AXPONA 2026 Report Part Two

April 19, 2026

HiFi PiG’S AXPONA 2026 COVERAGE CONTINUES WITH OUR SECOND REPORT

AXPONA 2026 Report Part Two
AXPONA report

Join Oscar and Kelly for the second part of our AXPONA 2026 Report, heading up the Hotel Tower from floors 5 to 11.

AXPONA 2026 was huge, you can read the first part of our coverage here, now let’s see what else Oscar and Kelly snoofled out as they head further up the floors in the Hotel Tower part of the show, floors 5 to 11, with more to follow.

Please note, all content and photos are the copyright of HiFi PiG Magazine/Big Pig Media LLP and must not be copied or reproduced in any way without the prior, written consent of the editor.

AXPONA 2026 REPORT PART TWO

5th floor

VPE – 502

In this room you had the Magnepan 1.7X vs 1.7i with VPE Model 1A Little Dipole Woofer, electronics wise they had a pair of Orchard Audio mono block amps, a Technics SL-1300G turntable, Pass Labs XP-12 pre-amp, XP-17 phono stage, and Technics CD player.

Ampsandsound – 508

In this room you had the ampsandsound Badlands pre-amplifier, and Stereo 17 stereo amplifier, driving a pair of ampsandsound Seneca 2way speakers. The source was the new ampsandsound DAC 4.4 and a Technics 1300 with an OJAS cartridge, alongside a Denon DL103R cartridge.

I’ve always heard great things about Ampsandsound – and this room was a delight to be in, it was also good to see a pair of the ZMF Ori 3.0 in here, as Ampsandsound make some excellent headphone amps too.

Fiio – 512

Fiio had plenty of interesting kit in their room, including the new single DD driver Oak Nano earphones, R7 R2R streaming DAC, Air Amp streaming integrated class-D amp, Jade Audio Level 1 class-D amp, TT11 turntable, integrated tube amp for speakers, and some new big speakers. It’s interesting to see Fiio branching out into more full-size HiFi.

Parts Express – 516

Parts Express had a range of Dayton Audio kit in their room, including speakers, subs, and amplifier, and they had a Wiim Ultra as their streamer of choice.

Sierra Sound – 530

Nearing the end of Friday, we unknowingly stumbled across Sierra Sound doing their Metal zone – which was from 5:30pm onwards in their room on Friday and Saturday. What a spectacular room this was, the atmosphere was superb, there were people of all ages rocking out to proper heavy music – with the exhibitors handing out cold beers to those in the room. It was all backed up by a system that played vinyl throughout the show, and that sounded fantastic even with challenging genres and songs.

Kit wise, you had the debut of the new Aesthetix Pallene line stage, and Dione power amplifier, driving a pair of Vandersteen Treo CT speakers. The source was the AMG Giro MK II Wood turntable with AMG 9WT tonearm, Benz Micro Zebra L Woodbody cartridge, and ViV Laboratory Rigid Float Ha-9″ tonearm, as well as an AMG Viella turntable with 12JT Turbo tonearm, Benz Micro SLR Gullwing, and Sorane SA-1.2 tonearm, all running through an Aesthetix Rhea Signature phono stage. The system was supported by a Butcher Block Acoustics rigidrack, Connected Fidelity Six Star AC distribution, and a full loom of Cardas Clear Beyond and Sierra Sound cabling.

Audio Research – 534

In this room you had the debut of the new Audio Research REFERENCE 20 pre-amp, and REFERENCE 80X stereo amplifier, driving a pair of Acora Acoustics MRC5 speakers, the source was the new Ideon Audio AXIOM DAC paired with an Ideon Audio Absolute Stream.

Fun stuff!

Heading down to the lobby to go out for dinner, we ended up witnessing Angela Cardas doing the Ø Audio challenge – of hitting a nail into a tree stump, with an axe. I believe the aim was to nail it in, in as few hits as possible – I’m not sure what the prize was, but it looked great fun and created a bit of a buzz around that area.

Auer Acoustics – 540

Auer Acoustics always put a huge amount of effort into their room, essentially creating a room within a room, that both looks amazing, and is acoustically much better than a hotel room.

They were playing the Vesura V2 speakers, paired with a Soulution 717 amp, Stromtank Quantum power conditioners, MSB Cascade DAC, and Oladra server/streamer as the source. Wonderful sounding speakers, plenty of clarity without being bright, and great scale.

