AXPONA 2019 was the most exciting, largest and most tiring audio show we have attended. There were so many debut products that I’m sure I missed some that should have been mentioned below. My apologies to those I’ve overlooked, but here are ten product debuts that really stood out for me. Thank you to the companies who brought these products to our market.
DS Audio DS E1 Optical Phono Cartridge and Phono Stage
DS Audio showed off their newest and most affordable DS E1 optical phono cartridge ($1,250) and DS E1 Equalizer for optical phono cartridge in the Quintessence Audio Room. By the way, we named this room as “Best System with a Vinyl Source Under $50,000.”
The New DS E1 reduces cost by using aluminum for body material as well for the cantilever. We interviewed Aki last year after RMAF, and I have used DS Audio optical cartridges in my reference system for years.
KRONOS Reference Phono Stage
Known for their turntables, here’s a reference phono preamplifier that is a collaboration with True Life Audio of Greece and based on design specifications from Louis Desjardins, the founder of KRONOS. Working with the concept that tubes sound better than transistors, the designers spent hours comparing original master tapes to test pressing played through prototypes of the phono amplifier to get the right sound.
Truly a labor of love, the design, components chosen, NOS tubes, hand-wound transformers and the price tag make this a high-end product. Its the glorious sound, though, that may for some justify the $45,000 price tag. We named it “Best System with a Vinyl Source Under $500,000.”
Horning Hybrid Systems’ Eufrodite Ellipse MK.III Speakers
These were the best Horning speakers that I have ever heard, and they were in the same league with some of the best speakers Jeff Catalano of High Water Sound has ever shown. I always spend as much time as I can in Jeff’s room because he’s an analog guy like me. These speakers made listening a pleasure. In fact, we gave this room an award for “Best Analog System, Speakers Under $100,000.” And, they are way under at $28,000.
Technics Premium Class SL-1500C Coreless Direct Drive Turntable and Technics Networking Super Audio CD Player
Glenn Poor’s Audio Video of Champaign, IL sponsored the first public viewing in the US for these two products. The SL-1500C turntable inherits the Technics Sound-quality technology and will be available in the US this summer. Complete information on this turntable is available here.
The SL-G700 CD/SACD Network Player / Server (not pictured) is the newest addition to the Technics Grand Series line and is the companion to their SU-G700 AMP. Expected to be available this summer, complete information and pictures are available here.
TW-Acustic GT2 Turntable
We’ve already mentioned Jeffrey Catalano’s High Water Sound room in this post for their speakers, but the TW-Acustic GT2 turntable was also pretty sweet. It got quite a workout over the weekend, as Jeff always brings a big collection of albums with him. As we’ve already mentioned, we gave this room an award for “Best Analog System, Speakers Under $100,000.”
Rethm Maarga v2 Loudspeakers
I never miss listening to the Rethm speakers at any show. Their new Maarga v2 Loudspeakers for only $9,750 are the first that I have ever asked to review or thought that I might like to own. Their tone and transparency blended beautifully with the bass, and the imaging and soundstage were believable and lifelike. This room got massive, well-deserved accolades for the best sound from multiple publications. We named it “Best Digital System, Speakers Under $100,000”.
Stiletto 15 Loudspeakers
This was Vinnie Rossi‘s first time up to bat designing a loudspeaker, and I’d say he hit a home run. Listening to the Stiletto 15 loudspeakers, they impressed me with their ability to get out of the way so that I could concentrate on the performance. They delivered beautiful music from the top-end to deep bass. And the bass was very deep but natural. The Stiletto 15 loudspeakers imaged like a great mini-monitor and disappeared like one as well.
Verity Audio Lakme Loudspeakers
This was the US debut of the Verity Audio Lakme loudspeakers. These speakers continue Verity’s commitment to making exceptional high-end speakers. I could have listened much longer had there been more time.
YG Acoustics Vantage Loudspeakers
We toured the YG Acoustics plant a couple of years ago when we were in Colorado for RMAF. It’s no surprise to us that they make exceptionally good loudspeakers. Yet GTT Audio came up with a remarkable system, and the YG Acoustics Vantage loudspeakers were the most musical that I had ever heard. in the GTT Audio rooms was more musical than I had ever heard using a YG speaker. We gave it our award for “Best System with a Vinyl Source Under $500,00”.
Stenheim Alumine 3 Loudspeakers
The Stenheim Alumine Three is a modern speaker design in every way, but it also has the relaxing sound of many vintage speakers with rich tonal colors, beautiful vocals and well-controlled bass. This is one speaker I could have listened to for hours as it produced no listener fatigue. Of course, listening for that long wasn’t possible at a show the size of AXPONA. Maybe I should say that I could have listened to this system for hours as it produced no listener fatigue. Read our review of this room here.
