Jason Victor Serinus

Six years after Hans-Ole Vitus, the founder of Danish company Vitus Audio, visited the United States to premier his first three products at CES 2004, Michael Fremer went gaga over the company's top-line MP-P201 Masterpiece Series phono preamplifier. Thirteen years later, at AXPONA 2023, it was my turn to be blown away, this time by the sound of a $385,000 Vitus Audio top-of-the-line Masterpiece series front-end and amplifiers that sang through price-commensurate Estelon Extreme Mk II loudspeakers.

In between—and not for want of trying—Vitus's presence in these pages has been limited to show reports. It's time to change that.

Steinway Lyngdorf, the only speaker company that’s allowed to use the Steinway name, compared the sound of its two “new” speakers. The Model S Soundbar is designed for rooms that cannot contain floorstanders. Sold as a complete, full-range on-wall system and usually chosen for custom installs, the Model S contains three AMT tweeters, three midrange drivers, and two woofers. Total amplification power is 1600W, and the specified frequency response is 40Hz–20kHZ –3dB. With machined, solid-aluminum front and back panels, it has MDF frame that contains five acoustically separate chambers. Available in matte black, high gloss black with gold details, or custom finishes, it weighs a substantial 106lb.

As it has done in previous years, Dynaudio opted for a huge ground floor foyer area that, in addition to a huge, divided space in which to exhibit new and forthcoming models, offered a large meeting room for distributors and press. Ably assisted by Michael “Mike” Manousselis and John Quick of Dynaudio North America, I spent a dizzying half hour or so receiving an overview of four forthcoming models.

In the room opposite its smaller system, Playback Distribution presented Amphion Krypton3x White floorstanding speakers ($24,000/pair) driven by Esoteric’s F-12 class-A integrated amplifier ($18,000) and N-01XD-SE network streamer ($22,000).

AXISS Audio saved one of the stars of its portfolio, Accuphase, for room 1129. Instead of showing the Accuphase A-300 monoblocks, which I will surely propose for one of our next Stereophile Product of the Year awards, Cliff Duffey premiered the Accuphase P-7500 power amplifier in bi-amp configuration ($25,975 each) and Accuphase DP-770 SACD player/DAC ($26,575).

Nordost’s entry-level "Leif" line of cabling has just taken a major step forward with the introduction of Leif Series 3 ("Leif 3"). Gauge and terminations on the entire Leif series—White Lightning 3, Purple Flare 3, Blue Heaven 3, Red Dawn 3—have been upgraded.

“MBL always sounds great at shows” is an axiom so often repeated that it could serve as an audiophile mantra, but it accurately describes the experience of hearing a full-range, air-filled presentation that, in Munich, was open, alive, and just plain fabulous.