In the second Auer room, they had a static display of some of their other speaker models, once again very well laid out.

SoundCrewe Audio – 546

SoundCrewe had three models at the show, the Model 350, Model 450, Model 550 (still in development), and Model 750 – all of these speakers are hand built. They were running them through a full Emotiva system, in terms of electronics.

Fosi – 558

Fosi had a great range of their HiFi products on display and demo in their first room, including their new S3 streamer – this is affordable kit, yet sounds great for the price.

RBH / Eversolo – 554

RBH had their 50th-anniversary flagship technology on show – in the form of their Obelisk speakers, alongside some huge subs, their own electronics, PowerQuest 707 mains conditioner and Eversolo T8 streaming transport.

Fosi – 560

In the second Fosi room, you had their portable audio selection, including earphones, dongles, and more. Their prototype miniature CD player was rather cool, not exactly pocketable, but a nice design in my opinion for something to use at home.

Wathen – 564

Wathen had their Dipole speakers in this room, alongside their Pro Tube Conditioner, Cambridge Audio CXN100 streamer, Roon Nucleus One server, and a brand new Cryotone 300B amplifier.

Devialet – 550

The second room featured a lifestyle-focused system built around the Devialet Phantom Ultimate 108dB speakers. The setup used wireless playback via an iPad, demonstrating a simple, elegant system with minimal components.

Van Alstine – 568

Van Alstine had a range of their electronics around the edge of the room, with a demo system using their L1 stand mount speakers, FVA1 monoblock hybrid amps, and DAC2 DAC/pre-amp. They also had their DVA M225 monoblocks, FET CFR pre-amp, NP1 stereo power amp, and CA1 pre-amp in the setup, but not being used when we were in the room.

Emotiva – 572

One of the funkiest looking rooms at the show – Emotiva showcased their new Nostala range in here including the LB12 3-way speakers, which have a vintage design to them. There was also a Nostala FT12 sub in the room, which is coming soon, and they were running the LB12 speakers off an SDR1000 stereo receiver, and full DR stack including the DRP-1 pre-amp, DRS-1 streamer, DRD-1 DAC and DRA-1 amplifier. They had their new XSP-2 stereo pre-amp at the side of the room on static display.

Emotiva – 576

In the second room, you had the LXR16 AV receiver on static display, in the demo setup they had a pair of Arimotiv XT1 speakers, XC1 centre channel, LXR-11 9.4.6 AV receiver, and a sub in the corner. Emotiva do quite a range of products, and the two rooms were polar opposites from the company, one with a new vintage styled range, the other with a modern AV setup.

Fern and Roby – 584

In this room you had the LTA MicroZOTL pre-amplifier, and Ultralinear power amplifier, driving a pair of F&R Raven II bookshelf speakers on F&R isolation stands. The sources included the new F&R The Archival Turntable with an SME M2-12R tonearm and Miyajima Madake cartridge through a Grimm Audio PW1 phono pre-amp, alongside a digital front end consisting of the Grimm Audio MU2 DAC & Streamer and the new Network Acoustics Muon2 streaming system and network switch. The entire setup used Black Cat Cable Graceline Level 2 and 3 cabling, all housed on an F&R Equipment Rack in Ash.

Volti – 588

In this room you had the Cary Audio SLI-80 integrated amplifier, driving a pair of Volti Audio Lucera hybrid horn-bass reflex speakers. The source was a WiiM Ultra with a Teddy Pardo Audio external power supply and a Mojo Audio Mystique Z DAC, with the entire system connected via Triode Wire Labs cabling.

Aretai / Benchmark – 580

Brilliant pairing of Benchmarks linearity with the wide dispersion and impressively balanced sound of the Aretai, they put on some very engaging music and these can really hit hard and dig deep when called for – hugely impressive setup in this room.

In this room you had the Benchmark HPA4 pre-amp/headphone amp and two Benchmark AHB2 amplifiers, driving a pair of Aretai Contra 200F loudspeakers. The source was a Grimm MU2, with the entire system connected via Benchmark Studio&Stage StarQuad XLR and Benchmark speaker cabling.

Gestalt – 592

In this room you had the Wolf Von Langa 11620 Organic speakers, running off a system using the SW1X DAC V, SW1X VDT IV digital transport, Primary Control turntable, SW1X AMP IV integrated amp, and SW1X LPU IV phono stage.

