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High-Performance
Audio Gear Reviews,
Music News, Show Reports, Articles & More!
30 Years Of Service To Music
Lovers.
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April 2026
Review Magazine: World Premiere Gear And Show Reports
Flagship reviews, Montreal and Florida show coverage, plus an insightful buying guide.
The issue opens with high-end audio's diverse equipment offerings with A Buyer's Guide For 2026. It emphasizes how the market has evolved into specialized ecosystems that include hi-fi separates, music streamers, portable
high-res players, and explains why manufacturers may optimize products for listening context rather than
one-size-fits-all solutions. Our equipment section leads with world premiere reviews, including the impressive Børresen T1 Silver Supreme Edition (SSE)
stand-mounted loudspeaker with Dr. Bump's detailed listening and technical analysis, the Heartsound Audio Holostage review by Rick Becker showcases a
hands-on evaluation of an affordable sonic enhancer. The fun and fantastic MooVu DIY loudspeaker kit showcases how doing it all by yourself can be lots of fun! As always, our April issue also means a couple of humorous articles for your reading
pleasure. Beyond gear, April's coverage includes major show reports and industry commentary that map current trends. Detailed reports from Montreal Audiofest 2026 and the Florida International Audio Expo 2026 capture the scale of recent shows and the resurgence of immersive,
luxury-level demos.
---> April 2026 Review Magazine:
World Premiere Gear And Show Reports. 
Montreal Audiofest 2026
Luxury Hi-Fi Audio Show Report
The ultimate audiophile and
music lover experience.
Montreal Audiofest 2026 (Salon Audio Montreal)
returned March
20th through 22nd, bringing Canada's premier high-end audiophile event to the city. Organizers
enjoyed welcoming thousands of music lovers and audiophiles eager to listen, see, and handle cutting-edge audio gear, with over
luxury 300 brands showcased under one roof. The three-day festival was designed for audiophiles, videophiles,
immersivephiles, and curious music lovers seeking modern immersive, hands-on
experiences. As the largest audio event in Canada, the event gathered top distributors, manufacturers, and retailers from the
high-end consumer electronics industry. Attendees joyously explore dedicated demo
listening rooms, vendor booths, and curated exhibits that highlight the latest in
luxurious loudspeakers, top-rated amplifiers, precision Hi-Res Audio DACs, turntables, immersive
headphones & portable audio, plus home A/V systems. The show's scale and industry presence
made it a
must-visit for anyone tracking trends in premium sound and home cinema.
---> Montreal Audiofest 2026 Luxury Hi-Fi Audio Show Report.
Part 1 — 1200 & 1300 Hallways:
Montreal Audiofest 2026 Show Tour And Sound Impressions
Exhibitor room and gear reviews, technical observations, and practical notes for serious listeners and music lovers.
Montreal Audiofest Show Report By Rick Becker
It was an uneventful drive up to the border from Rochester,
NY, this year, as I started earlier in the afternoon and the weather was merely
grey. Crossing the border on Saturday morning was cordial, and the road into
Montreal was dry. For the first time that I can recall, I had to wait in line
for an elevator to take me up to the Bonaventure Hotel on the 10th floor. The
admission line was orderly, and the Canadiens were patient. Staff and many
patrons were sporting bright orange Enjoy the Music.com lanyards. A Press
Pass was waiting for me at the last kiosk. Following my usual protocol, I started on the upper floor,
aiming to complete the four hallways on Saturday and descend to the lower level
on Sunday. The buildings beyond the pool that were under construction last year
looked habitable. Traces of overnight snowfall were not unusual for this time of
year.
---> Part 1 — 1200 & 1300 Hallways: Montreal Audiofest 2026 Show Tour And Sound
Impressions.
Southwest Audio Fest 2026: Flagship Systems, Seminars, And Vinyl Marketplace
Three days of reference listening, product launches, and expert panels.
