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Angie Lisi of American Sound Distribution always brings components that make my pulse race. Tube amps. Horn speakers. Turntables. What more could a music playback nerd ask for?

San Marcos, California's Audience debuted its new Audience ClairAudient Bellare Loudspeakers at T.H.E. New York International Audio Show in New Jersey last month. Here they were again in Rockville, with essentially the same system.

"Here, we believe in challenging the status quo," states the landing page on the La Dolce Audio website. "We believe in thinking differently to create new ways of accomplishing the musical experience. We believe everyone should enjoy the best musical experience in their own home."

In years past, Fidelity Imports filled room upon room with the hi-fi equipment they distribute. This year, New Jersey dealer The Listening Room shared the load. Fidelity and The Listening Room compiled six systems in six—um—listening rooms full of hi-fi goodness.

The memory of the sound of the Audio Research 330M monoblock amplifiers ($90,000/pair) at AXPONA 2025 is so vivid I can still recall what I heard and felt. I sat front and center in a room sponsored by Quintessence Audio . . . The sound was so colorful, rich, and effortless—the images so convincing in size, weight, and timbre—that I felt my eyes open wide in amazement.

The new MC X-series moving coil cartridges appear to have jumped the fence and broken free of what I long perceived as Ortofon's traditional Scandinavian style. This month, I'm auditioning the top of the X series, the MC X40, which costs $1150 and sounds almost Japanese.

A hi-fi dealer's son, Matt Alterman has been in or near the business almost all his life. His dealership, Crescendo Audio, is coming full circle as he opens a new location in Boulder, Colorado, the town where he launched his first store 13 years ago.