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PureAudioProject's Trio15 open-baffle speakers powered by Pass Labs, Aurender, Denafrips, VPI

On the Renaissance hotel's 16th floor, in the room occupied by PureAudioProject, folks were utterly baffled. Also, occasionally horny.

Apologies. The fact that I'm away from home for four, five days to cover AXPONA means I temporarily don't have my teenage offspring to mortify with dad humor, so now I'm inflicting it on you. PureAudioProject, you see, makes open-baffle speakers. Some have horns. There's a reason I write for Stereophile, not Saturday Night Live.

Israeli proprietor Ze'ev Schlik (above) had brought his Trio15 boxless speakers, plus a playlist full of fine tracks to…

The Lenbrook room, Paul Barton, and PSB's Flagship Synchrony T800 Tower

Industry legend Paul Barton (above) has been designing speakers for more than half a century. He's also quite the speaker himself.

I'd sauntered into the Lenbrook room to check out Barton's new PSB Synchrony T800 floorstanders (PSB is a Lenbrook brand). My visit was serendipitously timed. Not only was the man himself present; he and I, along with the gregarious Joe Corona of Chicago retailer Saturday Audio Exchange, were the only ones left when the doors closed at 6pm. We settled in. Corona provided slices of coffee cake, and Barton supplied wisdom and bon mots.

For a very…

Next Level HiFi & Børreson's new X3 loudspeaker

Børresen has sprung a welcome surprise on audiophiles. Long known for its expensive loudspeakers, Michael Børresen's Danish speaker company has launched the X3 loudspeaker ($11,000/pair). Exhibited by Next Level HiFi, which sells products from Audio Group Denmark, the speaker excelled in a snappy yet pleasing three-dimensional presentation, highlighted by the company's fabled huge soundstage.

The X3 includes a scaled-down version of Børreson's ribbon planar tweeter with a smaller motor system, and a new midrange and bass/midrange driver that include two layers of spread-toe carbon fiber…

Accuphase A300 monoblocks and other debuts from AXISS Audio USA

With the assumption of audiophile Cliff Duffey (above) as President of AXISS Audio USA (aka AXISS Distribution Inc.), and the addition of T.J. Goldsby as Vice President of Sales and Dealer relations, the company has added more lines than can comfortably fit into a headline.

One of their large suites in the Schaumburg Hotel was brimming with some of those lines and several debuts: the North American debut of the new Accuphase A-300 class-A monoblock amplifier ($65,000/pair), created for the company's 50th anniversary, which delivers 125W into 8 ohms and up to 1000W into 1 ohm and…

Kat Ourlian Brings PrimaLuna, Tannoy (and Cabasse) from Upscale Audio

While audiophiles kvetch over the future of this thing we love, rest assured, young audiophiles are growing in number, evidenced by AXPONA halls streaming with under-30 types. Upscale Audio's Kevin Deal, one of the savviest of distributors, introduced me to his young Analog Manager, Kat Ourlian, who discussed specs and brought two terrific-sounding LPs to play on a tricked-out PrimaLuna/Tannoy system.

While a US debut pair of Tannoy Sterling III LZ loudspeakers ($12,500/pair) sat statically in another Upscale Audio room, Kat spun vinyl on a system that included a Dr. Feickert…

Audio-Ultra showcases CH Precision and Magico

If you wanted to hear an admirably smooth, solid, all-of-one-piece system with a huge soundstage and extremely fast and firm bass, Ed DeVito's Audio-Ultra exhibit was one of the best to visit. It was also the only room where you could hear CH Precision gear with the latest upgrades and the diminutive Magico A1 standmount loudspeakers ($9400/pair in silver finish).

The A1 includes a full braced 6061 T6 grade aluminum enclosure, a 1.1" beryllium-dome tweeter and a 6.5" mid-bass driver with a nanographene cone. Frequency range is specified as 35Hz–50kHz, sensitivity 84dB, and impedance 4…

Ocean Audio: Finley Audio cables meet Serhan Swift speakers meet . . .

In the Ocean Audio room in which Finley Audio, Les Davis Audio, Small Green Computer, Serhan Swift loudspeakers, and Boulder Audio joined forces, my attention was first drawn to Serhan Swift of Sydney, Australia. In 2013, after nearly four decades of producing loudspeakers, Brad Serhan teamed up with Morris Swift of Oneaudio. As a follow-up to their active DSP Active loudspeaker, the men have created the mu2 Mk II passive loudspeaker ($7950/pair). Serhan was responsible for the principal design, and Swift contributed some of the engineering.

The mu2 Mk II loudspeaker is a precision two-…

Monitor Audio Platinum 200 3G speakers, Roksan, Parasound, AudioQuest

Last summer, when I went shopping for a pair of standmount speakers for a bedroom, I settled on Monitor Audio Bronze 100s. They ticked the boxes: musical to a T, natural-sounding, not too incisive or fatiguing, and a pretty damn good value at around $700/pair. I dug 'em, and still do.

At AXPONA, the British company demonstrated what happened when it gave its designers license to develop a top-of-the-line floorstander. Fifty years of both incremental improvements and great leaps forward have culminated in the $13,900/pair Monitor Audio 200 3G. I'd opt for the piano ebony finish: fetching.…

JDEvents Excelled at AXPONA 2023

Halfway through Day 1 of AXPONA 2023, it became clear once again that JDEvents has the staff and expertise to mount a large show with ease. While I'm sure there were a few rough patches, none of which I encountered, Deanna Tursellino's smiling face at one of several "Help" tables scattered throughout the show reflected the seeming ease with which the Fairfield, CT-based company's team of 15 assisted exhibitors and visitors alike.

Hear This with WestminsterLab and Von Schweikert Audio

Several surprises awaited in the AXPONA room sponsored by Gary Leeds's Hear This, North American distributor of WestminsterLab, and Von Schweikert Audio in association with Lampizator, NA and Small Green Computer. (Bonus points if you can read that out loud on one breath.) First was the "hard launch" of equipment from WestminsterLab: the Rei monoblock ($32,900/pair), which despite the title is not recommended for summer hikes in Yosemite, and Quest balanced preamplifier with full carbon-fiber component shielding upgrade ($25,100, or $22,900 in basic configuration). Next were the speakers—not…