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As I wandered the circuitous corridors of High End Munich 2025 and AXPONA, J.Sikora's meteoric rise was impossible to miss—the 'tables' neo-Brutalist beauty commanded attention in room after room in Germany and Chicago.
The kicker came at 2025's Capital Audiofest, where J.Sikora turntables seemed to have multiplied like audiophile rabbits. Initial Max and Standard Max Supreme…
I performed a complete set of measurements on a Dynaudio Confidence 20 Active Space standmount loudspeaker, serial number 10177473, with the analog output of my DRA Labs' MLSSA system connected to the XLR jack on the back of the integral stand. (The speaker was set to Left/ Primary.) I then repeated some of the measurements with the MLSSA output digitized with my Ayre QA-9 A/D converter and fed to the loudspeaker's AES3 digital input. This input locked to data with a sample rate up to 192kHz. I used a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone with an Earthworks microphone…
The familiarity of that signature Stranger synth bed should in turn lead your ingrained sound-sense memory to conjure the music of Tangerine Dream, the…
Rega’s Osiris integrated amplifier, in residence a row above a Naim Streamer setup.
Yzabel Audio, a new speaker manufacturer based in the Quebec City region, has been generating buzz with its standmount Classic 1 speaker. I got to check it out at Montreal Audiofest 2026.
This two-way design employs Scan-Speak drivers, a minimalist crossover with very few components, and is said by the manufacturer to achieve bass extension down to 30 Hz (±3 dB).
All I can do is describe what I heard—and that, summed up, was substantial. In a compact system including a…
Description: Belt-drive, two-speed turntable built of aluminum, inox, cast iron, and Delrin with inverted ceramic ball bearing, EBM-Papst DC motor, and external power supply. Speeds: 33 1/3, 45rpm. Platter: 2"-thick Delrin, 8.82lb (4kg). Wow and flutter: ±0.07%. Speed accuracy: ±0.16%. Supplied with J.Sikora Aspire tonearm: Oil-damped, unipivot, 9" tonearm with carbon-fiber armwand with body of aluminum, brass, and stainless steel. Pure copper internal cabling. Weight: 160gm. Effective mass: 11.2gm. Mounting distance: 212mm. Effective length: 228.6mm. Offset…
In the above video interview on our YouTube channel, Robert Schryer speaks with John DeVore of DeVore Fidelity about the gear shown in the Phonographe room.
First a foreword: When Ken Micallef and I walked into the Phonographe room at Montreal Audiofest 2026, DeVore Fidelity's John DeVore was helming the room—Phonographe is a DeVore dealer—accompanied by Box Furniture's Anthony Abbate, a furniture maker who began as one of John's customers and now builds his company's speaker cabinets in the same building. I thought it was a beautiful story of destiny fulfilled, worth (…
In the above video interview, from our YouTube channel, Robert Schryer speaks with Madly Audio co-founder Armando about the gear shown in their room.
Well-designed box speakers don't strike me as sounding "boxy"—until I hear something like the Maco Macaria open-baffle speakers demoed here in Madly Audio's room at Montreal Audiofest 2026. The Maco Macaria distinguished itself from conventional enclosures by a complete absence of enclosure-related colorations—no muffled character, however slight.
Paired with a Burmester 232 integrated amplifier in a gleaming red…
Analog source: EMT Pure Black, Kuzma CAR 30, and VPI Goldy MC phono cartridges.
Preamplifiers: Ampsandsound Yosemite, Rogue RP-7 (line); Tavish Audio Design Adagio, Manley Chinook, Allnic H-5500 (phono).
Power amplifiers: Air Tight ATM-1 2024 Edition, Rogue Audio Stereo 100.
Integrated amplifiers: Unison Research S6 Black Edition, AVM Evolution CS 5.2.
Loudspeakers: DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Super Nine.
Cables: Interconnects: AudioQuest Pegasus and Firebird, Triode Wire Labs Spirit II (RCA). Speaker: Auditorium 23, AudioQuest William Tell…