High Water – 596

In this room you had the Alieno Ferrero L9 pre-amp and Alieno 100 SE 2A3 amplifier, driving a pair of Cessaro Horn Acoustic Opus SE Limited speakers. The source was a TW-Acustic Raven LS-3 Copper turntable with Raven 12.9″ and 12″ tonearms, a Glanz MH-1200S tonearm, and an Alieno Phono Extremo phono stage—utilising DAVA Soul, Fuuga, and Miyajima Infinity Mono cartridges—with the entire system supported by a Codia Audio 7000 Titanium rack, Silent Running Audio Virginia Class platforms, and Massif Audio Design Lingum Vitale record weights and footers, all connected via Shun Mook and ADD-Powr Sorcerer cabling.

6th floor

Alta audio – 602

In this room you had the ModWright LS300 pre-amp and KWA300 power amplifier, driving a pair of Alta Audio Alec SE 2-way loudspeakers. The source was a Sota Onyx Total Eclipse turntable with an Audio Technica ART1000 cartridge through a ModWright PH9.0 phono pre-amp, as well as an Infigo Audio IS-1 streamer/Roon server and HDR-A D1 DAC, with the entire system connected via Clarus CCB Balance audio and speaker cabling. The setup was further supported by a Clarus Concerto power conditioner and a HiFi-Life Dynamic Modularity audio rack.

Playback – 694

In here you had the Amphion 7LX floorstanding speakers, driven by a full TEAC Reference 500 series system. Sources included the NT-507T network transport and PD-507T CD transport, alongside the TN-3B-SE turntable and PE-505 phono stage. The system also featured the CG-10M-X master clock, UD-507 DAC/preamp, and dual AP-507 power amplifiers configured in mono.

Popori – 690

In this room you had the Atma-Sphere MP3 pre-amp and Atma-Sphere Class D amplifiers, driving a pair of Popori WR2 speakers. The source was an Apex Designz custom server and a Bacch SP Stereo Purifier, with the entire system supported by Ultrasonic Audio racks and connected via VIABLUE cabling.

Playback – 688

This was the flagship Playback Distribution system, featuring Audio Solutions Virtuoso M2 speakers alongside the Deus Audio Machines Tesseract infrasonic subwoofer. The system was built around the Esoteric Grandioso range, including the N1 network player, K1X SE SACD/CD transport, C1X Solo preamplifier, and S1X power amplifier. The room was fully optimised with Vicoustic acoustic treatment.

Playback – 684

Playback Distribution had the Esprit Amelia loudspeakersspeakers in here, driven by a full Esoteric Core system. This included the N-05XE network player/DAC/preamp, K-05XD SACD/CD player, G-05 master clock, and a pair of S-05XE mono power amplifiers. The room was acoustically treated using Vicoustic panels.

Playback – 680

This room featured the Silent Pound Challenger Bloom in their new alcantara finish, driven by the Java HiFi Double Shot 400 integrated amplifier. The system used Silent Angel streaming as its source, with Quadraspire racking and Esprit cabling supporting the setup.

KLH – 676

KLH had their Model Five playing in the room, we saw these in Ascot and they sound excellent, with a slightly smooth, yet detailed sound. Source wise they were using an Advance Paris A12 Apex integrated amplifier with Wiim Ultra streamer.

Bluebird – 672

In here you had the Peak Consult Sonora speakers, partnered with a full Orpheus Lab Absolute Line setup, including the A ZERO PS SACD player, A TWO 22D pre-amp, and A THREE S200 power amplifier.

Arendal – 668

Arendal had their new 1610 speakers on demo, paired with a Hegel H600 amplifier – a clean and simple setup with room filling, detailed sound. They had a pair of standmounts and a sub on static display at the side of the room.

Atohm – 664

In this room you had an Atoll Electronique SDA300 Signature network streamer/DAC/integrated amplifier, driving a pair of Atohm Sirocco 2.24 floor-standing loudspeakers. The entire system was connected via Transparent Audio cabling.

Dynaudio – 660

In the first Dynaudio room we had the Atoll Electronique ST300 network player/pre-amplifier, driving a pair of Dynaudio Confidence 20A active loudspeakers. They were using Cardas Clear cabling throughout, and the Confidence 20A are a great pair of speakers, sounding both clear, yet full, and bigger than their footprint would suggest.

