After visiting the Expo Hall with Herb Reichert, we move on to the Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel's upper levels to visit a few rooms, capturing binaural sound so, on headphones, you can hear what Herb heard.
In a room shared by Schiit and Salk, we listen to the Salk Sound Streamplayer Gen III ($1695), a Schiit Gungnir multi-bit DAC ($1249), a Schiit Freya preamplifier (with Tung-Sol 6NS7 tubes; $799), a pair of balanced mono Schiit Vidar power amplifiers ($1398/pair), and Salk Sound Song3-A speakers ($3895/pair).
Next, we visit a room sponsored by Triode Wire Labs, Volti Audio, and BorderPatrol Audio, featuring Volti Audio Rival speakers (starting at $7900/pair) powered by a BorderPatrol P20EXD power amplifier ($32,650 as shown), with files playing through a BorderPatrol DAC ($1850)—which Herb will be reviewing in a future issue.
Lastly, we enter what both Herb and John Atkinson refer to as best sound at AXPONA(!): the GTT Audio room, with a system that comprised YG Acoustics' new XV Junior loudspeakers ($189,600/pair), a limited -edition Kronos turntable ($48,000) with an Air Tight Opus 1 cartridge ($15,000), Kronos Black Beauty tonearm ($10,000), and Kronos SCPS 1 power supply ($13,500), an Audionet PAM G2 phonostage ($10,100) with EPX power supply ($10,100), an Audionet Linestage ($45,000), a pair of Audionet Heisenberg mono amplifiers ($105,000/pair), with Kubala Sosna Realization cables throughout.
