Part 2: AXPONA 2025 Show Report 15th Floor
A fantastic voyage filled with musical fun.
AXPONA 2025 Show Report By Rick Becker

1505 Heaven 11 Audio And PureAudioProject
Since Heaven 11 Audio is from Montreal, I've noticed their integrated amp for years, as I also cover the Montreal 2025 audiophile show. They are on the brink of producing the new Mk III version as I write. It is their only product, but it comes in Classic (with DAC, Bluetooth, phono stage, and analog inputs) and Spartan editions. You also get to customize it with a choice of ICEpower or Hypex (+$250), black or silver finish, a choice of knobs and tubes. There is a configurator on their website to sort it all out. I'm big on driving Class D power amps with tube preamps, so this should be a step above all-solid-state designs, as you can roll the tubes if you wish. They've garnered a few accolades over the years, too.

Here at the AXPONA 2025 high-end audio show, they had two units to alternate between the ICEpower and Hypex units — a very cool idea, but I didn't have time to spend to check out the difference. The stone knob option on the silver unit in the foreground was very cool, too. The speaker here was the PureAudioProject Trio10 Heil AMT model. This appropriate, moderately priced combo sounded good to my ears. Thumbs up!

1506 Perfect8 Technologies
I've heard smaller Perfect8 Technologies monitor speakers at shows, both with and without a subwoofer. Each time, it earned a Best Room award. The sound here was excellent, too, but I question whether you have to spend this much over their smaller speaker to attain the same results. The size of your room may determine that. The Cube T model here lists at $62.5k while the Cube S is only $25k. Or you can spend up to $350k if you feel it's necessary. The Cube S seems more exquisite on its chrome stand. The Cube T reveals a lot of drivers. Like the ship-in-a-bottle puzzle, I can't begin to imagine how they assemble these speakers.

You're going to want to spend large on elegant, high-quality amplification here to bring out the quality these speakers can deliver. They come from Sweden, one of our NATO partners.

1509 Silent Pound, Life Audio, Perreaux, And Titan Audio
Perreaux re-entered the American market about a year ago with colorful faceplates on this $10k integrated amp. That's a shadow from the stand giving the faceplate a sculpted look. It's actually flat.

The unusual speaker was the Silent Pound Challenger II in Oak ($36k, $32.5k in standard black or white finishes). A few custom finishes are also available. It comes from Lithuania, another of our NATO partners. The speaker has a patent pending design to project sound straight forward, minimizing room interaction. The upper section with the M-T-M arrangement is enclosed with multiple small ports seen on the front. The woofers are open-baffle and covered with a grille on the rear.

The pod extended to the rear houses the crossover, which is covered by a tempered glass cover to reveal the design and quality of components. Recommended amplification is 100 to 400 Watts into 4 Ohms for medium to large rooms.

Club Lounge Magico And Dan D'Agostino MAS
This room created a lot of buzz at the show with its Magico M9 speakers driven by pairs of Dan D'Agostino Relentless and Relentless 800 monoblocks. With the speakers costing $750k, it was one of those rooms where "If you have to ask…." There was standing room only when I visited, but I grabbed a couple of photos and took a brief listen from the back corner created by a partition in the long, narrow room. I noticed the speakers were far in front of the actual front wall. The black Magico scrim cut that distance in half.

I read a review of this speaker months ago, and in real life, it was about a foot shorter than I thought it might be. Still, delivery and set-up must be a workout. The sound was solid, seamless, and had more presence in the bass than I've heard before. (A chance to listen to a 6-pack of REL subs came later at the show.) I would call it neutral both acoustically and emotionally. It was on the dry side, but then, I'm a tube guy who craves more liquidity, transparency, and emotional pull even if that includes a little coloration. But maybe the room was just overdamped with bodies — a victim of its popularity.

I can remember being more impressed by the D'Agostino amps on two occasions with other speakers at AXPONA. This was an opportunity to decide whether you prefer the black or silver finish. I won't try to sway you with my personal choice. I will say that every time I see them, I think of Disney's film of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Such fond boyhood memories.

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