AXPONA 2024

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AXPONA 2024
Wilson Audio, Dan D’Agostino, Clearaudio, DS Audio, dCS, Innuos, Stromtank, Transparent, and Critical Mass Systems
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 01, 2024  |  0 comments
Does this star-studded brand lineup from Quintessence Audio Ltd. of Chicago sound familiar? It should, not only because it’s frequently encountered at audio shows and dealers, but also because it consistently earns plaudits as one of my Best Sounding Rooms.
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AXPONA 2024
Quintessence’s take on Perfection: Wilson, Moon, Clearaudio, Hanna, Innuos, Kubala-Sosna, and Critical Mass Systems
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 01, 2024  |  0 comments
After achieving Serenity and acquiring Knowledge, do we end up in the land of Perfection? The room I visited after Perfection was Connection, which was occupied by Quintessence Audio. So perhaps we can say that Serenity + Knowledge + Perfection produces a Connection to something higher than ourselves, which in this case would be Nirvana. (There's also a Nirvana room.)
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AXPONA 2024
A Full Active Gryphon System Wows
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 01, 2024  |  1 comments
There are times when a music critic gets so upended by a recording of well-loved music that their previous plaudits for a different recorded version demands reassessment.
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AXPONA 2024
Gryphon Audio Designs’s New PowerZone
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 01, 2024  |  0 comments
Just as they did last year, Gryphon devoted the large Schaumburg E space to static displays, including the debut of the Gryphon PowerZone PZ3.10 power purifier ($14,000) which has eight Furutech AC sockets and 20A current capacity and is said to utilize Quantum Resonance Technology.
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AXPONA 2024
Stenheim, VTL, dCS, Nordost, VPI, and Lyra Wow Once Again
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 01, 2024  |  0 comments
Last year in the large Schaumburg F air-walled room in the Convention Center, Stenheim, VTL, and Nordost put together one of the finest sounding rooms I’ve heard at any show. This year, the sound was again among the best I encountered in the over 40 rooms I auditioned.
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AXPONA 2024
Fidelity Imports: Opera, Soulnote, QED, Titan Audio
Ken Micallef  |  May 01, 2024  |  0 comments
Steve Jain and his Fidelity Imports crew presented six rooms at AXPONA, stuffed with debut products from across the world.
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AXPONA 2024
Zesto, Tidal from The Voice That is, Dr. Feickert, Tri-Planar, Ortofon, Cardas, and Stillpoints
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 30, 2024  |  0 comments
Oh, how I love the look of Zesto Audio equipment. Here it found its ideal visual complement in Tidal Piano speakers ($57,000/pair) from Philly-area dealer The Voice That Is and a catchily titled (not) Stillpoints ESS42-26-4 rack with acrylic shelves ($13,788).
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AXPONA 2024
Treehaus Audiolab
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 30, 2024  |  0 comments
Rich Pinto of Treehaus Audiolab, which is based in Southport, Connecticut, has been dedicated to developing SET amplifiers and high-efficiency speakers since 2017. Here at AXPONA, he introduces the A/Machines 300B monoblock amplifiers ($39,000/pair), which showcase his commitment to classic design, in the sound and the aesthetics.
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AXPONA 2024
Luxman and Magico
Rogier van Bakel  |  Apr 30, 2024  |  0 comments
To say that I had good memories of the Luxman-Magico room at an earlier AXPONA would be an understatement.
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AXPONA 2024
Vimberg, Kalista, Karan, Entrec, and Fono Acoustica
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 30, 2024  |  0 comments
It was a mixed show for Wynn Wong, mastermind of Canadian-based Wynn Audio importers. Soundwise he did very well, with Ayama Witter-Johnson’s take on Hoagy Carmichael / Ned Washington’s “The Nearness of You” so satisfying on every level, from solidity of bass to clarity of voice.
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AXPONA 2024
T+A
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 30, 2024  |  0 comments
Brian Damkroger’s recent review of the T+A Solitaire S 530 was laudatory. I was eager to hear it.
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AXPONA 2024
Børresen / Audio Group Denmark from Next Level HiFi
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 30, 2024  |  0 comments
It was hard to tell where distributor / dealer Next Level HiFi ended and Audio Group Denmark began. Or, vice-versa), it was equally hard to tell if more action was taking place in the room during the demo or in the hallway. Suffice to say, there was a lot of energy flowing, and all that talking made listening a challenge.
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AXPONA 2024
Dynaudio, Octave, Moon, Grimm, Brinkmann, and Torus
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 30, 2024  |  0 comments
It was great to hear monoblocks I'd just reviewed—the new, German-made Octave MRE 220 SE mono amplifiers ($28,500/pair) with their Super Black Box PSU upgrade modules ($7000/pair)—in the context of a different system.
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AXPONA 2024
Artisan Fidelity’s TIDAL room with Garrard, Schroeder, VDH, and Signal Projects
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 29, 2024  |  1 comments
TIDAL made a fine showing in the room sponsored by one of its three US dealers, Christopher Thornton’s Artisan Fidelity. Totally drug-free I swear, I melted into the exceptional smoothness and beauty of “The Girl from Ipanema” on vinyl.
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AXPONA 2024
Synergistic Research, Estelon, Ideon, and JMF
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 29, 2024  |  1 comments
Off by itself near Expo Hall, the Journey/Creation rooms sponsored by Scott Walker Audio and Synergistic Research utilized so many Synergistic Research products—eight models of cables, seven for power conditioning (including fuses), six acoustic room treatment thingees, four racks, three grounding devices—that I was tempted to adapt the product list into lyrics for an audiophile Christmas carol.
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