryphon Ethos CD Player/DAC at New York City's Sound By Singer

On Thursday, February 13 from 5 to 9pm, Manhattan retailer Sound By Singer will present a musical evening centered around the Gryphon Audio Designs Ethos CD player/DAC. Alongside host Andrew Singer, Philip O'Hanlon of On A Higher Note—Gryphon's North American distributor—will demonstrate the Ethos with hand-curated selections; other components in the system will include the Gryphon Diablo 300 integrated amp and a Kronos pro-LE turntable fitted with a My Sonic Labs Eminent Ex cartridge, all played through Stenheim Alumine Five loudspeakers; the system will be wired with Analysis Plus cables.…