AXPONA 2026

Two renowned Japanese companies, Technics and Nagaoka, teamed up to present a couple of exhibit rooms at AXPONA 2026. Several representatives from the Nagaoka team flew in from Japan, and they were on hand in Room 1133 (and some of them are in the photo with me below; I’m on the left). Funnily enough, this room might have been the best of two worlds for some showgoers seeing how its TV was on, albeit with the sound off, showing the final round of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National golf tournament This marked the first time I’ve ever seen a non-demo TV on in a demo room at a hi-fi show (though AP editor Mike Mettler tells me he saw plenty of NFL playoff football games shown on non-demo screens in a number of CES listening/viewing rooms and booths in Las Vegas in years past).

When I walked into the room, a 12in single version of Sting’s “Englishman in New York” (originally from his October 1987 A&M LP Nothing Like the Sun) was playing — and it was just before the song’s big percussion breakdown hits. A couple of cymbal strikes kick off some explosive beats before “Englishman” settles back down with Branford Marsalis’ sweet soprano saxophone takes over. Nagaoka’s MP-700 cartridge, and the system it was a part of, handled the sudden dynamics of those hard hits without issue. Kenny Kirkland’s tinkling piano timbre sounded pristine, and pretty realistic.

That breakdown is not only a surprise within the context of the song’s reggae-ish beat and mellow jazzy feel, but it was equally surprising — or maybe unexpected — because I had just played at home a different 12in remix of that track at home, Namely, it was the “Englishman in New York (Ben Liebrand Mix),” a UK import that was released on A&M circa 1990, a few years after the original 1987 mixes. Recently, I had been bringing out (and spinning!) some old 12in singles from my own collection, and this song happened to be among them (albeit in a different version).

Anyway, this demo system consisted of a Technics Grand Class SL-1300G turntable with the aforementioned Nagaoka MP-700 cartridge, the 86-year-old company’s flagship, on its S-shaped tonearm. The MP-700 cart extends Nagaoka’s long-established MP cartridge range of six other models (plus two MP-Mono versions).

The “MP,” in this case, stands for Moving Permalloy, which differs from MC (moving coil) and MM (moving magnet) — though MP is closer to MM in principle, load resistance (47kohms), and output. They also share more in common with Moving Iron cartridges overall, according to Nagaoka. It incorporates Nagaoka’s proprietary method of power generation — a thin, very-low-mass “super” permalloy element is wrapped around the boron cantilever. A samarium cobalt magnet magnetizes the permalloy, a method that Nagaoka claims “enhances the freedom of the vibration system, enabling more faithful sound reproduction.”

In addition to the MP-700’s new magnetic circuitry, its Microridge naked diamond stylus — the first in the MP series of that design type — and suspension wires are reported to improve the cartridge’s tracking abilities and, by extension, its ability to extract musical detail.

The MP-700’s signal was amplified by a Technics SUG-700MK2 integrated stereo amp with built-in phono preamp, followed by a pair of Technics SB-G90 floorstanding speakers. On passive display were the rest of the MP phono cartridge series, each model with its own designated headshell color, alongside several of Nagaoka’s phono accessories.

Next door in Room 1134 was a midsized suite dedicated to Technics gear. Mat P. (surname confirmation to come!) from Technics mentioned that the company’s U.S. Business Development Manager Bill Voss was unable to attend the show this year, but Mat and another younger fellow were running that pair of rooms — one having an active display, and the other having a more “lifestyle”-oriented passive setup displaying a pair of SC-CX700 active speakers in a gray textured finish.

In addition to a second pair of the SC-CX700 speakers that were shown in a black finish, the active setup featured a Technics SL-1210GME Grand Master Edition (i.e., limited edition) turntable system ($6,600). AudioQuest provided the cabling for that setup. A couple more turntables were also on passive display, including (IIRC) the latest Delta Sigma direct-drive SL-1500CS turntable ($1,800; I reported on this model here, back on March 13, 2026).

I asked Mat from Technics if I could try an album I brought. I was curious to hear a cut from Every Time I Feel Afraid, the latest LP from Carriers, a Cincinnati-based dream-pop group that also draws on Americana inspiration. “Mixed Emotions” (Side 2, Track 7) seemed a bit extra legato, so I double-checked the speed. Sure enough, a quick adjustment to the pitch adjustment control slider on the chassis set the speed right — as indicated by the strobes. All was well. Textures, particularly on percussion, sounded swell.

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Want more AXPONA 2026 coverage? 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.