AXPONA 2025: Loudspeakers $50,000 and Up

AXPONA 2025: Loudspeakers $50,000 and Up

It’s a troublesome job, however anyone has to do it. Happily, this 12 months that anyone was me. Fifty grand could look like a excessive ground for a present report, however if you happen to’ve been to AXPONA (or hassle to learn this text), you’ll know that the variety of very costly loudspeakers on show in Schaumburg is starting to method High End Munich ranges. There are numerous expensive transducers on the market—and a few of them confirmed extraordinarily properly.

On the opposite hand, too many audio system have been bitten by the rooms by which they have been being proven. Sometimes it was as a result of the areas have been too small; typically as a result of they have been too massive; typically as a result of they have been simply plain bizarre and intractable. In ball rooms or resort rooms, I misplaced depend of the variety of transducers that received brilliant, shouty, and abrasive within the higher mids and treble on fortes. It was a digital epidemic.

I’ve organized this report by ground, beginning with the big floor and lobby-floor rooms and dealing my manner as much as the smaller rooms on the high of the resort (the sixteenth ground). As is at all times the case, I’m certain I missed some shows; I’m additionally certain that I received some names and costs flawed. My apologies upfront to these producers I’ve neglected and for any errors. I’m only one man with a digital camera, a cellphone, and a briefcase stuffed with blues, jazz, and classical. I do my greatest, however errors are going to occur.

Enjoy the present!

 

Nirvana A

Joseph Audio confirmed its $52k three-way four-driver Pearl Graphene Ultra floorstander, pushed by Doshi Audio electronics, sourced by a J.Sikora desk, and wired by

Cardas. Despite being slightly shouty, ahead, and abrasive on vocal fortes (the primary occasion of what was to develop into a show-wide development), the Pearl Graphene Ultra had excellent delicacy on cymbals and first rate although barely free and underdamped bass. Midrange was lifelike on Blossom Dearie “Do I Love You,” however nonetheless piercing on transients.

 

Nirvana B

The $200k Credo Cinema LTM multi-driver line supply was pushed by EMM Labs electronics and sourced by EMM Labs, Meitner, Feickert, and DS Audio in a really massive room. Once once more, the sound was piercing on vocal fortes and slide guitar transients.

 

Nirvana C

Acora Acoustics enormous, five-driver, granite-enclosed $218k VRC, augmented by rears and heart and sub and pushed by CAT electronics, had enormous depth of stage on “Avalon.” The audio system disappeared; their sound was darkish, candy, huge, and delightful, with subsequent to none of that piercing high quality on transients, even on “Coal Train”! A contender.

 

Utopia D

Wilson Benesch’s £100k Omnium, a tall, slim, seven-driver floorstander in a biocomposite monocoque enclosure (with a silk-carbon hybrid tweeter and isobaric woofers), was being pushed by Audia Flight electronics and sourced by WB’s fabulous GMT One record-playing system. The sound was very open, with beautiful treble, an enormous stage, and notably good decay. The audio system have been going through straight ahead (no toe-in) in a large room, so the middle picture on vocals was slightly diffuse. Bass was additionally a bit thumpy and funky in timbre.

 

Prosperity

The $54k, two-and-a-halfway, five-driver (one diamond tweeter, 4 7” ceramic mid/woofers) Marten Parker Quintet Diamond floorstander, pushed and sourced by Luxman and wired by Jorma boasted a impartial steadiness, surprisingly pure timbre on feminine vocal, and high quality definition within the bass. A superb exhibiting.

 

Euphoria

Another set of Acora Acoustics’ $218k, three-way, five-driver (one 1.25″ beryllium dome tweeter, two 4.5″ midranges, and two 12″ woofers) VRC floorstander in an enormous, solid-granite, ported enclosure was right here being pushed fantastically properly by VAC tubes, and sourced by Wadax and an SAT turntable. Although I haven’t been wowed by these audio system previously, this 12 months’s exhibiting was an unalloyed triumph. On a canopy of “Sound of Silence,” the bass went extremely deep, midrange timbre was attractive, devices have been extraordinarily dense in coloration, dimensional in imaging, and huge in staging. The total steadiness could have been a bit darkish, however so what? Despite a touch of room mischief on the bottom notes of the organ, the extremely lifelike staging and imaging of the choir on the Rutter Requiem, which appeared to be enormous in quantity, freestanding in area, individuated in presence, conjoined in concord, and practically life-sized in stature, made for what was maybe essentially the most practical replica of a big choir I’ve ever heard. This was one of the best AXPONA sound but and definitely a BOS contender.