Dynaudio – 654

In the next Dynaudio room, we had the new Legend bookshelf speakers, I must confess I was lucky enough to hear these prior to their release at the Bristol show. They disappear, with impressive clarity, and a natural, coherent sound that simply gets out of the way of the music. The cabinets are also a thing of beauty too

The system used a MOON by Simaudio 371 network amplifier, alongside a Clearaudio Performance DC turntable with Tracer tonearm and Hana Umami Blue cartridge, with the entire system connected via Transparent Audio cabling.

Bricasti – 650

The Bricasti room had the Bricasti Design M20 line stage pre-amp Argento Edition and M28 mono block amplifiers, driving a pair of Bricasti Design S7 3-way speakers. The source was a combination of the M19 Reference SACD/CD I2S transport, M5 network player, and the M21 D/A converter Platinum Edition, with the entire system supported by ASC IsoThermal TubeTraps and StillPoints Ultra Isolators, all connected via Gotham Cable and Audio Hifi Solutions cable lifters.

DeVore – 646

Another room you can expect to sound excellent, the DeVore Fidelity room had the Nagra II-S pre-amplifier with Compact PSU and Nagra Classic amplifier pair, driving a pair of DeVore Fidelity O/Reference speakers. The source was a Yuki AP-01EM turntable with Glanz MH-1000S and MH-9BT tonearms, a Phasemation PP-5000 MC cartridge, and an extensive Nagra digital and analogue front end including the Tube DAC, Classic PSU, and Compact Streamer, with the entire system supported by a Box Furniture Co. HT3S Heritage Triplewide rack and connected via AudioQuest Thunderbird Zero cabling.

HSU – 642

HSU had a range of speakers in their room, running off an Onkyo AV receiver, with active subs too. These are speakers that work with stereo setups, as well as AV ones.

Forte – 640

Forte Distribution had the latest models from Eversolo and Luxin, including the DAC-Z10 which I reviewed late last year, the Luxsin X8 DAC/headphone amp, X9 DAC/headphone amp/pre-amp, and Eversolo T8 streaming transport. They had a demo system using a pair of Burmester B28 speakers, Eversolo DMP-A10, T8 streaming transport, DAC-Z10, and AMP-F10 power amplifier.

Playback – 634

Here you had the Advance Paris A-i190 integrated amplifier driving Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grand speakers, supported by a pair of Velodyne SPL-X 12 subwoofers. This system also showcased new Advance Paris features including their Radial Remote, streaming cartridge, and Bluetooth connectivity. A second system in the room featured the Advance Paris A12 APEX integrated amplifier with Vienna Acoustics Mozart Signature SE speakers, paired with a stereo set of MJ Acoustics Pro MK50 subwoofers.

Consonance – 628

Consonance had their Linear845 on static display, alongside a demo system using Pure Audio Project open-baffle speakers, Well Tempered Lab Amadeus T3 turntable, Consonance Linear-200, and a Consonance Reference 5.5 MKII integrated amplifier.

Stereo Haven – 624

In the Stereo Haven room you had the Jadis JPS 2 pre-amp and Sugden Sapphire FBA800 amplifier, driving a pair of JM Reynaud Orfeo Jubilees speakers. The source was a Well Tempered Lab Amadeus 254 GT turntable with a Dynavector DRT XV-1t cartridge through a Jadis JPS 3 phono stage, all housed on a Lateral Aria 4-tier rack.

Benchmark – 620

In here you had the Benchmark LA4 line amplifier and Benchmark AHB2 amplifier, driving a pair of Studio Electric m6 floor-standing loudspeakers. The source was a MacBook Pro via USB into a Benchmark DAC3 B, with the entire system connected via Benchmark cabling.

Triangle Art – 616

In this room you had the TriangleArt L200 MK2 dual mono line stage and M100 tube monoblock amplifiers, driving a pair of TriangleArt Selene 2-way horn speakers. The source was a TriangleArt Anubis turntable with an Osiris 12″ MK2 Diamond tonearm and Apollo MC cartridge, alongside a Maestro turntable and a Hathor turntable with a Horus 12″ tonearm and Zeus MC cartridge, all played through a P200 tube dual mono phono stage; the entire system was supported by RA Ultimate power management and connected via Rhea Reference and Ultimate cabling.

