I saved this one for last. On purpose.
Back in 2021 I took a little trip, 4.5 hours northeast, for the sole purpose of hearing Rockport speakers. At that time my experience with Rockport was very limited and after hearing so much about them from so many people I trust I took the drive up to Waltham, MA to Goodwins High End so’s I could hear three pair.
A few years later I reviewed the Rockport Atria II and they remain a very strong favorite and shoe-in for a Short List of Favorite Speakers once I work up the energy to make one. But, there’s always one—how about their new flagship Lyra? I wondered aloud. So you can imagine my delight when I perused the Axiss Audio room lists and saw that they were going to have the Lyra! paired with a stack of Soulution. My lucky day.
You know how there are time when your expectations leading up to an event make the actual event nearly impossible to live up to? Well, this system at Axpona 2026 blew the veritable doors off my highest hopes with music at once big, bold, delicate, refined, and just plain wondrous. If wishes were fishes someone would have handed me the remote, an open room service tab, and left me alone for a few months. Bravo!
The System
Soulution 727 Preamplifier: $85,975
Soulution 757 De-Emphasis Preamplifier: $95,975
Soulution 760 DAC: $89,975
Soulution 717 amps (2): $129,975 ea.
Rockport Technologies Lyra (Diamond Black Metallic): $215,000/pr
Reed 1C: $19,975
Reed 3P Panzerholz tonear: $7690
Tara Labs GME Cable loom: pricing example 8′ GME speaker cable $49,900
Nihon Onkyo Engineering large room package of 9 assorted diffusors in Black: $21,065
HIFISTAY Mythology Transform racks and amp stands
Telos Master Streamer and Master Server
Telos Master Power Station
Telos Earth Grounding Master
Telos Active power cords and power strip