At SouthWest Audio Fest 2026, Steven Rabitz (at center in the thumbnail) and James Harvell (left) of Altec Lansing, along with Hans Loomans of Infigo Audio (right), talk about the gear seen and heard in Austin Ballroom 3—including Altec Lansing Ribbonacci Reference loudspeakers and the Infigo Audio Method 4 DAC—in an interview with Ken Micallef that's now posted on our YouTube channel.
Perhaps it goes without saying that the Altec Lansing system cast a soundstage as wide as Montana in Austin Ballroom 3 at SouthWest Audio Fest 2026, with enough scale to squeeze in the Empire State Building. (Or should that be the Texas School Book Depository, since we were in Dallas?)
The Altec system, anchored by the company's Ribbonacci Reference loudspeakers (one is shown above), produced larger-than-life images with massive, awe-inspiring, roller-coaster-worthy scale.
The sound was plush, lush, cozy, and cushy—but it was also well-focused. With Jennifer Warnes's "The Hunter" (the title track from her 1992 benchmark release, The Hunter), the Altec system was all about the sleek strings and her plaintive, expressive vocals.
It's hard to evaluate any system in a ballroom—let alone one with a giant videoscreen showing nature scenes and stealing attention—but Altec Lansing is onto something here. I can't wait to hear their smaller wares.
Equipment list: Digital sources: Infigo Audio IS-1 Quadcore streamer ($6000); Infigo Audio Method 4 DAC ($35,000; shown above). Preamplifier: Infigo Audio Method 7 ($22,000). Amplifiers: Infigo Audio Method 3 monoblocks ($60,000/pair). Speakers: Altec Lansing Ribbonacci Reference loudspeakers ($119,900/pair); Altec Lansing Ripole subwoofers with 1000W DSP amp ($7499/each). Cables and interconnects: Infigo Audio Cryogen USB ($1500/1m); Altec Lansing Reference Series Cryogen XLR ($4000/1m, $9000/6m); Altec Lansing Reference Cryogen speaker cables ($5,000/1.5m set); Sapphire Blue Slippers footers ($400/set).
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