The 3rd-floor room shared by Schiit and Salk Signature Sound was so crowded the first two times I stopped by that I couldn't listen, But the third time, Béla Fleck's classic "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" was playing, I snagged a second-row seat and liked what I heard. A big, clean sound from an affordable system. Speakers were Salk's Song3 BeATs ($4495/pair, $4795/pair in custom finishes like those at the show); source was either a Salk Streamplayer Gen III ($1695) feeding Schiit's Yggdrasil DAC ($2395) or an SOL turntable (estimated price $799); phono preamp a Schiit Mani ($129); preamplifier a Schiit Freya ($699); and amplifier a Schiit Aegir ($799).
I had forgotten how dynamic Avantgarde's Uno XD speakers ($32,000/pair) could sound, coupled with a fine delicacy that was in evidence on an SACD track by Jenn Chapin (daughter of Harry Chapin), where Ms. Chapin was palpably placed in the center of the stage, with a double bass on the right and a baritone saxophone on the left. Electronics were all from Esoteric: the new Grandioso P1X SACD transport ($50,000) feeding DSD data to two of Esoteric's new Grandioso mono DACs ($50,000/pair), these all clocked from an Esoteric Grandioso Rubidium Master Clock ($26,000). The transport uses a new mechanism and the D/A processor a fully discrete DAC topology with 64-bit processing.
I admit up front I've been behind the curve in understanding/appreciating the EgglestonWorks house sound. I'm a slow learner, but whenever I finally get somethingI've got it. Today, in the room sponsored by retailer Tenacious Sound (with stores in Syracuse, NY, Augusta, GA, Jacksonville, FL, and, soon, Louisville, KY), during the world premiere of EgglestonWorks' very beautiful Nico Evo standmounted speakers, I realized why so many people love this brand . . .
What a difference a change of venue and cabling makes. In the Nagra room at CES, the sound was silvery, glistening, open, and mesmerizing. Here, with smaller Kharma Elegance S7 loudspeakers ($18,000) and mid-priced copper-based Organic Reference cabling that uses a fiber dielectric, the sound was more toned down but no less compelling
An usually synergistic equipment match ruled the 16th floor room sponsored jointly by Jeff Rowland Design Group, Cardas Audio, Grand Prix Audio, and Vivid Audio. Frankly, I don't think I've ever heard Jeff Rowland's equipment produce such mellow and beautiful sound.
The North American debut of the DeBaer Saphir turntable with Reference power supply ($57,000) and DeBaer 9" Onyx tonearm with VTA adjustment ($7000) and equally pricey Top Wing Suzaku (Red Sparrow) cartridge ($16,500) was the big news in a room that paired Rockport Technologies Cygnus loudspeakers ($62,500) and high-end Argento Audio FMR silver cabling with a full line of CH Precision electronics. Focusing solely on vinyl reproduction during my time in the room, we began with one of the most overplayed audiophile classical demo tracks, the Reference Recordings version of Rimsky-Korsakov's unquestionably exciting but ultimately tedious Dance of the Tumblers. At least it was only the first time I'd heard it at AXPONA.
If you're after an elegant classic look and a compact form factor, you'd be hard-pressed to do much better than the Luxman NeoClassic series, including the SQ-N150 integrated amplifier ($2795) and the D-N150 CD player ($2595). Both are new, and both are now shipping.
The new (world premiere) Laufer Teknik The Note loudspeakers ($29,950/pair) are very hard to photograph because they are very thin line arrays comprised of 48 little metal drivers each in a 87"-tall, 2.5" deep, 2"-wide aluminum enclosure that's heatedit is warm to the touch. They disappeared into space while I listened. Their soundstage went out through the wall behind them while the $1600 SVS SP-4000 subwoofer pushed tight bass down through the floor to the basement. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor rattled the walls, but I couldn't "see" the speakers. Think: Skinny speakers make giant sound.
Ever since Magnepan's Wendell Diller married this beautiful former Soviet spy (aka Agent G), he's been doing everything on the down low, hush-hush, totally covert. (Though I must say he does look good in dark glasses.)
This year at AXPONA he has a secret room, at the end of an obscure hall, with no signage. Agent G watches the door from a distance, and you must knock the secret knock to enter.
The first of the two ELAC rooms I visited featured the Navis ARF-51 powered tower speaker ($4000/pair). This design from Andrew Jones, shown in my photo, features a coaxial tweeter/midrange unit and three woofers. Level controls allow the balance to be optimizedup to ±1dB for the coaxial unit, up to ±4dB for the woofers.
The smallest model in ELAC's Carina series, the BS243.4 ($1200/pair) represents a departure from Andrew Jones' other designs that feature a concentric tweeter/midrange driver in that it combines a folded ribbon HF unit with a 5.25" aluminum-cone woofer. A reflex design, its port fires downward from the bottom of the enclosure with a slot formed between the base and a plate underneath it. This should make the speaker easier to place in a room where it can't be used well away from the wall behind it.
Distributor Axiss Audio's main system, built around Air Tight's ATM-3211 211-tube based monoblocks ($72,000/pair), premiere ATM-2Plus KT-88-based stereo power amplifier ($TBD), ATC-5 tube-based preamplifier with phono equalizer ($9500), ATH-3 step-up transformer ($3000), premiere PC-1 Coda cartridge ($8500), and Opus cartridge ($15,000) took pride of place in an all-analog system whose bottom line was tube warmth for days.
No less a personage than Jim Austin suggested that I check out all the new products in the T+A Elektroakustik room, presented by retailer Lone Star Audio. Given that every single T+A product was brand new and pressed into service just 48 hours earlier, and that exhibitors are prohibited from running systems at break-in volumes (if at all) at night, the fact that my brief listening session left such a positive impression makes me eager to hear how everything will sound after it settles in.
In the inner sanctum, as it were, of distributor Axiss Audio, I discovered what I believe were three premieres: Soulution's 525 preamp ($26,500) and 311 power amp ($12,000), and Piega 511 speakers ($15,000). In a brief listen, this system's notably drier, straight ahead, and detailed presentation was distinguished by a smooth midrange core . . .
On the top floor of the Schaumburg Hotel, retailer GTT Audio assembled an alluring system from many of its top brands. Including three premieresKronos Reference Phono stage ($45,000), Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC ($13,400), and YG Acoustics Vantage loudspeakers ($32,800/pair)the system displayed a finely graded range of colors within a cool color palette. How this particular assemblage of components will sound once its speakers have been broken-in for far more than 48 hours is something I'm eager to find out.