AXPONA 2026 Coverage Sponsored by VERA-FI AUDIO LLC Conclusion

Welcome back for my conclusion to my coverage of AXPONA 2026

I would like to take a quick moment to thank VERA-FI AUDIO LLC, manufacturer of some of the finest audio products and accessories, including the Vera-Fi Audio LLC Main Stream – Master Class Dynamic Parallel AC Line Conditioner a truly amazing noise suppression device, for sponsoring our coverage of AXPONA 2026 in a gesture of goodwill for the audio community at large, as they do not even show at AXPONA.

As I mentioned before, AXPONA is massive, and though I visited every room, I only covered those I thought were of interest. At that, it has been quite a venture to cover so much with so little time, so I thank you all for following along on this long journey.

Darlington Labs

As regular readers know my predilection towards analog and vinyl, it would be of no surprise to them that I was drawn to the Darlington Labs table in the Ear Gear Experience, as they manufacture headphone amps and phono preamps. Unfortunately, I can tell you very little about them, as when I approached their table to talk, I patiently waited about twenty minutes for him to talk to another gentleman, and as my turn came up, he stood, excused himself, and left. I returned several times to find him absent, so I have little else to say on the subject.

Campfire Audio

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Campfire Audio is one of the mainstays of personal audio, in particular, In-Ear Monitors, so it is a bit ironic that I have only ever reviewed their over-ear headphones. That is not to say that I have any issue with their IEMs, I have always found the sound of their Campfire Audio Andromeda to be quite appealing and would welcome a chance to test out the Campfire Audio Andromeda 10 $1,799 or Campfire Audio Andromeda 10 Launch Edition – Black ($2,499), and found the board with the Andromeda revision history quite amusing. Another item of interest was their Campfire Audio Relay DAC/AMP ($299), which acknowledges the lifestyle of the modern personal audio enthusiast by providing the necessary sound quality required for high-end IEMs via streaming from your smartphone.

Audioshield Audio Distribution/Raidho Acoustics/EmmLabs-Meitner/Kimber Kable

I almost missed out on the Raidho display as when I first visited the Audioshield Audio Distribution room the playback volumes told me this was not a room meant for me, but after visiting B.A.D.A.S.S. HiFi and finding that he had chosen to run with the Margules speakers this year, and told me Raidho was in one of the ballrooms downstairs, I looked them up in the show catalog and gave them a second visit. The system consisted of Raidho TD3.10 Loudspeakers Black ($139,000), EMM Labs MTRX2 V2 Mono Amplifiers ($115,000), an EMM Labs PREi Stereo Preamplifier ($28,900), an EMM Labs DS-EQ1 Optical Equalizer ($13,400), an EMM Labs TXi Transport ($13,500), an EMM Labs DA2i Stereo D/A Integrated Converter, a Pink Faun 2.16 Dual Ultra Streamer ($85,136), a Technics SL-1200GME Delta Sigma Turntable ($6,599) fitted with a DS Audio Grand Master Extreme Cartridge ($25,000), with $122,436 worth of Kimber Kable to tie it all together.

Saturday Audio Exchange/Monitor Audio/Rotel

While lounging in the Margules room, I was pointed towards the Monitor Audio Studio 89 Standmount Speakers ($2,749/pr) down in one of the Saturday Audio Exchange rooms, and boy was I glad I was. Matched up with a Rotel A 14MKII Integrated Amp ($1,899), a Rotel CD14MKII CD Player ($1,099), a pair of the Monitor Audio Studio 89 Speaker Stands ($819/pr), and a Monitor Audio Anthra W12 Subwoofer ($3,299), after they were kind enough to play a little acoustical music for me, presented one of the best sounds of the show, and certainly one of the best values.

Chesky Audio/Schiit Audio

Talking about value, Chesky Audio decided to team up with one of my all-time favorite manufacturers, Schiit Audio. For reasons I don’t quite remember, I was unable to visit their room when I walked their floor, and so it was the last room I visited on Sunday after I had already packed away my camera, so I had to shoot these with my phone. Chesky Audio was debuting their new higher-end flagship Chesky Audio LC2 Reference Monitor ($1,995/pr) with a pair of the amazing Schiit Audio TYR Monoblock Power Amps ($3,699/pr) fed by a Schiit Audio KARA Preamp ($799) through a Schiit Audio LOKI MAX F Equalizer ($1,599) using the legendary Schiit Audio YGGDRASIL SINGULAR DAC ($3,499) as source.

That concludes my coverage of AXPONA 2026, it was a great experience, and I hope you enjoyed following along, I would once again like to thank VERA-FI AUDIO LLC for sponsoring this coverage.