Description: Three-chassis streamer-server. Server unit: Connections: Ethernet (default) or SFP (optical, optional), USB to connect external storage, galvanically isolated USB audio output. Contains two internal SSD storage bays (storage not supplied). 8.8" color display. Audio unit: Receives audio data from the server unit via a proprietary link and outputs S/PDIF (coax, TosLink), AES3 (both single and dual-wire connections), or a special-purpose audio output module: I2S (default), MSB ProISL (optional), or CH Link HD (optional; available soon). Includes a high-…
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At AXPONA 2026, High Water Sound's Jeffrey Catalano talks about the gear shown in the company's room at the show in an interview with Ken Micallef that's now posted on our YouTube channel.
Here at AXPONA 2026—as with all High Water Sound systems—there was great depth of stage, holographic imaging, nearly subterranean bass, liquid treble, and searingly rich mids.
Jeffrey Catalano’s choice of music is as big a part of his sound as the rig, playing to the system’s strengths of tube physicality, vinyl realism, and horn speed. Show after show,…
At AXPONA 2026, Avantgarde Acoustic's International Sales Manager Jérôme Andre talks about the gear shown in American Sound's room at the show in an interview with Ken Micallef that's now posted on our YouTube channel. (Angie Lisi of American Sound assisted the proceedings off camera.)
Playing Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"—originally from his iconic 1975 solo LP, Still Crazy After All These Years, and home to one of drummer Steve Gadd's most iconic performances—on the Avantgarde Acoustic system in American Sound Distribution’s room at AXPONA…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Four-way loudspeaker with two 10" passive radiators. Drive units: 1" diamond-membrane tweeter; 3" beryllium-membrane upper midrange; 7" ceramic-cone lower midrange; two 8" woofers with aluminum-sandwich diaphragms; two 10" aluminum-sandwich passive radiators. Crossover frequencies (all first-order filters, symmetrical): 200Hz, 800Hz, 6kHz. Frequency response: 23Hz–40kHz ±2dB. Power rating: 300W. Sensitivity: 88dB/2.83V/1m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms (2.7 ohms minimum). Terminals: WBT Nextgen Biwire. Internal wiring: Jorma Statement. Cabinet: 25–40mm…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: SME Model 35 turntable with Series Vi tonearm; Ortofon Verismo, Lyra Etna λ Lambda phono cartridges.
Digital sources: Innuos ZENith Next-Gen server-streamer; CH Precision C1.2, Imersiv D-1 D/A processors.
Preamplifiers: Pass Laboratories XP-32 (line); Pass Laboratories XP-27 (phono).
Power amplifiers: Goldmund Telos 2800; Gryphon Antileon Revelation; Pass Laboratories XA60.8 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx V.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Carbon, Cinnamon, & Coffee USB; CAD USB; Wireworld…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: dCS Rossini APEX DAC with dCS Rossini Master Clock; NUC running Roon; Cambridge CXC CD transport.
Analog sources: SME 20/3 turntable with SME V arm and Tedeska Tielke cartridge; Dynavector XV-1s cartridge; Audio Note UK IO Gold cartridge; Kondo KSL-SFz step-up transformer; Audio Note Kits L3 Signature RIAA phono stage; van den Hul "The Grail" MC phono stage.
Integrated amplifier: Audio Note Kondo Ongaku.
Loudspeaker: Avantgarde Acoustic Duo Mezzo G2.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest WEL Signature (AES3); AudioQuest Carbon (AES3…
The first headphones I owned, circa mid-1970s, were made by Pioneer. They jutted out from my ears, with small, paper-cone speakers inside. I was 11. I plugged them into the little no-frills Lafayette integrated amplifier that was the heart of my first stereo system, put a record on the BSR "record-wrecker" changer, dropped the needle, and was transported to my own musical world. It was an early magic sound experience.
"Head-Fi" is a whole different world nowadays than it was back then. The biggest change is Bluetooth, which lets us untether ourselves from our stereo systems. Some…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured one of the Marten Mingus Septet Statement Edition loudspeakers, serial number 25080551A, in Jim Austin's listening room, with the speaker driven by the Gryphon Antileon Revelation amplifier he had in-house for review. I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and calibrated DPA 4006 and Earthworks QTC-40 microphones with an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Mingus Septet's farfield frequency behavior. I used the Earthworks QTC-40 mike, which has a small, ¼"-diameter capsule, for the nearfield responses.
With the hi-fi business, arguably, at a critical juncture, keeping it fun is more important than ever. Hi-fi salespeople play a key role in that—they're the boots on the ground. If anyone is going to foster interest and imbue the hobby with fun, it's salespeople.
At Albany, New York–area dealership Hippo's, Nicholas Shippey has been doing that for almost five years. He, his colleagues, and his customers call him "Audio Curator." He's not a manager exactly, but he plays several key roles at the dealership, including meeting with vendors and helping to decide which brands and products are a…
Richard Vandersteen was in a fine mood at AXPONA 2026, and why not? The Vandersteen system in the next room sang—and when I caught up with him, he was contemplating both his future and his past, smiling. His four children all work for the company, he told me, and he still loves listening to music—preferably with his wife Eneke, who is golden-eared enough to remark that their home stereo sounds "unexciting" when her spouse swaps in class-D amps without telling her.
In the near future, he said excitedly, Vandersteen Audio may develop a statement stereo system without regard to cost…