Axpona

Good things come in threes.

Show buzz. No, I’m not talking about after hours at the hotel bar, but those rooms that have people saying, “Have you heard the ___ room?” Chicago-based dealer and distributor Musical Artisans put together one such room.

Another room from from Linear Tube Audio pushed more of my buttons.

Would you be surprised if I told you this system sang to me like an old friend?

Regular TM readers know I was very impressed with both speakers I reviewed from Perlisten—the S7t and R7t.

Importer and Distributor Audio Skies also debuted the new Ideon IΩN DAC which is offered with an optional analog preamplfier built-in.

HiFi Rose RA180 Integrated Amplifier ($7495) distributed in the US by MoFi Distribution

Michael Vamos of Audio Skies is the importer/distributor for Ideon Audio—I reviewed their impressive Ayazi DAC and Black Star Clock—and JMF Audio, a company that’s new to me but dates back to 1985 with deep roots in the pro audio world, among others.

Vinnie Rossi revealed his new BRAMA collection of audio components back in October, and the buzz has persisted and steadily grown in anticipation of the first live performance at Axpona 2022. The wait, is over.

When I heard that the Rockport Atria II speakers were playing in the Stillpoints room, I had to hear them, again.

NAD, PSB, Dali, and Bluesound all sit under the roof of parent company Lenbrook who have built a fine house, filled with brands that offer the latest tech, excellent performance, and reasonable price tags. Bravo!

Some people get real worked up over cables, especially power cords (and Ethernet and USB cables). They use faulty science to explain why power cords cannot possibly make a difference, then make wild unsupported claims to explain away empirical evidence.

Speakers that don’t look like every other speaker can be polarizing—some people like ’em, some don’t. Which is all well and good until some nitwit with a keyboard believes they get to decide for everyone.

Aretai, founded in 2018 by Jānis Irbe and Edgars Zvirgzdiņš, showed off their Contra 100S Stand Mount Loudspeakers ($7500/pair) that do a wonderful job of  incorporating a horn-loaded tweeter, both aesthetically and sonically, with front and rear firing 6″ woofers.

Florida-based Dealer and Distributor Bending Wave USA combined a number of blue-chip brands in a big room for big sound.