AXPONA 2025 Show Report: Exclusive 11th Floor Innovations And Highlights
Rick reveals high-end audio innovations and audiophile trends.
Audio Expo North America (AXPONA) 2025 Show Report By Rick Becker 

1102 Vinyl Sound USA
The Warfedale Elysian 4 speaker ($11k) with its horizontal veneer both looked and sounded very good. While Vinyl Sound may have hosted this room, the music was streamed over HiFi Rose gear — RA180 integrated amp ($7k) and the new RS151 Network Streamer ($5k). That was a MoFi MasterDeck turntable with UltraGold M cartridge ($7k for both), a MoFi MasterPhono preamp ($6k) below it, and an Isotek V5 Aquarius power conditioner ($3k) on the bottom shelf of the Solidsteel rack.

1105 Supreme Acoustic Systems, Manley Laboratories, Albedo Audio, Benny Audio, Music Tools, And Esseci Designs
This fine-sounding room was unusual in that it featured relatively expensive front ends in the form of the Benny Audio turntable on the right and the Taiko digital gear on the left. But the amplification from Manley Laboratories and the Hana Umami Red phono cartridge was relatively modest in price.

The Manley Precision Line & Phono stage and Oasis Phono stage were new to me. The Manley preamp and monoblocks more than lived up to the front ends here.

Once again, the streaming gear on this HiFiStay rack was in action during my visit. The cabling was by Cardas Clear and Clear Beyond.

Driven by 8-Watt Manley 300B monoblocks, the Albedo speakers were obviously very efficient. They also begged for a larger room. I covered this line in more detail at Capital Audiofest, and I recall they also have a more modest and conventional floorstander in their lineup.

1109 Supreme Acoustic Systems, On A Higher Note, Odeon Speakers, Benny Audio, Music Tools, And Esseci Designs
Supreme Acoustic Systems teamed up with Philip O'Hanlon of On A Higher Note. The Albedo speakers were smaller versions of the ones that garnered a Best Rooms Award at Capital Audiofest in November, and this room sounded exceptional, too. At over $82k, I suspect this was the Diamond SGS model with a diamond Accuton tweeter and Accuton midrange from their topline Cell series. The excellence here was also due to the analog front end and the Moonriver Phono Stage, which offers precise cartridge tuning directly on the faceplate. The Lyra Delos cartridge was far from top-of-the-line.

Philip was well-prepared with small stand-up signage with each component's salient features, price, and the country of origin. Others should be as informative, especially in this chaotic time of threatening tariffs.

It was interesting to learn that the Artesania rack and turntable platform were constructed using Panzerholz shelving, which helps explain their hefty prices.

1110 Brodmann Acoustics by Arceau Arts GmbH
I've heard Brodmann speakers several times over many years, and this room sounded surprisingly familiar. The Aries Cerat electronics I've heard more often and more recently, but it was the Brodmann speakers that defined the sound here.

Brodmann has been making pianos since shortly after Mozart's time, so it is unsurprising that their speakers have a sonic signature that reproduces piano music so accurately with a resonance that suggests similar construction.

The product line of Aries Cerat, from Cyprus, is vast and comprises several series, all expensive. Their speakers are high-efficiency and require much larger rooms than the sleeping rooms at shows. As you can see in the amp above, the form factors of their products are atypical, appealing to wealthy clients who demand something a little different.

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