 

Schaumburg C

The $65k Stratton Element 12 two-way stand-mount was being pushed by Burmester amplifiers and Acoustic Signature’s new Apex phonostage preamp and sourced by an Acoustic Signature Ascona turntable with TA-9000 arm and MCX4 cart. This was a really good-sounding small system, aided little question by Acoustic Signature’s new phonostage and its fantastic desk and arm. The sonics took me a bit without warning given the speaker’s configuration and the largish measurement of the room it was parked in, however the Stratton had dense darkish tone coloration, good although not earthshaking bass, and a really engaging treble with out chew or edge (for as soon as). A really good exhibiting.

 

Schaumburg D

Estelon’s $296k Extreme Mk II, 5-driver (two 11” Accuton CELL aluminum-sandwich woofers, one 11” Accuton CELL aluminum-sandwich mid/woofer, one 7” Accuton CELL ceramic-membrane midrange, one 1” Accuton CELL diamond tweeter), four-way floorstander in a big, ported, hourglass-shaped, marble-composite enclosure with remote-controlled height-adjustable tweeter/midrange module was pushed by Vitus Signature Series SM-103 MK.II monoblock amplifiers and an SL-103 linestage preamp, sourced by a Vitus SD-025 MK.II DAC and two Sonorus ATR10 mkII tape decks with Arian Jansen sampler tapes, and wired with Crystal’s Da Vinci cable and Infinity energy cords. On the tapes, the sound was extraordinarily open and current, with bass that was very highly effective and prolonged albeit slightly underdamped and a mite thumpy and a midrange and treble that have been extremely detailed however (but once more) edgy and aggressive on fortes. The tapes had nice staging exterior the audio system, because of Jansen’s Holographic Imaging software-treatment of the high-res digital recordsdata from which the tapes have been made, however just about all the things recorded on them suffered from that very same upper-midrange brightness and aggressiveness. I believed at first this could be as a consequence of off-axis diffraction, as I used to be initially sitting to the facet, however once I requested distributor Aldo Filippelli what setting he was utilizing with the Vitus amps—which by no means sounded even remotely brilliant or edgy once I used them in my system—he confessed they have been operating in “rock” mode relatively than Vitus’ “conventional” Class A. I instantly requested him to alter the setting, and the consequence was like a distinct system—far smoother, extra impartial in steadiness and pure in timbe, and not using a hint of brightness within the higher mids and treble. It nonetheless wasn’t one of many best sounds I heard on the present (the room was too huge, IMO), nevertheless it was a complete lot higher.

 

Schaumburg E

Dali’s $120k Core five-driver floorstander pushed and sourced by McIntosh electronics shocked me. This was a very good sounding room—darkish and wealthy in coloration within the midband and treble, only a tad obscure in heart imaging, and a bit overblown within the bass, however very listenable with a large soundstage and first rate decision. A high quality exhibiting.

 

Schaumburg F

The 5 fabric-driver (two 12″ woofers, two 6.5″ midrange drivers, and one 1″ soft-dome tweeter in an D’Appolito array), aluminum-enclosed, $165k Stenheim Reference Ultime Two, biamped by 4 VTL 450 monoblocks, sourced by dCS and Gran Prix Audio, and wired by Nordost, was sensational final 12 months (Robert gave it a BOS award) and (after a late Thursday night time recalibration by the good Stirling Trayle) proved to be simply as fantastic sounding in 2025. From Robbie Robertson’s electrical Sinematic (with Van the Man) to Hans Theessink’s largely acoustic Jedermann Remixed to a totally acoustic Blossom Dearie and all stops between, these have been best-of-show-worthy contenders, with tremendous solidity and three dimensionality high to backside, uniformly wealthy dense tone coloration, excellent (and outstandingly properly managed and articulated) bass, candy treble that by no means shrieked at you (because the tweets in so many different rooms did), and the exceptional dynamic vary that makes these very excessive sensitivity transducers so alive sounding. Once once more, the Stenheims have been immediate Best of Show contenders.

