Partitioning the loudspeakers at AXPONA 2024 into two categories as we did is certainly not meant to imply that the ones costing less than $40,000 are, by definition, all inexpensive. Heavens, no.  Rather, it was simply a way for Jonathan Valin and me to equitably divide up the work. Just five years ago, that dividing line was $20,000. Even allowing for increasing manufacturing costs and inflation, the number of what I’ll sheepishly call “moderately priced” speakers has increased considerably. Happily, there are still plenty of value-priced products and several newly minted examples are noted below.

I’ve attempted to limit myself to products that are truly new. Many manufacturers will designate a model as “new” if it was presented at another audio show just a few months earlier. Others failed to take advantage of AXPONA’s willingness to announce product debuts ahead of time, and I stumbled across more than a few of those purely by accident. I do apologize to the deserving companies with new offerings that I missed, for whatever reason.

Most Significant Introductions

MoFi Electronics SourcePoint 888 ($4999)

A new loudspeaker from Andrew Jones is always noteworthy and his third design for MoFi Electronics is no exception. The SourcePoint 888 is a substantial ported floorstander with three 8″ drivers staring at you (thus the model’s name), the topmost of which is the concentric variety beloved to Jones, with a soft-dome tweeter mounted within a paper-cone midrange. The two newly designed woofers feature dual opposing neodymium magnets that are configured with a short voice coil positioned a good distance from the magnetic structure, which is said to result in an exceptionally uniform magnetic field and thus a very linear force to move the cone. Each of the 888’s drivers gets its own sub-enclosure, augmenting considerably the cabinet’s rigidity and reducing unwanted resonances. The loudspeaker’s bass performance was extraordinary, with members of the audience egging on Andrew Jones to play notoriously bass-heavy music (Deadmau5, Tool) at very enthusiastic levels.

Acora Acoustics SRB with Bedrock subwoofer ($38,000 for standard finish; $85,000 for Gemstone version with internal illumination)

The Bedrock subwoofer is designed to serve as a perfectly integrated LF transducer as well as the ideal stand for Acora’s SRB bookshelf model, not unlike the original Wilson WATT/Puppy. The reproduction of pipe organ on the Rutter Requiem was majestic with no compromise of detail and spatiality higher up in the frequency spectrum. For a considerable upcharge, you can have the combination executed in one of Acora’s colorful Gemstone materials with LED illumination within, which makes for a very dramatic effect in a darkened room.

Clarisys Audio Piccolo ($20,000)

Clarisys, the Florida company that builds its full-range magnetic ribbon speakers in Viet Nam, has been around for 15 years, but at recent shows it has been receiving more attention for its products inspired by the Apogee ribbons of yore. The petite Piccolo, the manufacturer’s smallest model, was about as new as it gets, the prototype heard at the show finished just days before AXPONA commenced. Clarisys speakers, even the big ones, don’t have the daunting amplification requirements that Apogees were known for, and the Piccolos were filling a large room with commanding sound, driven by a 120Wpc triode-tube stereo amplifier; I was told that 75Wpc would be plenty. Pop music with a spacy character (Roxy Music’s “Avalon,” for instance) was atmospheric and the representation of solo piano was highly convincing.

Børresen C1 ($16,500)

Børresen Acoustics turned some heads at the Florida International Audio Expo (FLAX) in February when it introduced its X1 loudspeaker for $5500 ($6600 with stands), a market segment that the Danish manufacturer isn’t usually associated with. Now Børresen has a more ambitious standmount that’s still affordable to most enthusiasts, the C1. Combined with Axxess electronics plus Ansuz cables and power distribution hardware, the total cost of the system presented in the convention center’s Serenity ballroom was around $35k in totality—anything but serene. Vocals were exceptionally present and closely recorded drums an explosive dynamic quality that threatened to knock me back a row or two.

