AXPONA 2017

In the video below you’ll see a new $449 (MSRP) Audio-Technica AT LP5 direct drive turntable with aluminum platter, complete with MM cartridge and built-in switchable MM/MC phono preamp and A/D converter.

In the Needle Doctor room on a Clearaudio Innovation turntable you’ll see the much talked about $750 Hana SL cartridge that includes a Shibata stylus, playing through a Musical Surroundings Super Nova 3 battery powered phono stage ($5000).

On the lower level, in the Kyomi Audio room featuring Vivid Audio Giya G1 Series II loudspeakers ($68,00/pr) see the least expensive TechDas turntable, the Air Force 3, costing around $29,750. The turntable includes an air bearing platter, vacuum hold-down and an outboard motor. Mounted on the ‘table are the Graham Elite ($12,000) and new Graham Phantom 3.0 tone arms. Electronics are by Jadis (JA200 MKII monoblocks ($33,900/pr, JP200MC tube preamplifier with MC phono stage $32,900) .

In veteran retailer Galen Carol’s room we saw the Basis Signature turntable and the SA-9 Super Arm, the final arm design from the late A.J. Conti.

In another room we saw and heard the new $2,200 (with arm) VPI Scout Prime fitted with Ortofon 2M Black cartridge in a system with Rogue Audio electronics and a pair of new Revel speaker system. In the background, the new Intervention Records reissue of The Flying Burrito’s Gilded Palace of the Sun.

The Swiss Thales TTT compact ‘table ($14,500) and Simplicity tangential tracking pivoted arm ($9200) fitted with an Ikeda KAI ($8500) cartridge was producing sweet sound through the Ypsilon VPS-100 tube-based phono preamp ($26,000) and MC 26L step-up transformer ($6200) feeding a Ypsilon Phaeton Integrated amplifier ($25,000), driving a pair of Wilson-Benesch Discovery II speakers ($28,000/pr). The speaker features an unusual “let it all hang out” configuration that mounts the woofer from the bottom of the baffle, with the basket and magnet exposed and seemingly in need of an athletic supporter—ok maybe that’s just me. The “spare tire” on the floor is a W-B subwoofer.

The Kronos Pro turntable with its unique counter-rotational platters (circa $35,000, add $8500 for the Black Beauty arm) was in the David Michael Audio room along with Nagra electronics and “classic” Graham Audio speakers including the ones shown, which were the BBC LS 5/9 stand-mount monitors.

The big news in the Technics room was the final pricing of the SL-1200GR introduced at CES 2017. Technics was hoping to bring it in “under $2000” and they’ve managed to do it for $1699.

The beautiful recently introduced $34,000 Bergmann Galder turntable (a tired Angie mistakenly identifies it as the “Magne”) features an air bearing platter with vacuum hold down and an air bearing tangential tracking arm. Angie says base is “stainless steel” but she means aluminum. The cartridge is a $6000 Phasemation PP-2000. The rest of the system features the Sutherland Audio Phono Block four chassis phono preamplifier ($10,000). Amplification was via the AvantGarde XA integrated amp that outputs 1 watt Class A and 150 watts of Class A/B power. The speakers are the powered woofer, DSP controlled Avantegarde Acoustics Zero TA covered in our CES 2017 show report.

Unfortunately I forgot to go back on Sunday to the Oracle room so I missed the The sheet proclaims an $18,660 Origine turntable with Oracle tonearm and of course the famous Delphi 2nd generation 'table ($10,160) plus electronics including the PH100 phono preamplifier $720).

The photo at the top shows the Kronos Pro turntable with optional battery power speed controller and the CH Precision P1 Phono Preamplifier ($31,000).