Playback – 612

In this room you had the PMC Prophecy 1 speakers, a pair of MJ Acoustics Reference 200 subwoofers, AVID Accent integrated amp, AVID Relveo turntable, and Silent Angel Z1C streamer. They also had another system in this room, which used the PMC Twenty5 21i active speakers, with a TEAC HA-507 pre-amp, and Silent Angel M1 streamer.

True source – 608

Here you had a pair of G.I.P Laboratory 225 speakers running off a Leben CS-300XS integrated amplifier, there was also a pair of GIP Mono amps, and GIP Preamplifier in the system (not playing when we went in). Source wise you had an AMG turntable, with Benz cartridge.

A quick stop for lunch, and I had the pleasure of chatting with long-term HiFi PiG fan – Ron Gruber. We had a good 20-30 minute chat about life, the universe, and everything; it was a refreshing break and it’s always good to connect with people.

7th floor

Rockhopper – 704

Rockhopper make small active speakers, a simplistic setup with great audio for their size.

Orchard – 705

Orchard Audio had their PecanPi+ Premium streamer in this room, alongside a pair of their Starkrimson 25 mono premium amplifiers, driving a pair of Philharmonic Audio Cantabile speakers. This was the debut of the Cantabile speakers, and they use an interesting array of drivers using AMT tweeters, BMR drivers, and normal woofers.

La Dolce Audio – 708

Well, just look at these speakers – they are unique, that’s for sure.

You had a UA2.5v2 used as a pre-amplifier (with HPA2.3 headphone adapter to allow pre-amp use) and two UA2.5m monoblock amplifiers, driving a pair of DIY speakers consisting of LDA18 bass, LDA2001 midrange horn, 360 Degree tweeter, and LDA1002 tweeter kits, and the source was an Oppo CD player.

Fourier Sound / Buckeye Amplifiers – 712

I saw these intriguing speakers last year, and they were here again, they are quite a funky design and they had line-array subs in the back along with amplifiers from Buckeye.

Holm Audio – 715

This retailer had quite a bit of kit in their room, including a Cambridge Audio EXN100 streamer, EXA100 integrated amp, an Edge integrated amp, and an EXA81 integrated amp, alongside a Rega Naia turntable, an Aria MK3 phono stage, an Aura phono stage, and a P6/ND7 turntable. This room also featured KEF R3 Indigo speakers with matching stands and R11 speakers, along with Torus Power RM 15 and RM20 power conditioners.

Holm Audio – 716

In this room we had the Nordost demo room, where they were swapping out different Nordost cables for people to hear the difference between ranges.

This room was backed up by an Electrocompaniet EC 4.8 MKII pre-amp and AW250 R power amp, driving a pair of Triangle Signature Alpha floor-standing loudspeakers. The source was a Lumin P1, with the entire system supported by Salamander Designs furniture.

They also had an Electrocompaniet EMC1 MKV CD player, and ECM1 MKII on static display at the back of the room.

Sonner Audio – 719

Sonner had their new Vivace speakers, driven by a Luxman C10X pre-amp and M10X power amp. Around the room they had their Allegro Unum, and Legato Unum speakers on display. The source was a Luxman EMT07 and DA07, with the entire system supported by Butcher Block Acoustics furniture and a Puritan 156 Furitech power conditioner, all connected via Nordost cabling.

Holm Audio – 720

Holm had more Electrocompaniet here, in the form of an ECI6DX MKII streaming integrated amp driving a pair of Monitor Audio Gold 100, alongside an Eversolo DMP-A10, and SOTA Quasar turntable with Luxman E-07 phono stage, the entire system supported by Salamander Designs furniture and connected via AudioQuest cabling.

Around the room they also had a Rogue Sphinx integrated amplifier, a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 300, and Studio 89 loudspeakers.

Rotel – 723

Rotel had a small head-fi station at the side of the room, which included their new DX-3 DAC/amp, and a pair of Final D8000 Pro edition headphones.

The main system though, comprised of the Rotel RC-1572MKII stereo preamplifier and RB-1552MKII stereo amplifier, driving a pair of Monitor Audio Gold 300 6G floorstanding loudspeakers. The source was a Rotel RCD-1572MKII CD player, with the entire system supported by a Salamander Designs Archetype A5/W audio rack and an AudioQuest PowerQuest 909 power conditioner, and connected via AudioQuest Yukon interconnects.