 

Innovation

The $100k Monitor Audio Hyphen with 11 drivers (an AMT tweeter surrounded by six two-inch midranges—referred to as the M array—on a middle strut and 4 8-inch force-canceling woofers constructed into the stone-acrylic facet towers, making for an H-shaped type issue) was pushed by McIntosh and sourced by Bluesound. The room the Hyphen was being proven in was very loud and busy, stuffed with talkative individuals, so the sound of the audio system was laborious to suss out. However, from what I may hear, they have been fairly impartial and pure, one of many few transducers I heard that appeared lifelike in steadiness. I favored them regardless of the noise.

 

Connection

The $50k, four-driver, three-and-a-halfway Sonus faber Stradivari floorstander with its distinctively skinny, vast, gorgeously completed, soundboard-like enclosure was being pushed by ARC 330M monoblocks and an ARC Ref 10 preamp, and sourced by dCS, Clearaudio, and DS Audio. The sound was merely attractive—darkish in steadiness however fantastically dense in coloration, texture, dynamics, physique, dimensionality, and staging. Meltingly stunning on strings, excessive and low, it could not have been the final phrase in decision, nevertheless it was breathtakingly beautiful to hearken to. A BOS contender.

 

Perfection Boardroom

Wilson Audio’s $367k seven-driver Chronosonic XVX in a tall, immensely adjustable “enclosure” was being pushed by D’Agostino electronics and sourced by dCS and Clearaudio with DS Audio cart. Wire was by Transparent. The XVX produced a darkish strong sound with notably good pace and impression on transients. Bass was slightly wooly within the slender room by which it was ensconced. The XVX was not as wealthy, rounded, and ravishing in timbre and texture because the Sonus faber Stradavari with ARC—only a contact leaner and drier by comparability—nevertheless it was nonetheless fairly listenable.

 

Third Floor

Despite being parked in a comparatively tiny nook room of a big room, the four-driver $55k B&W 801 D4 Signature, pushed by Marantz electronics and sourced by a Marantz DAC, had a really listenable sound—scarcely the final phrase in decision or dynamics or staging however as clean and candy as a very good FM tuner broadcast. It could be good to listen to these good-looking wanting and sounding audio system in a bigger area the place they weren’t jammed towards and between partitions.

 

Fourth Floor

The $63,400 YG Acoustics Hailey 3 three-driver three-way floorstander in two stacked and finely fitted collectively aluminum cupboards was pushed by Zesto tube electronics and sourced by Zesto’s new tube DAC, with cables by Cardas. Despite bass leak-through from close by rooms and the confines of a small slender resort room, the sound was impressively open, impartial, full of life, pacey, and lifelike on Miles and Trane. Staging was restricted by the room, however tonality was fairly pure and interesting. A superb exhibiting for YG and for Zesto.

Von Schweikert’s demure, 6-driver, $59,000 VR.thirty floorstander with ceramic cones, a diamond tweeter, a rear-mounted ambient ribbon tweeter, and lively bass was pushed by Class A Westminster Labs electronics and sourced by a Lumin streamer and a Rockna DAC. The sound was harking back to the YG Hailey 3, partially as a result of the VR.thirty was located in the identical small slender room. It, too, was impressively impartial and full of life with rather less tube bloom, after all, than the Zesto-driven Haley however with sooner transients. Another excellent exhibiting.

The second pair of $63k YG Hailey 3 three-driver three-way floorstanders (in the identical tiny room) was pushed by Class D bel canto electronics. They had a beguiling heat and physique and chewiness and the identical openness as the opposite pair on Willie Nelson “Blue Skies” vinyl and Greg Brown’s “Brand New 64 Dodge.” Another good presentation.

The $89k Altec Lansing Ribbonacci bipolar membrane loudspeaker with separate DSP’d woofers, pushed by Lampizator tube electronics and sourced by a Method 4 DAC, was the fullest-bodied speaker I heard on Floor 4. It had wealthy dense tone coloration on all devices, very full of life dynamics, and a pure tonal steadiness. Though performed slightly too loud for me, it was nonetheless an excellent system.

