AXPONA 2024

When “What a beautiful midrange!” is the first phrase that floats through your brain as you settle down to listen to a hitherto unknown system, you can be pretty certain you’re in for a rewarding time.

In the case of AXISS Audio’s system second (of four) on the 16th floor—the highest exhibit floor at AXPONA, easily reachable by AXISS Audio’s own express elevator—my initial impression proved true.

The first artist to benefit from this system’s beguiling midrange was Peter Cincotti, whose “He’s Watching” was an ideal vehicle for his seductive vocals. During the next track, Renée Olstead’s “Lover Man,” I wrote, “I just want to eat up this midrange. It’s so smooth and warm!”

Obviously, in a room with a system like this one, there are but two choices for a Stereophile Senior Contributing Editor to make. Either you linger, delight more and more with each listen, and forget about a few the other exhibitors you hope to cover, or you remind yourself that responsibility comes first and more riches await, then move on. But not before glancing at the equipment list to discover no fewer than eight new products:

• Gauder Akustik Capello 100 loudspeakers ($25,975/pair and up)
• Soulution 326 preamplifier ($21,475)
• Soulution 350 phonostage ($21,975)
• Soulution 360 DAC ($24,975)
• Soulution 312 power amplifier ($28,975)
• Beaudioful RACK-R 3-shelf large in studio cheery ($4800 as shown)
• Transrotor Bellini TMD turntable ($6495)
• Transrotor Studio 9" tonearm ($5595)

Add to that list (present but not premiers) a Transrotor Tamino phono cartridge ($18,975)—if ever there were a case of marrying a composer to his predecessor’s character, it’s with the union of Bellini and Tamino—Innuos Pulsar music server ($7999) and Phoenix USB USB bridge/re-clocker ($4349), Nihon Onkyo Engineering acoustic treatment, and Tara Labs cabling.