AGD Productions / Rosso Fiorentino – 724

In this room you had a pair of Rosso Fiorentino Arno 40 speakers, with a full setup of AGD Productions electronics including the Gran Vivace MKIV, Allegro, Alto, Forte, and Duet.

Rotel – 727

In this room we had the Michi Prestige X430 integrated amplifier, driving a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 804 D4 tower loudspeakers. The source was a Michi Prestige Q430 CD player, with the entire system supported by a Salamander Designs Archetype A5/W audio rack and an AudioQuest PowerQuest 909 power conditioner, and connected via AudioQuest Yukon interconnects.

ORCHESTALLS – 728

ORCHESTALLS had mini versions of their previous loudspeakers, which are quite an odd, yet interesting design. These were driven by a Unison Research Triode 25 Black Edition with a HiFi Rose streamer as the source.

Gato + Copenhagen Loudspeaker Company – 731

In this room you had the CLC65 speakers, which are the first commercial speaker using a 3-way design will a full complement of Purifi drivers. These were driven by Gato Audio kit, and sounded superb.

ELAC – 734

ELAC had their Concentro 2.0 M807 speakers on demo paired with their own DDP-2 streaming pre-amp, and a pair of DPA-2 power amplifiers.

In the room next door, they had a wide range of their other models on static display, the display room was very neatly laid out.

Turnbull Audio / Aequo – 739

Another pair of Aequo speakers in this room, the Ensium, paired with a Vitus Audio RI-101 MKII streaming integrated amplifier, and Turnbull Audio mains conditioning and cabling throughout.

Linear Tube Audio – 744

Linear Tube Audio had a Balanced Preamplifier Prototype with Century monoblock amplifiers, driving a pair of Sound Lab G7-3C Majestic electrostatic loudspeakers with SALLIE 12″ Back Wave Attenuator Devices. The source was a Grimm MU1 Music Player into a Linear Tube Audio Aero DAC, with the entire system supported by a Fern & Roby Equipment Rack #1 and Shunyata Research power products.

Pearl Acoustics – 745

Pearl Acoustics had a pair of their Model One speakers on demo, paired with their 7040 Power amp, alongside a 170 SET Power amp on static display. There was a Volumio Rivo+ streamer in the system, ONIX SACD Transport, and LTA MicroZOTL Pre-amp, and LTA Aero DAC.

11th Floor

TechDAS / Ypsilon – 1145

In here you had a pair of Wilson Audio Sasha V speakers, paired with Ypsilon Orion monoblocks, Stromtank power conditioning, Ypsilon VPS100, PST100 MKII, DAC 100, and a TechDAS Air Force III Premium turntable with Ypsilon MC step up transformer.

EnKlein – 1142

EnKlein had a load of cables on display, along with an emm Labs DV2i on static display. In the demo setup they had a pair of Thrax Audio Lyra SE speakers, run off a pair of Quadrature Berning amplifiers, with emm Labs TXi, DA2i, and PREi as the source components. They were using EnKlein cables throughout, with EnKlein mains conditioning in the system too.

Burmester – 1140

In this room you had the 232 integrated amplifier running into a pair of Burmester B38 speakers, a simple and elegant setup. At the side of the room, they had their new 259 amplifier in all its glory on static display – they were playing them in their other room – more on that later.

11 Dimensions Media – 1139

PSI Audio Héritage3 active speakers were on demo in here, these are a fully analogue active speaker which is quite interesting, these were shown alongside the A17-M speakers. The setup also featured PSI Audio AVAA C214 active bass traps, showcasing their impact on low-frequency performance and room acoustics.

Technics / Nagaoka – 1134 &1133

Technics had their SC-CX700 on demo in here, with an SL-40CBT turntable on display, alongside an SC-C70MK2 all-in-one system, and a SA-C600 network CD receiver. There was also an SL-1210GR2, SL-1300g, and SL-1500CS on display in this room, alongside their main demo system featuring the Master Edition SL-1210GME with Nagaoka MP-700, SU-G700M2 integrated amplifier, SL-G700M2 network/SACD player, and SB-G90M2 speakers.

In the main Nagaoka room you had a static display of all their models, and quite a few accessories, alongside a demo system using the same Technics SB-G90M2 speakers, with an SL-1300g turntable, MP-700 cartridge and Technics SU-G700M2 integrated amplifier. Both rooms with the Technics / Nagaoka setups sounded excellent, fun and punchy sound with plenty of finesse.

