Welcome back 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.
Acora Acoustics/VAC/VPI/Grimm/LampizatOr/SAT
My first stop of the show was the Acora/VAC room because they wouldn’t let me into the Ear Gear Experience until 10:00, and as a big fan of both companies, along with VPI and LampizatOr, I never miss this room. The main system included Acora MRC 5.2D Loudspeakers ($58,000) with an Accuton diamond tweeter and two Accuton ceramic drivers in a granite enclosure driven by VAC Statement 455 IQ Musicbloc™ dual-mono amplifiers ($94,000), a VAC Statement Line Stage ($85,000), and a VAC Statement Phono Stage ($94,000) sourced by a SAT XD1 Turntable with Lyra Atlas Lambda Cartridge, and a LampizatOr Aphrodite DAC ($105,000), as always spectacular. Also on display in a smaller system was the fantastic VPI Avenger Statement in a beautiful red finish.
Joseph Audio/Aidas Cartridges/Berkeley Audio Design/Doshi Audio/J.Sikora
Down the hall a ways was Joseph Audio, demonstrating Joseph Audio Pearl Graphene Ultra Loudspeakers ($51,000) driven by Doshi Audio Evolution Monoblocks, a Doshi Audio Evolution Preamp, and Doshi Audio Evolution SE Phono stage. For analog source, there were two J. Sikora turntables, the J. Sikora Supreme Max turntable with an Aidas Mammoth Tusk cartridge, and the J. Sikora Aspire Turntable and J. Sikora Aspire Tonearm sporting an Aida Tru-Stone Limited-Edition Cartridge. On the digital front, they used an Aurender N30 Music Server alongside the Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference 3P.
Capra Audio/HEAD(AMAME)
Capra Audio, a manufacturer of 3d printed headphones and accessories, was focused on Canadian Headphone Manufacturer HEAD(AMAME), and their new HEAD(AMAME) PRO headphone, which features glass drivers and is currently available through Kickstarter, where they have achieved 10 times their original production goal and are at the moment offering the headphone for a pledge of $399 against an eventual MSRP of $469 and planned delivery date of April 2026.
EnKlein Bespoke Wireworks/EMM Labs/Thrax Audio
EnKlein Bespoke Wireworks had an impressive display of their cables and power products. For their soundroom, they sported Thrax Audio Lyra SE speakers ($24,500), driven by a pair of David Berning Quadrature Z amplifiers ($33,000), with an EMM Labs DA2i Stereo D/A Integrated Converter ($35,000), EMM Labs TXi Transport ($13,500), and EMM Labs PREi Stereo Preamplifier ($28,900).
PSI AUDIO
PSI Audio was demonstrating their PSI AVAA C214 Active Bass Trap ($3,950), which were actually quite amazing. Operating below 160 Hz, they claim that it only absorbs sound and does not put out sound.
MC Audiotech/Audio Mirror
MC Audiotech were showing their MC Audiotech TL-12 Loudspeakers ($28,000) with Audio Mirror Addiction PSET Power Amps ($19,999/pr.), an Audio Mirror Wave Tube DAC ($22,000), and an Audio Mirror Wave Tube Preamp ($13,000).
That concludes Part 4 of my coverage of AXPONA 2026, I would once again like to thank VERA-FI AUDIO LLC for sponsoring this coverage. Stay tuned for part 5.
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