Southwest Audio Fest (SWAF) 2026 will convene audiophiles, music lovers, reviewers, and industry professionals in Dallas, Texas, from July 23rd through July 25th, shifting to a condensed Thursday through Saturday schedule to concentrate demos and evening programming. The
festival's home provides large demo rooms and proximity to the Arts and Historic districts—making it easy for attendees to combine listening sessions with local dining and culture SWAF show organizers emphasize extended,
reference-level listening sessions rather than quick trade-show stops: expect curated listening rooms, full-system demos, and in-depth sessions that let visitors audition complete systems at realistic volumes in treated spaces. Educational programming will include technical seminars, moderated panels, and Q&A sessions covering room acoustics, analog versus digital workflows, streaming and DAC technology, plus evening listening parties and manufacturer product launches. Attendees are advised to buy
single-day or multi-day tickets in advance to secure access to popular rooms and special
sessions.
---> Southwest Audio Fest 2026: Flagship Systems, Seminars, And Vinyl Marketplace.
AXPONA 2026 Features Audiophile Gear, Master Classes,
& Seminars
AXPONA 2026 is a three-day high-end audio event for audiophiles and industry insiders, running April 10th through 12th at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center just outside Chicago. AXPONA's programming emphasizes education and community: the schedule featured seminars, master classes, live concerts, and
after-hours events designed to pair technical deep dives with musical experiences. For attendees planning a visit, organizers and reviewers offered practical tips: plan your route through the many exhibit rooms, use the AXPONA app to track
must-hear demos, and expect international brands to debut flagship systems that are best experienced live rather than via specs
alone. Over three days, the AXPONA 2026 show combines a sprawling Expo Hall with many listening rooms, a trade pavilion, live musical performances, and specialty areas such as the Ear Gear Experience, and IASCA car audio showcase. Education and community programming remains central to the
event's appeal as AXPONA's schedule includes many activities.
---> AXPONA 2026 High-End Audiophile Show
Details.
Apple Music Mandates Transparency Tags for
AI-Generated Content
New metadata requirements ask labels and distributors to disclose AI use in tracks, artwork, compositions, and videos to boost industry
transparency.
Apple Music recently announced the rollout of the company's "Transparency Tags" within a newsletter to industry partners, framing the change as a "concrete first step" toward clearer disclosure of AI involvement in music. The company says the tags are a new metadata field that record labels and music distributors can begin applying immediately and will be required to use when delivering new content going forward. The new framework covers four core creative elements: Artwork, Track, Composition, and Music Video, and asks content providers to flag any use of AI across those elements when submitting packages to Apple Music.
Apple's guidance treats the tags as similar to other metadata like genres and credits, and the company has delegated the initial determination of what counts as
"AI-generated" to labels and distributors, rather than imposing a platform-level detection
regime. Industry reaction has been mixed: some rights holders and advocates welcomed a standardized disclosure field as a step toward accountability and clearer attribution for creators, while others warned that leaving the definition of AI use to content providers could create inconsistent application and loopholes.
---> Apple Music Mandates Transparency Tags for
AI-Generated Content. 
audioXpress'
April 2026 Issue
Editorial: Tomorrow Happening Today
Three Viewpoints On Sound Reproduction 4th Edition
AntennaWare BodyWave Disrupting The Antenna
Phase Response And Group Delay Part 1—The Impact Of Filters
Phase And Delays Part 3—Measurements And Negative Delay
Designing A Three-Way Column Loudspeaker Using Akabak
Rising Tide—Technology Consolidation In A Transition Year
Audio And Voice Front-Ends
The 6418 Subminiature Pentode
And Much More!
---> audioXpress April 2026
Issue.
How High-End Audio Broke Into Ecosystems: A Buyer's Guide For 2026
Why purists, streamers, and convenience seekers buy different kinds of high-fidelity.
