Rick Becker's AXPONA 2022 Chronicles
Rick Gives The 14th Floor A Good Listen At AXPONA 2022.
AXPONA 2022 Show Report By Rick Becker

  Alta Audio premiered their new Adam speaker in their Statement series at $17k in piano black, and $18k in rosewood or beech. It was driven by a Rogers High Fidelity integrated amp seen here atop a Stillpoints rack. Also seen here was a Dedicated Earth Ground, likely available from your local Home Depot as a DIY project.

All was quiet in the Audio Note room and Vincent Belanger, their brand ambassador was on break. I had recently seen him perform along with this system at the Montreal show where his live performance on cello blended exceedingly well with the music coming from the Audio Note rig.

Audiophiles who treasure piano music should feel right at home with the Gold Note electronics powering the Brodmann Festival F2 speaker ($8200) from Brodmann's new Festival entry-level series. Italian electronics driving speakers made by a famous piano company in Vienna? Mozart would be astonished! Weighing in at less than 42 pounds each, these must be constructed like musical instruments. And yes, piano music sounded exceptionally good. With a sensitivity of 91dB and an 8 Ohm impedance, this speaker should also be a treat with a tube amplifier.

Beneath the flagship Mediterraneo turntable ($7800 to $9600 depending on tonearm) is the DS-10 preamp / DAC / streamer / headphone amp ($3k) with a separate power supply. Below that is their new PH-1000 phono stage ($12k-$16k) with 20 EQ curves, plus adjustable curve and adjustable load and capacitance for cartridges. And below that is their PA-1175 power amp ($8200) with 200 Watts per channel into 8 Ohms and selectable damping factor to tune it to loudspeakers with either low or high demand for optimal sound quality.

The elegant Gold Note Galileo rack ($1500-$6k) is available in walnut or black finished shelves. And the pyramid seen here is Shunyata's best power conditioner. This was a very fine-sounding room, particularly for acoustic instrumental music, with great resolution, transparency, and a wealth of musical overtones. The AV Luxury Group International came from Kalispell, Montana to let us hear this fine system.

The next room, also hosted by AV Luxury Group, featured a stunning pair of Raidho 3.8 speakers ($117k) with a double book-matched veneer on the sides — front to back and top to bottom. They were driven by U-280 SC 30th Anniversary Limited Edition tube monoblocks ($20k/pr.) from Margules, a Mexican company with a story going back to 1925. The grandson of the founder, Julian Margules, has developed a complete high-end line that deserves a lot more attention than it has presently received in the press. The Anniversary monoblocks are a special edition of the U-280 SC stereo amplifier that can be run in ultralinear or triode mode and features other adjustments as well.

The rig here also included a VPI turntable, Aurender streamer, cables and power units by RSX, and one of the classiest racks I've ever seen, also from Raidho.

Also seen in another room here were Margules Magenta ACRH-3 hybrid integrated amplifier ($4k) driving their Orpheo loudspeaker ($30k), a 2.5-way design featuring all ceramic drivers, a beautiful, contoured solid wood front baffle, and different materials in the remaining facades to control vibrations. Also, one of the nicest remote controls I've seen.

That's it from the 14th Floor. I'll continue on the 7th Floor in my next installment.

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