 

Fifth Floor

The $65k Cessaro Mendelssohn hybrid loudspeaker with compression-driver tweeter in a spherical horn and cone midrange and woofer, pushed by Alieno tubes and sourced by a TW Acustic desk and tonearm, had extra stage depth than different audio system in small rooms.

Despite the too-loud playback stage, the Cessaro was nonetheless marvelous on piano—extraordinarily clear and pure. Unfortunately, voices had that Schaumburg edge on fortes, although they sounded properly managed at decrease quantity. All in all, a blended bag that confirmed nice potential for a bigger area.

Bayz Audio’s at all times interesting-sounding, albeit plumbing-fixture-looking $60k Courante 2.0 omni, pushed by Burmester, sourced by Burmester and Aurender, and wired by Shunyata, as soon as once more, exhibited that now-familiar shoutiness and edge on vocal and instrumental fortes, though the musicians have been free standing and three-dimensional, as if not sourced by a loudspeaker. That omni impact alone made the Bayz value a protracted hear, even when it was combating the room and typically shedding.

 

Sixth Floor

The $82.5k GIP 4165 reproduction of a WE full-ranger from the Nineteen Thirties with a 105dB-sensitive 12” field-coil driver in a horn-loaded baffle with a separate TW 38 tweeter mounted atop the enclosure, pushed by $55k 6L6 GIP amps and $48k GIP preamp, was being performed piercingly loudly in a small resort room! Though it had moderately good timbre and dynamics on trumpet and piano, the extreme quantity stage obscured its virtues.

TriangleART’s $65k Metis loudspeaker with strong walnut spherical-horn-loaded midrange, ported cone woofer, and RAAL true ribbon tweeter was being pushed by TriangleART’s tube electronics and a TA turntable. The Metis had good density of tone coloration on Diana Krall’s Live In Paris however, just like the GIP 4165, was being performed too loud in a small room, so sounded relatively piercing on vocal and instrumental transients. Center imaging was additionally slightly obscure. That mentioned and stage apart, the sound was not unappealing.

 

Seventh Floor

The $70k Fourier Transform lively loudspeakers with subs and amps is maybe the weirdest speaker I’ve ever seen—a veritable jungle fitness center of 12 unenclosed cone drivers stacked atop one another, with an array of ribbons and planar tweeters to their sides and an outboard subwoofer. But shock, shock, the Fourier sounded nice—open like an omni (which is what it’s) with free-floating photos of extraordinarily pure timbre, save for the bass, the place the subs have been boxy and poorly blended. That apart, the Fourier Transforms have been best-of-show realistic-sounding within the mids and treble.

 

Eleventh Floor

Italy’s $82k Albedo Audio Acclara SHS, a five-Accuton-driver three-way floorstander, developed fairly a pleasant soundstage, vast and deep in a slender room. Tonal steadiness was darkish and reasonably wealthy with a candy treble. Instruments sounded dense in timbre and texture, and the bass was very deep going and properly managed on a Mino Cinélu drum album. A Tape Project tape of Nat King Cole and George Shearing was additionally spectacular, although the Sonorus deck wasn’t fairly as delicate within the higher mids because the Cinélu vinyl. Devin Hoff LP of standup bass was merely excellent with very deep extension. A notably good-sounding room.

The $78k Rockport Lynx three-driver three-way floorstander with customized drivers and enclosure was being proven in two areas. Here it was being pushed by Absolare. The slender room and huge window behind the audio system weren’t serving to, however apart from the same old brightness within the higher mids on fortes, the Lynxes have been very detailed with wonderful stage depth and peak and deep going low finish. Too dangerous concerning the room.

 

Twelfth Floor

The $91k ceramic- and diamond-driver Marten Mingus Quintet 2 floorstander, pushed by Goldmund electronics and sourced by Goldmund and a Garrard 301, have been very quick and finely detailed. Bass was overblown on this small area; timbre, impartial to barely heat.

 

Fourteenth Floor

The $78k Rockport Lynx, making a second look right here pushed by Vinnie Rossi tube electronics, sourced by Innuous, and wired by AudioQuest, was splendid sounding, regardless of a little bit of thickness within the bass—attractive on feminine voice and piano and regardless of the small measurement of the room, no shoutiness within the mids and treble. This was a greater exhibiting than the primary Lynx. In truth, regardless of bass points, it was one of the pure and interesting sounds on the present.

