AXPONA 2019 Show Report -- Audio Expo North America
AXPONA 2019 Coverage By Rick Becker -- Part 2

AXPONA 14th Floor

The Gold Note room sponsored by Rutherford Audio had a very nice sound featuring their beautifully designed Mediterraneo turntable ($7899) at the front end, complete with Plexiglas cover. I appreciate the modest footprint and straight forward operation, yet still showing enough sculpture of the plinth to give it class. The phono stage was the Gold Note PH-10 at a reasonable $1599 and there is-1000 integrated amp ($5099) provided the power. Rutherford recently took on the Gold Note line from Italy and it was easy to hear and see why they did. While my notes don't confirm it, the white speaker looks an awful lot like the Wilson Sabrina speaker that I thought sounded so wonderful on the upper floors. (Room 1442)

In room 1440 I encountered this attractive Wave Kinetics turntable with a Durand tonearm alongside a counter full of DarTZeel electronics from Switzerland (read: expensive). The turntable requires a fair amount of real estate, but the platform with the wood record clamp (?) is actually a platform for a second tonearm. A surprise here was the Evolution Acoustics Maestoso speaker with eight ceramic drivers, plus folded ribbon tweeter, from Kevin Malmgren whom I knew from earlier days when he worked for Albert Von Schweikert. He left in 2006 to start his own company. On the floor beside each speaker in an open box was the prototype crossover which will eventually be shrunken into a smaller external chassis for production, so this was just a sneak peek at a very promising new model from them. Price is expected to be $18,900 and the chassis is an aluminum/ceramic sandwich. Production will be limited to 100 pairs.

In 1439 I heard a pair of Airpulse A100 mini monitors beside a computer screen that sounded very promising with an air-motion tweeter for $800/pr. For anyone looking for a fine nearfield listening experience. I missed the photo-op, here.

In 1433 I found elegant tube gear from Wavac including the EC 300B stereo amp ($38,000) but if you're not so particular, they have another 10 Wpc version at a third of that price. Even more gorgeous was the preamp seen here. A Nagra combo was handling the CDs and the rig was driving a Devore Fidelity speaker which is very tube friendly and always an inviting sound.

Across the hall in 1430 beautiful Zanden monoblocks dressed in chrome were driving the tall planar speakers. Richard Gray's Power Company products were also represented here and I noted they also make whole-house protection boxes for the electrical service entrance to your home — something to consider for those who live in areas of frequent electrical storms.

The ducks were in a row in Roger Sanders' room to stay on the sweet line created by his fine sounding 10e electrostatic speakers, no doubt powered by his own preamp, power amps and cables. (Room 1429)

This fine Bergman turntable with tangential arm was the head end of a system that finished with a YG Acoustics speaker. Linnenberg electronics were on an SGR stand. (Room 1426) 

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