Part 1: AXPONA 2025 Show Report 16th Floor
My in-depth Audio Expo North American 2025 show report begins....
AXPONA Show Report By Rick Becker

1620  (Alexander Room)  American Sound Of Canada
Grim Audio, Wadax, Analog Relax, Avantgarde,
Glanz, Phasemation, And Rethm
Angi Lisi of American Sound of Canada had Avantgarde Acoustic horn speakers in red and black, sounding very dynamic. I grabbed a shot of her loading one of her new Analog Relax turntables. Unfortunately, the auto-focus on my camera zeroed in on the upscale lighting fixture on the turntable. I've admired this lamp in the past, but failed to notice the brand. The ubiquitous Reliable gooseneck lamp, seen many times over at the show, gets the job done at home.

In an adjacent room in this suite, the Avantgarde Acoustic Zero iTron was slim, very contemporary, and sounded very good.

In another area of the suite was a table of Synthesis tube amplifiers from Italy.

This Synthesis FCO-300B integrated amp with remote control was new to me.

1621   Totem Acoustic, Aragon, Cardas, Lumin, And Torus Power
I had a brief chat with Vince Bruzzese, who had the new Totem Tribe Tower Thunderbird, which I also saw briefly at the Montreal show. It is a larger version of the  Tribe Tower, incorporating a larger version of the mid-woofer. My coverage of the Montreal 2025 show will have a photo of the new driver. This was the official debut.

The rig was interesting with a Lumin server feeding a new Aragon Tungsten preamp and Aragon Titanium power amp. Vince said these were completely new products from Aragon, which is now run by completely new management. That this was the best Totem presentation I've heard in a while bodes well for Aragon, too.

1627   GTT Audio
Audionet, Dejitter It, Kronos, Kubala-Sosna Research,
Master Fidelity, MolaMola, TLA-True Life Audio,
AURALiC, And Vivid Audio
This was the big rig in the GTT room. The front end was an AURALiC Aires 2.2 streamer with new Master Fidelity NADAC D DAC ($23k) and NADAC C clock ($27.5k). Amplification included a new Audionet MACH line stage ($30.4K) and new Audionet Schrodiner monoblocks ($58k, pr.). The speakers were Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit ($105,550). Cabling was by Kubala-Sosna, Realization series, the brand GTT typically uses at shows.

The big news was an upgrade to the ever-evolving Kronos turntable, the Kronos Perpetual ($70k), with a new power supply ($20k). The Kronos Discovery RS tonearm was not new, but it added another $24k to the turntable. It was fitted with a My Sonic Lab Signature Premium cartridge ($11k). I've reviewed an earlier version, and this turntable design with counter-rotating platters does something that no other table can do.

The TLA (True Life Audio) TSI-300 integrated amplifier ($53.7k) in the small room of this suite had a bright and airy look. This is a premium, top-shelf brand, as are most brands Bill Parish sells.

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