AXPONA 2019 Show Report -- Audio Expo North America
AXPONA 2019 Coverage By Rick Becker -- Part 1

  The Magico room (1621) featured two racks of very fine electronics with CH Precision monoblocks driving their speakers, a Baetis ripper/server, Synergistic Research Powercell 12 UEF and grounding block, and a whole lot of very expensive cable stashed behind the racks. An MSB CD player alternated with the Baetis. The speakers were the new M2 model from Magico ($65,000) I had just heard in Montreal. This is the least expensive of their M Series. Expensive, but that's what it takes sometimes to make one of the Best Rooms at the show.

Across the hall in the Alexander Presidential Suite was American Sound Canada where I startled Angie Lisi whom I had just seen in Montreal. The big room in the suite was featuring the Avantgarde Mezzo Duo speaker ($60,000) with blue horns and it was indeed spectacular with dynamics, transparency and enough drive to keep the devil down in the hole, as the song went. A rack full of Esoteric electronics on a Harmonic Resolution Systems (HRS) audio stand and Transparent cables rounded out the system in another of the Best Rooms at the show. As big as this suite was, this system could have easily filled a room several times its size with these efficient speakers and powerful amp.

Bill Parish was hosting his GTT Audio room along with Dick Diamond of YG Acoustics and Joe Kubala of Kubala-Sosna Research (cables). YG was premiering the new Vantage model ($32,800) which fits right between the Hailey 2.2 and the entry level Carmel 2 model. It was driven very effectively by AudionetHeisenberg monoblocks ($105,000/pr). Also new here was the first North American showing of the complete Analog Solution (~$120k) from Kronos Audio which includes their top turntable, power supply and the new phono stage with its suspended dual-chassis design with separate power supply. They were running an Air Tight Opus 1 cartridge ($15,000). Additionally, there was a new DAC from Mola-Mola ($13,400). The rig sounded very good, connected with costly Kubala-Sosna cables, but the crowd noise lowered the S/N ratio, unfortunately. The room attracted quite a crowd early Friday.

USA Tube Audio out of Scottsdale, AZ, typically shows Lumenwhite speakers with Ayon tube gear and here they had the Kyara model ($49,900) shown in a gorgeous French Nut veneer driven by the Epsilon Gen 4 monoblocks ($18,000/pr). I had the same reaction here as I did at RMAF 2018 — that of completely natural, relaxed (in a good way) presentation that ranked among the Best Rooms at the show. Moreover, it had a similar sonic signature to my own rig with tube gear and at least a ceramic midrange in the speakers. The Lumenwhite speakers, with all-ceramic drivers and a tapered cabinet with finely tuned port down the back spine are visually stunning, yet sonically invisible. Also of interest were the Ayon CD-35 SACD preamp/DAC/streamer with DSD capability for $10,500 and their S-10 network streamer, likewise a vacuum tube preamp at $8800. (Room 1633)

Across the hall in the Aster Presidential Suite was a system full of Air Tight electronics including the ATM-3211 monoblocks ($72,000/pr, 120 Watts each) heard at Montreal. The cartridge on the Transroter turntable was the Air Tight PC 1-coda moving coil ($8500) augmented by their ATH-3 step-up transformer that was feeding their ATE-3011 phono equalizer/amplifier. They also had their ATC-5 preamp ($9500) on another shelf that was probably connected to a very interesting looking turntable of plywood construction, seen on the left. The speakers were from Piega of Switzerland, a brand I admired maybe 15 years ago when they showed at Montreal, and are now making a come-back in the USA. I believe the shorter floorstanders had a coaxial mid-tweeter. The taller one had quite unusual architecture when viewed from behind. This was another of the Best Rooms at the show.

---> Next Page.