AXPONA 2025 Video Coverage Part 4

miniaturization was trendy

AXPONA 2025 Video 4 has plenty of analog but it also spotlights the miniaturization trend on display—at least among a few companies. In the Sound Organization room (Rega, Chord importers) you'll see the new miniature Chord Suzi modular system featuring a very small yet powerful stereo amplifier into which you can plug a preamp, or a DAC or a phono preamp total size that of shoe box.

Sound Org also showed the new Rega Mercury preamp and Solis power amp—as Rega steps up to larger and more costly electronics. Watson is a new brand now owned by Switzerland-based CH Precision. Watson showed the Madison DAC and power amp—two very small products size and price-wise compared to CH Precision products but built to the same high standards. The amp was driving with ease a pair of Magico S3 speakers.

LAIV is a Singapore-based manufacturer of two lines of miniature electronics—one priced incredibly low and sold direct to consumers. We will get review samples ASAP. Build quality is high-tech modern and it sounded good too.

A new company called Ranieri Audio Labs showed a direct-heated triode pre-amp that allows "plug and play" power from your choice (or a very wide choice) of triode tubes. Very interesting new product. I was drawn in by the Rega NAIA turntable.

Primary Control is a Dutch company that's been exhibiting at the Munich High End show for years but has until recently not been imported to The United States, so I've not reviewed one of the company's tonearms or turntables. Now there is an importer, Gestalt, which has a shop in Nashville. The 'table and a few arms were at the show and in this video of course.

Pure Fidelity turntables were in a few rooms. One featured the Origami tonearm while another from a Minneapolis area dealer was fitted with a Tri-Planar arm. Made for a nice combination. Perpetuum-Ebner is back, made in the Black Forest of Germany. Two models were on display in the American Sound room, which also featured Avantgarde Acoustics speakers, Phasemation electronics and Synthesis tube-based electronics made in Italy but priced as if they were made in China.

Plenty to see in this 40 minute video. There will be one more to wrap up AXPONA 2025 coverage. I will say here that I think I probably covered more ground and more rooms than any other individual at this show. We'll also have coverage from Ken Redmond coming up soon

I was in Lisbon, Portugal a few weeks ago at Imacustica a store I'd visited a decade earlier. I was there to talk about vinyl and play records (what else?). It was fun. I also interviewed Dan D'Agostino, Wilson Audio's Bill Peugh and dCS's David Steven. Those have yet to post, but one in which I was interviewed just popped up on YouTube.