The Big AXPONA 2024 Show Report
The largest, most well-managed, and most amazing show in North America!
Audio Expo North America 2024 Show Coverage By Greg Weaver

1504 – Magico
I've had the pleasure of knowing Alon Wolf for some time now, and it is always a delight to chat with him, especially about a new product or development. I had hoped we might get to hear the newly released 2024 issue of the S5, but sadly Alon felt that the available room was too small to allow it to perform at its best. Not to worry, the A5 – at about one-third the price of the new S5 - did a wonderful job.

System Details:
Antipodes Oladra server - $30,000
dCS Rossini Master Clock - $10,850
dCS Rossini Apex DAC - $32,800
Pilium Leonidas integrated amp - $39,000
Magico A5 speakers – in silver - $28,000/pair

Magico MRACK4 - $45,300

Stromtank S 2500 power conditioner - $27,250

PSI Audio C214 active bass traps - $3950/each

RealTraps Diffusers - various prices

Vyda Laboratories cables - various prices

One of the first attributes to emerge here was how the music erupted from an exceptionally dense and dark background. Listening to Dire Straits here, Mark Knopfler's voice was so effortless and natural sounding, that I asked for more. Further, the Individuality of instrumental lines was remarkably well preserved, including presenting the entire tapestry of the recording resolutely and transparently. Overall, a very exceptional and delicate balance.

1506 – Perfect8 Labs
I have been a fan of Jonas Räntilä's unique Swedish Perfect8 glass-enclosure loudspeakers since I first met him and heard the Point Mk II Evolutions at CES 2013. The system was one of my Best of Show award winners that January, and I have followed his work closely ever since.

System Details:
Thrax Maximinus DAC - $38,500
Ypsilon Phaeton Integrated Amplifier – $29,000
Perfect8 Labs CUBE-T - $60,000/pair
All Perfect8 Cables – no price given

This system really delivered – and in just about every category. Jonas played some Rammstein for me and it was like we were at a Rave. The system, with its omni-polar radiation pattern, delivered exceptional dynamics and superb extension while presenting remarkable musical resolution, with captivating presence and an unquestionably truthful timbre.

Moving to some classical piano, the tonal color and texture were convincingly rich and vibrant, and musical involvement was eerily honest, bordering on downright revelatory. The ability it had to render piano was wonderful, from its shimmer and sparkle to its body and texture. Jonas and I have been talking about a review sometime after Munich.

Club Lounge – Bending Wave USA, Riviera Labs, And WADAX
The sonic results achieved by Bending Wave USA distributor Elliot Goldman in the Club Lounge on floor fifteen were amazing and represented the best performance that he has ever managed to elicit from this suite, where he has exhibited since the move to the Renaissance in 2018.

This is one diverse international assemblage of gear, leveraging the digital front-end prowess of WADAX of Spain/Switzerland, electronics from Riviera Labs of Italy, Germany's Göbel Loudspeakers, the Massif Audio Designed racks of Ontario, Canada, and using all Nordost cables from the USA.

System Details:
WADAX Atlantis Reference Server - $68,800

WADAX Alaska Optical System - $20,400
WADAX Atlantis Reference DAC - $166,420

Riviera Audio Labs APL01 Special Edition Preamp - $46,995

Riviera Audio Labs AFM-100 SE Class A Mono Amps - $82,800/pair

Göbel Divin Noblesse Speakers - $250,000/pair
Massif Audio Design Dogma 3 Shelf Rack - $3,200/each

Massif Audio Design Dogma Amplifier Stand - $800/each

Massif Audio Design Carbide Audio Isolation Footers - $400/each

Göbel Lacorde Statement Speaker Jumper cables - $2,450/pair
Göbel Lacorde Statement Balance Interconnects - 1.2m - $7,900/pair

Göbel Lacorde Statement Speaker Cables - 3.0 meter - $27,900/pair

Göbel Lacorde Statement Power Cords - 2m - $9,900/each

WADAX Akasa DC Reference Cable 1.5m - $24,900/each

WADAX Atlantis Reference Power Supply for Server - $52,700

Nordost Q base Reference Power Distribution - $18,000

Nordost QCore 1 Grounding Box - $3,000

Everything Elliot played while I was sitting in a prime seat was presented with such an engaging sense of ease and effortlessness. Imaging and soundstaging were spectacular, better than I can ever recall experiencing from any previous demonstration of the Divin Noblesse Speakers. Finally, the extension at both extremes was quite remarkable, including the precision of its pitch definition as it descended into subsonic territory. Just an amazing sounding room.

1544 – Constellation And Marten
Seeing my old friend Irv Gross, Vice President of Sales at Constellation Audio is always fun, and when I stopped into the room, they were showing the stand-mounted Swedish-made Marten Parker Duo loudspeakers. Everything in the room used Jorma Design's cabling, also a product of Sweden.

System Details:
Aurender N20 Server - $12,500

Esoteric K1 X SE SACD Player/DAC - $38,000

Marten Parker Trio Diamond Speakers (starting at) - $39,995

Marten Parker Duo Speakers (starting at) - $13,495

Marten Parker Duo Stands - $3,895

Constellation Audio Pictor Preamp & DC Filter -$32,500

Constellation Audio Taurus Mono Power Amps - $58,000/pair

Jorma Design Filter Reference Power Center - $21,999

Jorma Design Statement Speaker Cable - starting at $17,999

Jorma Design Statement Balanced Interconnects - starting at $13,999

Jorma Design Ethernet Reference Cable - starting at $1,899

Jorma Design USB Reference Cable - starting at $3,399

Jorma Statement, Prime and Origo Power Cords – pricing not given

Listening to the "Stravinsky Suites," from SACD on the Esoteric K1 X SE, not over streaming, as played by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen under Paavo Järvi, from the 2004 PentaTone release was an absolute treat. The finely tendered detail and the honest tonality were striking.

Moving on to Roy Gaines's take on "Stormy Monday" revealed just how correct this system was able to render the dynamics and tonality of the horns and guitar. This system's established faithful tonality was reinforced when moving to "Dance of the Tumblers," excerpted from Act III of Rimsky-Korsakov opera The Snow Maiden, as performed by the Minnesota Orchestra under Eiji Oue, as the sense of delicacy, combined with its powerful dynamics to present the authenticity of the "blat" of horns, was sheer magic.

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