Welcome back to my coverage of AXPONA 2025. I want to send out special thanks to our friends at Vera-Fi Audio, manufacturer of matchless amplifiers, loudspeakers, subwoofers, power conditioners, noise reduction systems, and isolation products for the budget audiophile, for selflessly sponsoring this coverage despite not participating in the show themselves.
American Sound of Canada/Avantgarde Acoustics/Phasemation/Perpetumm Edner/Wadax/MSB/Grimm/Synthesis
AXPONA would not be complete without Angie Lisi and American Sound of Canada. The main system in her room featured the Avantgarde Acoustics Mezzo G3 Speakers ($103,800/pr) partnered with Phasemation MA-2000 Tube Mono Amplifiers ($49,000/pr) fronted by a Phasemation CM-1500 Hybrid Passive Pre-Amp (32,800) and Phasemation EA-550 Phono Amplifier ($7,200) with a Perpetuum-Ebner model 7070 MK11 turntable with Glanz tonearm and Ortofon cartridge ($13,000) as source as well as a Wadax Studio Player ($40,000) and Grimm MU2 Streamer ($17,500) coupled to MSB Cascade DAC ($135,000).
On passive display was an impressive selection of Synthesis Tube Amps from Italy.
ATC/Innuos
ATC were demonstrating their new ATC Classic Series SCM20ASL Active Loudspeakers ($10,999/pr in Premium Burr Magnolia) driven by an ATC SCA2 Preamplifier ($11,499 ATC – SPH2 Phono $1,249 additional) sourced from an Innuos ZENith Next Gen Mk3 Server ($18,900)
Grimm/Dr. Feickert
Grimm showcased their Grimm LS IC Active Loudspeakers ($40,000) sourced from a Dr. Feickert Volare Turntable ($3,500) fitted with an EMT HSD 006 ($1,800) running through a Grimm PW1 Phono Amplifier ($4,9000) and a Grimm MU1 Music Player ($12,500).
MBL
I have been a fan of MBL since I first discovered them back in the ’80s, having been referred to them by my friend Robert Lee due to their advanced amplifier technology, and instantly fell in love with the MBL 101 Loudspeaker. This year, they were demonstrating the MBL 101 E MKII Loudspeaker ($91,000/pr) with a pair of MBL 9011 Mono Amplifiers ($64,100/ea) sourced from the new MBL C41 Network Player ($11,100) using Wireworld Eclipse Series 10 Cable.
PureAudio Project/Pass Labs/HiFi Rose
Pass Labs had quite the array of their epic electronics including a modest system featuring PureAudio Project Duet15 Vaxativ AC-PiFe Loudspeakers ($9,150/pr) paired with Pass Labs XA60.8 Class A Mono Block Amplifiers ($15,250/pr), a Pass Labs XP-32 3 Chassis Preamp ($19,125) and a HiFi Rose RS151 High Performance Network Streamer Gen2 ($4995).
Magico/D’Agostino/Antipodes/Wadax/Vyda Laboratories
On the fifteenth floor, in the Club Lounge Magico, set up one of the most impressive demonstrations with what is arguably the most expensive gear of the show. Beginning with the towering Magico M9s ($750,000/pr), powered by D’Agostino Relentless 800 monoblocks ($195,000/pr) for the woofers and Relentless Epic 1600 monoblocks ($349,500/pr) for the mids and highs. In a closet off to the right was housed a D’Agostino Relentless preamplifier ($151,000), an Antipodes Oladra music server ($29,000), a Wadax Atlantis Reference Server, Transport, and DAC, ($350,000), a Telos Audio Design’s Earth Grounding Monster ($48,500), a Telos Audio Design Power Station ($108,000), and Vyda Laboratories cables.
Silent Pound/Perreaux Audio/Aurender/Life Audio/Titan Audio
Representing a blast from the past for me was New Zealand Amplifier manufacturer Perreaux Audio, who back in the ’80s used LEDs in their amplifiers because they felt they sounded better than other forms of diode (don’t know if they still do). Silent Pound made an impressive presentation with their Silent Pound Challnger II Speakers ($36,150 in Oak finish), these were powered by a Perreaux Audio 300ix Integrated Amplifier ($9,995) through Life Audio Essence MK3 Speaker Cables ($1,999), and sourced from an Aurender A15 Server/Streamer/DAC, with Titan Audio cables filling out the system.
Perfect8 Technologies/Ypsilon/Thrax
Once again Perfect8 Technologies was showing off their Perfect8 Technologies The Cube-T Loudspeaker (62,500) driven by an Ypsilon Phaethon Integrated Amplifier ($25,000) paired with a Thrax Maximinus MK2S DAC ($38,500) as source.
M101/Paradigm/PS Audio/RDacoustic
What really drew my attention in the M101 room was the massive RDacoustic Silentmax3D silver Acoustic Panel ($11,999). To demonstrate their M101 Flare Power Cable ($599/2m), M101 Flare Speaker Cables ($1,199/2m pr), M101 Flare LAN Cable ($799/1.5m), and M101 IO Power Isolator ($5,999) they had a used PS Audio Stellar Strata DAC/Integrated Amplifier and a pair of used Paradigm Persona 3F Loudspeakers.
That concludes Part 4 of my coverage of AXPONA 2025, once again, I would like to thank our good friends at Vera-Fi Audio for sponsoring our coverage. Stay tuned for Part 5
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