AXISS Audio – 1130

AXXISS had a room with Bel Canto and Franco Serblin, amongst a few other bits. You had the Bel Canto Design “Black” system, driving a pair of Franco Serblin Unica loudspeakers. The analogue source was a Transrotor Darkstar turntable equipped with a TR-880 tonearm and a Koetsu Rosewood Signature cartridge. The system featured Telos Foundation Power and Ground Cores, with the entire setup supported by a TAOC XL rack and connected via Tara Labs Muse speaker cabling. Room acoustics were addressed using Nihon Onkyo Engineering diffusors.

AXXISS Audio – 1129

In the next AXXISS room, you had the Phasemation CM-2200 and CM-1500 preamplifiers, with MA-3000 and MA-1500 power amplifiers driving a pair of DeVore Fidelity O/96 speakers in custom Figured Cherry. The analogue source was a Reed 3C turntable featuring Reed 3P and 5A Panzerholz tonearms, fitted with Reed Optical and Phasemation PP-2200 cartridges running through a Phasemation EA-1500 phono preamplifier. The system included Telos Foundation Power and Ground Cores, with the entire setup supported by a TAOC CSR rack and connected via a Tara Labs Air Evo cable loom.

Woo Audio – 1125

In here you had two pairs of speakers, the Ø Audio Icon 12, and Aretai Contra 200F – with them being played in 30 minute intervals. Powering them both, was a Woo Audio WA300-BAL 300b amplifier, this was its world debut and it was doing a cracking job at keeping both speakers under control, whilst delivering natural sounding audio (we arrived just before they switched the speakers over, so got to hear both pairs).

Luxury HiFi Distribution – 1122

Luxury HiFi Distribution had the Perreaux 300 iX integrated amplifier, driving the Pylon Jade 10. The source was a Pink Faun Scion 1TB music server paired with a Network Acoustics switch, with the entire system supported by Critical Mass Systems racks and connected via Signal Project cabling.

Around the room they also had the Pylon Jade 20, and Jasper 18 loudspeakers on display, alongside a Perreaux 200 iX amplifier.

Kimber Kable / Grandinote – 1118

Lots of Kimber Kables in this room, alongside a demo system using the Grandinote Solo integrated amplifier with internal DAC, driving a pair of Grandinote Mach 8 Evoluzione loudspeakers. The entire system was connected via Kimber Kable cabling, including KS6065 speaker cables and Palladian PK10 power cables.

Master Artist Audio / Burmester – 1115

More Burmester in here, this time paired with Master Artist Audio AP1 speakers, amp wise they had the a pair of Burmester mono amps, Burmester 088 pre-amp, 151 player, 948 mains conditioner, all hooked up with Kimber Kables.

Master Artist Audio / Burmester – 1114

Huge Master Artist Audio Statement speakers in here, running off the new Burmester 259 amplifiers, with a Burmester 175 turntable, 808 MK5 pre-amp, 111 MusicCenter, 948 mains conditioners, and Kimber Kables once again. This is a top-tier system, one that sounded utterly effortless, with great realism.

MC Audiotech / Audio Mirror – 1110

MC Audiotech had their TL-12 speakers, being driven by the Audio Mirror Wave Tube preamplifier and a pair of Addiction PSET 45W power amps. The source was an Audio Mirror Wave Tube DAC.

Decibel Plus – 1109

You had a few new products in this room, including the Neoson Genese, SoulNote A-1 ver2 integrated amp, Atlantis Lab AT-16 and AT-21 speakers, AudioByte SuperVOX, and SuperHUB DAC + Streamer. There was also a lot more kit on static display around the edges of the room.

Audiolab Stereo & Video Center – 1106

Marten Parker Duo speakers were on demo in here, alongside a REL S212 Black label sub, VPI Model One turntable, Luxman E-07 phono stage, L-509Z integrated amp, NT-07 network transport, and DA-07X DAC.

Yamaha – 1104

This room gets the award for best smelling room of the show, they had a lovely cherry blossom air freshener going and I really didn’t want to leave this room.

They had a ton of products on static display in here, with clear tops to show the internals, alongside select musical instruments and pro-audio components too.

Yamaha – 1103

In this room you had the Yamaha NS-2000A and NS-800A speakers, driven by dual M-5000 power amplifiers, with the R-N2000A network receiver as the source – fun and punchy, a great sounding room from Yamaha.