Infigo and Alta Audio
Sinatra said it best: Regrets, I have a few.
On Sunday morning, the final day of the show, my main regret was that I hadn’t made it to the fourth-floor Infigo/Alta room a day or two earlier. If I had, I would have encouraged everyone to go listen.
Innuos with Rockport, Soulution, and Lampizator plus Stromtank, TAOC, and Transparent
Anyone who knows these brands senses the potential for great sound in this room. Great sound in and of itself, however, was not the system’s raison d’être.
Interview: Fyne Audio's Dr. Paul Mills and Andrzej Sosna
The following interview, with Fyne Audio Technical Director Dr. Paul Mills and Managing Director Andrzej Sosna, conducted by Stereophile Contributing Editor Ken Micallef, was posted previously embedded in a report on Harmonia Distribution's rooms at AXPONA. Here, we present it on its own so that more people will see it.
It's Showtime!
Photo: Jason Victor Serinus
Though I'm writing this in early March, this As We See It column will be published in the May issue, which is the issue that will go to AXPONA, America's largest audio show, held each non-pandemic year at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center near Chicago. This year's show takes place FridaySunday, April 1214. The show opens each day at 10am and closes at 6pm Friday and Saturday; Sunday's closing time is 4pm. If you're going to the show, don't forget to stop by the Stereophile booth, Location 9213 in the exhibit hall.JBL Classic
JBL's AXPONA presentation began with a nod to the iconic "Blown Away Guy" tape ad for Maxell featuring the original JBL L100 speakers.
JMF Audio, Ideon Audio, Stenheim, and ictra design
Audio Skies and Fidelis AV teamed up to present some of my favorite emerging stars of the Audio Highlands. It was a joy to re-experience some of the special sound I heard in my music room when I reviewed JMF Audio monoblocks.
Kyomi Audio, MBL, and Wireworld Meet Expectations of Excellence
It’s become a virtual axiom of show reports: With Jeremy Bryan doing set-up, MBL invariably sounds excellent. In the sweet spot—MBL speakers definitely have one, and it’s not very wide—sound was ideally focused, warm, and pleasing.
Left over from AXPONA: Sonus Faber, Accuphase, Clear Audio, Innuos, and more
AXISS Audio saved one of the stars of its portfolio, Accuphase, for room 1129. Instead of showing the Accuphase A-300 monoblocks, which I will surely propose for one of our next Stereophile Product of the Year awards, Cliff Duffey premiered the Accuphase P-7500 power amplifier in bi-amp configuration ($25,975 each) and Accuphase DP-770 SACD player/DAC ($26,575).
Legacy Audio
Legacy Audio of Springfield, Illinois featured not one but three systems at AXPONA including three show debuts.
Linear Tube Audio, Clayton Shaw Acoustic Lab, Atma-Sphere, Anticables
The Caladan loudspeakers from Clayton Shaw Acoustics ($3000/pair) were a sleeper hit at the Capital AudioFest, so I made a beeline to the fifth floor, slow-motion elevators not withstanding.