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It wasn't too many years ago that no audio perfectionist would even consider owning speakers having woofers of less than a 12" diameter. Everyone knew that it took a BIG speaker to reproduce real bass, and pointed at the size of a double bass and an organ bass pipe as proof that there was no way of circumventing that particular law of physics. Consumer audio products, which boasted 5" "woofers," were derided by the knowledgeable as outright frauds. But in recent years loudspeaker design has been going through a slow but productive evolutionary process, which has proven to even the most…
After Luxman's Masakazu Nagatsuma (shown above) walked me through all the company's gear in this most impressive system put together at AXPONA 2026 by Rhythm Audio, I settled in for a full demo.
The Luxman-dominated system played big and deep, carving cavernous space between notes with excellent attack. There was an ease to it—a naturalness of flow—that made it a born communicator.
Jennifer Warnes' '80s-era pop (which was accessed via Qobuz) landed effortlessly. Pat Metheny's cover of The Beatles' "And I Love Her" arrived at enormous scale, his acoustic guitar…
At AXPONA 2026, Axiss Audio's Steve Huntley (shown above) and Bel Canto Design's President Michael McCormick talk about all the gear shown in another one of the Axiss rooms at the show in an interview with Ken Micallef. Alas, time was too short to do a proper audition/listening session.
Equipment list: Analog sources: Transrotor Dark Star turntable ($5495); Transrotor TR 880 tonearm ($1895); Koetsu Rosewood Signature cartridge ($7995). System controller and amplification: Bel Canto Design Black system (including ESC2 controller and MPS2 monoblock amplifiers […
At AXPONA 2026, Marten Global Sales Manager Martin Dunhoff talks about the company's $500k Marten Coltrane Quintet Extreme loudspeakers in an interview with Ken Micallef that's now posted on our YouTube channel.
Although time constraints prevented me from doing a proper listening evaluation of this million-dollar open-air Marten system at AXPONA 2026, Global Sales Manager Martin Dunhoff was able to tell me all about the company's new $500K Marten Coltrane Quintet Extreme loudspeakers.
Being a huge Trane fan, I heartily approve of the product name.
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No More Guessing: Bachman (left) and Cummings are back with a vengeance. All Guess Who live in 2026 photos by Corey Kelly.
Guess Who is back on tour this summer?
Third base.
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
After traveling a long, hard road, keyboardist/vocalist Burton Cummings and guitarist/vocalist Randy Bachman—the two main beating hearts of Winnipeg's finest rock progenitors, The Guess Who—have indeed reclaimed their name and come back together for the Takin' It Back Tour, their first time touring together as The Guess Who in 23 years. The tour commences…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
For logistical reasons, I measured one of the Ø Audio Verdande loudspeakers, serial number 023-22525, in Tom Fine's listening room, the speaker driven by TF's Benchmark AHB2 amplifier. I subsequently returned to TF's place in Upstate New York the following week to repeat some of the tests on the other loudspeaker, serial number 023-12525. I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone with an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Verdande's farfield frequency behavior and dispersion.
It wasn't possible to raise the 220lb…
Listening through a long break-in period
The Verdandes sounded pretty good just as they were set up by the Ø Audio guys, but I could tell they were green and stiff. The bass sounded like the amplifier was working hard to allow the woofers to give it their all. For many days, when my wife and I took the dog for a walk, I left the stereo cranked up with my Bass Test playlist on Qobuz (footnote 4). Slowly, the woofers got looser and quicker.
In December, I had my audio buddies—Father Time (Dave, an old dude who's a drummer), Mike, and Farrukh—over for a listening session. They…
Vinnie Rossi, AudioNostrum, and other key manufacturers will be participating in Vienna Sound Fest 2026, an exclusive international high-end audio event taking place at Tech Gate Vienna from June 4–7, 2026. Vienna Sound Fest is just a 3-minute walk from Austria Center Vienna, the official venue of High End Vienna 2026.
Due to the lack of available space at the main High End Vienna venue this year, Vienna Sound Fest was created to be an additional platform where many different international brands will be able to present their products during the days of the main show.
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At AXPONA 2026, I spoke with Liam Porr of Western Acoustics (shown above), Adam Wexler of Resolution Audio Video, and Garth Powell of AudioQuest (shown below) about all the gear in the room they shared together at the show.
Then I settled in for a listen. The Western/Resolution system played with a grand soundstage for such small speakers with attendant liveliness, spaciousness, and image complexity that left me oddly calm, yet hoping for more.
Analog sources: Technics SL-1300G Grand Class turntable ($3999); Dynavector DV 10XA-H/L low-…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, floorstanding, dynamic loudspeaker. Drive units: "Quad Vertex SoundField" horn-loaded tweeter with 3.8" carbon-fiber driver, 15" "ultra-linear long stroke extended range" soft paper cone woofer with five bottom port holes, approximately 3" diameter each; foam port plugs are included. Crossover frequency: 800Hz. Frequency range: 26Hz–20kHz. Impedance: 8 ohms, 9 ohms minimum. Sensitivity: 94dB/W/m.
Dimensions: 45.3" (1150mm) H × 19.7" (500mm) W × 23.3" (593mm) D. Weight: 220.5lb (100kg) each.
Finishes: Piano-gloss walnut veneer, black…