Editorial By Steven R. Rochlin
High-end audio's
market structure in 2025 and 2026 shows concentrated growth in premium segments,
even as the mass-market hi-fi segment also expands. Am humbled to find that our
global consumer audio market was valued at about $58.9 billion in 2025, with
hi-fi sound systems and premium headphones growing faster than commodity
categories. What may look to some like fragmentation is actually a move towards
specialization: manufacturers and boutique builders optimize for listening
context rather than a single universal product. That may yield better-fitting
systems for critical listening, living-room convenience, and portable use. Like Enjoy
the Music.com, our part of the overall consumer electronics sector is doing
better than ever! For purists, the separates ecosystem—standalone
loudspeakers, amplifiers, preamps, phono stage, and DACs—remains the gold
standard.
--->
How High-End Audio Broke Into Ecosystems: A Buyer's Guide For 2026.
World Premiere Review!
Heartsound Audio Holostage Review: Scientific Voodoo Or Genuine Upgrade?
Hands-on evaluation of sonic impact, transformative sound, and where Holostage fits in your audiophile journey.
Review By Rick Becker
It was pure chance that I stumbled upon Heartsound
Audio's Holostage to review here at Enjoy the Music.com. I'm not an avid reader of audio
blogs, but occasionally an
e-mail
with a Weekly Recap of the Audiogon Discussion Forum will slip past my email
filters. The subject was actually the Nirvana
Chronos, which I had previously
heard at AXPONA in 2025 and subsequently reviewed very
favorably. People
wanted to know if the Heartsound Holostage was similar or as good, since it was
considerably less expensive. I fired off an inquiry. Kristine Tetrault, founder of the company in 2021, replied
shortly with an offer to send me a review sample. The Holostage is sold in sets
of four blocks for $1000. It arrived via Priority Mail from Concord, NH, which
is too far inland to catch any scent of saltwater. Inside the Flat Rate USPS box
was a black cardboard box of the kind you might expect a gift from Macy's to
be wrapped.
--->
Heartsound Audio Holostage Review: Scientific Voodoo Or Genuine Upgrade?
MooVu DIY Loudspeaker Review — Big Bass, Easy Build, Great Value
Construct, listen, love — a gateway to DIY audio'phile hobbying fun.
Review By Brett And Dylan Rudolph
Last
year at the Capital Audio Fest, I saw Vinh Vu, principal at Ginkgo Audio,
sitting at his booth with his MooVu speakers. I was fascinated by these $815-ish
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) speakers, which he explained to me were his latest
brainchild. So, while I had no real time to do more than look at them, we
chatted a little longer and then put a pin on it, thinking we would come back to
it later. There is one thing that you need to know about
Vinh, and it is absolutely to his credit: he is very organized. Shortly before
the end of the year, he called to ask if I was interested in reviewing the MooVu
speakers. While I have many strengths in this world, one of them is not the
ability to work with my hands, which, coupled with my current vision issues,
leaves me unable to review things such as this; however, my son Dylan was
absolutely thrilled to help with this review. So, we set up for the second
weekend in January for Vinh to come and show us both how to build speakers and
put the MooVus together.
---> MooVu DIY Loudspeaker Review — Big Bass, Easy Build, Great
Value.
Sozy Wulkmun High-Rez Audio
Turntable Review
Freeing your music has never been easier!
Review By Nilhcor R. Nevets
Look, I'll make this preview brief as spy photos and an advanced copy of their upcoming advertisement just hit my desk. While I'm bound to this desktop torture getting this story out fast, your music LPs soon will have a newfound freedom away from their homeward bondage. With vinyl LP sales experiencing double-digit growth, it appears that the LP is once again becoming a major force within the music industry. Furthermore, Rebeat has just announced their new high definition vinyl LPs via lacquers cut with a
femto-laser (see March 17th Industry News update). World-renown electronics manufacturer Sozy will soon be selling their Wulkmun battery-powered portable record player. Playing both 33.3 and 45 rpm LPs, the Wulkmun looks to have a specially-developed laser-sensing physics-loading tonearm that ensures the perfect pressure of the needle to the LP surface. Furthermore, we've learned that the Sozy Wulkmun will be the world's first audio component to include the aptX HD 24-bit Bluetooth
chipset.
---> Sozy's Wulkmun
High-Rez Audio Turntable Review.
Discover more hi-fi reviews and expert articles within our Review Magazine.
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