AXPONA 2026

Monarch Systems presented a couple of demo setups at AXPONA 2026 — including the one in Room 434, where they ran an active demo system and displayed some other products passively. In that room, an SME Model 8 turntable (in white) served as the primary analog source. Last year, that table was to have been shown at AXPONA soon after its release, but it got held up at customs — and then, of course, it arrived just after the show. Either way, the Model 8 seemed worth the wait.

In Room 434, the above-noted SME Model 8 turntable ($10,835) was shown with its accompanying 9in straight Model 309 tonearm with a wand made of magnesium and a detachable headshell, outfitted here with a Lyra Kleos cartridge. The cartridge’s MC signal was amplified by the new phono stage (now available as an option) that’s located inside the B.Audio Alpha One integrated amp/streamer ($20,000, including phono stage) that I first heard and reported on here from High End Munich 2025, back on July 1, 2025. The new phono module is compatible with MC and MM cartridges, and it can be incorporated into existing units.

The Model 8’s plinth is made of a polymer resin specific to the Model 8, also here in white; it’s also available in midnight and black. Fun fact: It uses the same polymer utilized to make the arm for the SME 5A that’s on the company’s Model 60 turntable — the only other place that polymer appears in their lineup, according to what Monarch’s founder and CEO Rich Maez had told me.

The Model 8 comes with a matching outboard power supply and rotary controller for speed accuracy and fine-tuning; its technology derives from the aforementioned SME Model 60. Atop the records being spun in this room was an Ultra Carbon TC-40 record clamp, which was made of stainless steel and carbon fiber ($340, in matte black).

The demo system also included a pair of Audio Physic Tempo SL speakers in matte ebony veneer connected to a pair of brand-new Audio Physic Rhea III Reference Series active subwoofers (as seen at the very top of this post), Franc Audio Accessories modular racks, and Siltech Classic Legend line cables, all throughout.

In the adjacent room within this small suite, Maez offered to demonstrate the UK-made Loricraft Audio PRC6i professional record cleaning machine ($6,995), which involves a seemingly unique approach to serious record cleaning. I was curious to see this RCM in action, after having spoken to Maez for a story about it on AP around the time Monarch began working with the company. (You can read that story here, which posted on October 7, 2025.)

It was cool to see the PRC6i operation. It operates bi-directionally, so it cleans in both forward and reverse. You begin rotating the platter, apply the cleaning solution, and use the included brush to distribute it on the surface, getting it into the grooves. Then you turn the pump on and cue up the cleaning/vacuuming “tonearm” to the beginning of the album. The tapered tip of the arm apparatus contains the disc, and the system vacuum creates a tiny “tornado” effect to swirl within the grooves and remove the fluid and gunk. Then, you set the machine to clean and rotate it in the opposite direction.

During playback of an unclean album, the stylus can possibly embed dirt deeper within the record’s grooves during playback. “The theory being that when you play a record, if there’s any dirt, grime, dust, whatever in the groove, it’ll embed it in one direction, so reversing it will actually get that stuff out as well,” Maez explained to me in our prior chat.

Loricraft RCMs are billed to be heavy-duty, with their spindles and bearings enclosed in a phosphor bronze chassis and deployment of a high-torque motor. Even with its powerful motor, the Loricraft PRC6i is also reported to be their quietest model yet, “with a large vacuum capacity of 18 liters of flow per minute,” according to the company.

The PRC6i RCM shown here at AXPONA 2026 was in a Black Ash Veneer finish. The unit ships with all the necessary accessories, including the interior nylon thread, brush, and cleaning solution/fluid.

Conveniently, I’d brought along at least one dirty, dusty album that needed cleaning: Manu Dibango’s 1976 LP on Island, Afrovision. I bought this LP used many years ago — long after it came out — and it wound up being buried deep in my collection for a while. Indeed, my copy of Afrovision might not have been properly cleaned since I had first gotten it, if ever — and this LP sure needed a deep cleaning, let me tell you.

I tried a before-and-after-cleaning listening to “Big Blow,” the opening cut on Side A. (The before photo is shown above.) After the cleaning, additional details came though, most notably on some vocals — such as the revelation of a snippet of a backing vocal part off to the right (IIRC) towards the end of the cut. Also, Dibango’s sax sounded smoother, and perhaps punchier, post-cleaning. (After-cleaning photo below.)

Also at AXPONA 2026, Monarch had partnered with Vinnie Rossi, the latest gearmaker to join their roster, in putting together a higher-end demo system on another floor — specifically, up in Room 1505. Sadly, I didn’t get to make it back up to the 15th floor, and I was disappointed to have missed listening to that system, which included an SME Model 15 turntable along with a Vinnie Rossi Brama preamp and a B.Audio. DAC. Next time!

Go here for Julie Mullins’ report on the analog gear she encountered in some exhibit rooms that were put together in tandem by Technics and Nagaoka; this story first posted on April 15, 2026.

Go here for AP editor Mike Mettler’s report on an Acoustic Sounds listening session that deployed a Döhmann Helix One Mk III turntable, in addition to other high-end gear from Wilson Benesch, Supatrac, DS Audio, Audio Research, and Wilson Audio; this story first posted on April 14, 2026

Also go here for our sister site Stereophile’s in-depth AXPONA 2026 coverage, which often includes video interviews with key manufacturer reps, product engineers, and equipment designers who were at the show.