The Only Complete Coverage Of Cutting-Edge Audio At AXPONA 2025
Rick's first floor coverage features top-level audiophile gear & innovations!
Audio Expo North America (AXPONA) 2025 Show Report By Rick Becker 

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T+A North America
T+A has been making a big push to enter the North American audiophile market over the past few years. Longtime enthusiasts of Enjoy the Music.com knew of T+A and other European brands not seen within the U.S. about 20 years ago inside our site's Top Audio & Video Milan show reports. Coming from Germany, they had an outstanding showroom presentation, due to participation at the High End show in Munich, where manufacturers typically put more effort into their displays.

With products on pedestals around the sides of the large space, the hosts could discuss components without disrupting those listening to the music. Of course, it takes a large room to afford the luxury of doing this.

On the near pedestal was a CD/SACD transport ($23k+) on top of a Preamp/Streaming/DAC ($22k) to give you an idea of the price league of T+A.

T+A also has some more affordable series, too, as seen above. The DAC 200 DAC/Preamplifier with galvanic isolation ($7620), MP 200 G3 Multi-source player ($6590), and A 200 Stereo power amp ($5860) with 125/250 Watts/channel into 8/4 Ohms were more attractively priced.

The flagship speakers were in action when I visited, but other models were close at hand, and stand-up cards with model/features/price were available for each item.

With an inset front baffle in black, the cabinet in gloss silver, and the drivers in black, there was plenty of attention to design and detail. I've seen the monoblocks several times now, and it never fails to attract and intrigue me.

The Caruso all-in-one system ($4450) looked like a minimalist sculpture from the 1960s. Again, attention to design and detail. The all-in-ones seem to be a growing category, most likely appealing to younger folks as well as the downsizing crowd in retirement.

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Upscale Audio
Upscale Audio in Southern California has been around almost forever, and Kevin Deal went large with this big room. The importing side of the business has been spun off under another name.

That was an unusual Pathos preamp below the turntable, and a Grimm MU2 server on the next lower shelf. Further down was a Sutherland phono stage and an Audioquest Niagara power conditioner. The rack was from Solidsteel.

The turntable was a Reed Muse 3C friction drive with a wood Muse 3P tonearm ($28k, both) from Italy.

The Pathos Adrenaline amplifier is a high current design with their INPOL technology that operates in Class A only, putting out 200 Watts into 8 Ohms. From above, it looked like a little contemporary cathedral.

The speaker was a Fyne Audio F704SP (SP for Special Production,$26k) from Scotland. The footers looked like they were the vibration-absorbing type from the angle shown, but there was a spike fitted under the cylinder, so perhaps it is a hybrid design. The upper driver is a 12″ multi-fibre bass/mid cone with a 3″ titanium dome compression tweeter. A 12" bass driver sits below it to extend the bass, and a downward-firing port has a special diffusion system to spread the bass in 360 degrees. It is available in four finishes. I've seen several of the more expensive Fyne models in brighter lighting, and the fit and finish have always been first class. The folks here seemed entranced with the music, as no one left during my visit.

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