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Phasemation at AXPONA 2026

At AXPONA 2026, Axiss Audio's Steve Huntley and Phasemation's Hideki Sato and Shigeki Momoto talk about all the gear shown in another one of the Axiss rooms at the show in an interview with Ken Micallef that's now posted on our YouTube channel..

The sound in this Axiss Audio room at AXPONA 2026, which was dominated by Phasemation amplification, was similar to the sound of the Phasemation room heard at High End Munich 2025.

Capitalizing on Phasemation's sleek, quiet, and pure sound, music played with faithfulness to the recorded event with excellent…

Clearaudio Signature turntable & Tracer tonearm Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog sources: Denon DL-103o, Hana Umami Blue, Ortofon MC Quintet Mono phono cartridges.
Preamplifiers: Rogue Audio RP-7 (line); Tavish Audio Design Adagio, Manley Chinook (phono).
Integrated amplifier: Riviera Labs Levante.
Power amplifier: Rogue Audio Stereo 100.
Loudspeakers: Volti Audio Razz, Voxativ Ampeggio.
Cables: Interconnects: Agent Pur, AudioQuest Pegasus, Triode Wire Labs Spirit II (all RCA). Speaker: Auditorium 23. AC: AudioQuest NRG Z, Triode Wire Labs Obsession NCF.
Accessories: Pro-Ject VC-S2 ALU, Humminguru…

Nordost QNet7 reclocking network switch Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Audio-optimized, layer-2, seven-port unmanaged network switch. Includes nine independent "ultra-low noise" power supplies, eight-layer impedance-controlled printed circuit board, and two femtosecond temperature-compensated oscillators. Auto-negotiated and fixed Ethernet ports. Ports 1–5 are RJ45 1000BASE-T/100BASE-TX capable with auto-negotiation and auto-MDI/MDI-X support. Port 6 is RJ45 100BASE-TX capable with auto-negotiation and auto-MDI/MDI-X support. Port 7 is SFP 1000BASE-T and 1000BASE-X (LX/SX) capable. Connectors: 6× 8P8C (RJ45) and 1× SFP…

Advance Paris at AXPONA 2026

At AXPONA 2026, Advance Paris owner Dimitri Peucelle talks about the company's new Nova line of integrated amplifiers 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 Advance Paris system at AXPONA 2026, owner Dimitri Peucelle was able to walk me through all the merits of the company's new Nova line of integrated amplifiers.

Equipment list: Digital sources: Advance Paris Nova A-NTC network streaming cartridge ($599); Advance Paris…

The Acoustical Standard (with follow-up)

From time to time in this column, I have alluded to what appears to be a loss of direction in high-end audio. It's not that the state of the audio art has stopped advancing; the technology is improving in many ways, as is obvious every time we listen to a new preamplifier or cartridge or loudspeaker that has better this, that, or the other thing than anything which has come before. The problem is that these improvements don't really seem to be getting us anywhere. And I believe the reason for this is that the audio community no longer agrees about where audio is supposed to be going in the…

Recording of June 2026: <I>One of These Nights (Deluxe Edition)</I>

The Eagles: One of These Nights (Deluxe Edition)
Asylum/Rhino R1-727158 (3 LPs). 1975/2026. Bill Szymczyk, Don Henley, prods.; Szymczyk, Allan Blazek, Rob Jacobs, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½

The Eagles entered 1975 with several Top 40 hits to their credit but broke into wide public consciousness with the release of their fourth album, One of These Nights. With its embossed, Grammy-nominated cover artwork by Gary Burden, it was their first to hit the top spot on the US Billboard 200 album chart, and the album spawned three Top Five singles: "One of These Nights," "Lyin…

Wharfedale Diamond loudspeaker

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…

Luxman at AXPONA 2026

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…

Axiss Audio, Bel Canto Design, Transrotor, and Franco Serblin at AXPONA 2026

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 […

Marten at AXPONA 2026

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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