Audio Note UK confirmed its massive $65k AN-E/SPx Ltd. Field Coil two-way stand-mount pushed by AN’s Meishu 300B built-in and sourced by AN digital and analog. For a two-way, the AN-E was surprisingly full vary, with a seamless mix of hemp cone woofer and dome tweeter. Tremendously wealthy, clear, and dynamic on drum and synth (-6dB at 17Hz!), it was one of many surprises at AXPONA and among the best two-way stand-mounts on the present.

 

Fifteenth Floor

The gigantic, $750,000, six-driver (one 1.1-inch diamond-coated beryllium dome tweeter, one 6-inch Gen 8 Magico Nano-Tec midrange, two 11-inch Gen 8 Magico Nano-Tec mid/woofs, and two 15-inch Gen 8 Magico Nano-Tec woofers) Magico M9s have been housed in an almost 8-foot-tall, 1000-pound (per facet), oval-shaped, sealed enclosure of astonishingly advanced and complicated building. Driven by top-line D’Agostino electronics, sourced by top-line Wadax DAC, server, and participant, and cabled by Vyda, the M9’s low finish was huge, highly effective, and strong on solo double bass, with excellent pitch definition and good timbre. However, the M9 suffered from the identical aggressiveness within the upper-midrange/lower-treble that plagued so many different transducers at Schaumburg. Soundstaging was terrific, however that brightness and edginess on fortes with female and male voice, ensemble voices, and solo guitar made it sound as if the tweet have been protruding. The room (low ceiling and close to sidewalls) and the comparatively shut listening space weren’t doing these huge audio system any favors. In a distinct room with a distinct setup, I’m certain the M9s would sound like 1,000,000 bucks, which is just about what they value. In this oddball Schaumburg venue, not a lot.

MBL’s $91k four-way 101 E MkII omnis, pushed by MBL 9011 amps and sourced by its excellent C41 streamer, sounded astonishingly practical on voice! Not as wealthy in coloration because the Stenheims (partially, I believe, due to the digital bass entice Jeremy was utilizing, which leaned down the midbass however, alas, additionally leaned down the decrease midrange), however so boxlessly open, bloomy, and dimensional that Mark Knopfler sounded “there.”

 

Sixteenth Floor

The $120k Avantgarde Mezzo G3 two-way floorstander with spherical horn tweeter and woofer and powered and DSP’d dual-12” bass, pushed by Phasemation MA-2000 tubes and sourced by Wadax, was simply plain terrific. A BOS proper off the bat. No horn coloration, darkish attractive tone coloration, wealthy texture on voice and instrumentals, and a dynamic vary and ease that have been nonpareil. The Mezzo was additionally extremely detailed, effortlessly differentiating beforehand undifferentiated background vocals on “I Heard You Paint Houses” from Sinematic. The greatest I’ve heard these audio system sound and a BOS contender.

 

The $105k Vivid Giya G1 Spirit, pushed by Audionet electronics, and sourced by Master Fidelity DAC and Kronos desk, had an appealingly mild, sprightly, open presentation devoid of darkness however missing some bass, midbass, and decrease midrange coloration, weight, and physique. Nonetheless, it was fairly expansive in staging and boxless-sounding backside to high.

 

The five-driver, four-way $250k Gauder DARC 250 was being pushed by Soulution electronics, together with the brand new 717 amps. It was laborious to inform for certain on audio system I’m not extremely conversant in, however the amps appeared to be completely colorlessly impartial, supremely detailed (brushes on drumheads needed to be heard to be believed), and breathtakingly pure on “Take Five” and different jazz cuts, utterly disappearing the Gauders as sound sources. With terrific treble and midrange timbre and astounding decision (although under no circumstances analytical), the brand new amps have been phenomenal!

 

Best of Show

Acora Acoustics VRC loudspeakers pushed by VAC electronics. Runner-up: Stenheim Reference Ultime 2 loudspeaker pushed by VTL electronics.

 

Best Buy

Sonus faber Stradavari loudspeaker pushed by ARC electronics.

 

Most Innovative

Fourier Transform omnidirectional loudspeaker pushed by its personal devoted amps.

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April 17, 2025 at 02:35PM