VPE Electrodynamics Airfoil ($18,000)

VPE Electrodynamics was founded in 2020 and is based in St. Louis, though its products are built/assembled in Alvo, Nebraska, a town of 115 souls near the Iowa border. The company’s designer is Don Bingaman, a retired aerospace engineer. VPE offers two dipole woofers, intended for use with planar loudspeakers such as Magneplanars, and two full-range models, the Airfoil being the newest. It’s a 3-and-a-half-way active design, with a pair of Schiit Audio 200-watt Class AB amplifiers for the open-baffle tweeter/midrange section and a Dayton Audio 300W Class D plate amp for the enclosed woofer. The Airfoils are beautifully constructed and impressed with their dynamics, coherence, and imaging playing challenging orchestral material. VPE Electrodynamics products are sold factory direct, but there’s a 6-month trial period when the speakers can be returned for a 100% refund, minus shipping.

Auspicious Debuts

Sadurni Acoustics Spherical Dual ($5000)

George Sadurni was on hand to demo his new “high efficiency metal cast” loudspeakers, a far cry, at least visually, from his extravagant all-horn systems. The Spherical Dual is a svelte, vertically oriented transducer with two modest-size drivers but no crossover. As anticipated, the sound was seamless from top to bottom with accurate instrumental colors. Sadurni played the Spherical Duals with a pair of subwoofers, which lent the necessary weight to “Dance of the Tumblers” from Exotic Dances from the Opera, the one classical album everyone seems to have.

Macaria by MACO ($6332–$14,180, depending on material)

As nearly as I can tell, MACO stands for Madly Audacious Concepts (though I wouldn’t put money on it) and they are among the very few to offer an open baffle granite loudspeaker, featuring two large concentric drivers in a stone frame. Actually, the Macaria is available in six materials (Birch Ply, Ash, Maple, Walnut, Quartz, and Granite), either polished or natural, and a choice of a “grounded” or “floating” base. That’s a total of 24 options, and founder/designer Armando Rehyez, allowing that the various versions can sound different from one another, exclaimed to me: “That’s one of the beautiful things about these speakers!”

Totem Loon ($1299)

Totem’s latest product is diminutive in both dimensions and price but doesn’t sound at all like a small speaker. The performance of the ported 2-way, pretty good to begin with, improved to a surprising degree when a solid aluminum “beak” was placed atop each speaker (the cost is $100/pair). The manufacturer says that certain placements of the speaker—near a room boundary, in particular—results in less “energy” exiting the loudspeaker and the “beak” fixes this.

PS Audio FR5 ($3500, $4000 with stands)

PS Audio is launching a new 4-product speaker range designed by the affable Chris  Brunhaven, the Aspen Series, and I heard the 2-way FR5 bookshelf model. It features a planar-magnetic tweeter and a 6½” mid/woofer, plus a passive radiator. The ported enclosure is tuned to 35Hz, so good low-frequency extension is achieved at the cost of efficiency—the sensitivity’s around 84dB.

Morel Avyra ($2000/pair) and Biggie ($299/each)

The Israeli manufacturer had two new speakers to play, the Avyra 633, a five-driver, 3-way floorstander and the adorable Biggie—which, of course, it is not, measuring 7″ x 7″ and sporting a 1″ tweeter and a 4″ “woofer.” The latter is pretty clearly a “lifestyle” product; there’s a headphone-like handle and nine color choices, including a few that sound suspiciously like lipstick shades: Ruby Red, Aqua Frost, Golden Glow, etc.

Qln Reference 9 ($42,000)

Yes, I know it’s a little beyond my price category, but Jonathan didn’t get to hear it and I did. The Swedish manufacturer’s new flagship is a 3-way design with newly developed midrange and bass drivers, plus a textile-dome tweeter with a frequency response that’s said to be flat out past 30kHz. At the low end, the -3dB point is 25Hz and, on the basis of a quick listen, the Reference 9 seems ready to play with the big boys, in terms of dynamics, bass power, detail, and spatiality. The fact that it was driven by Vinnie Rossi’s Brama integrated didn’t hurt.

In Other News

Metaxes & Sins, creator of objets d’art that happen to make beautiful music, was introducing a line of electrostatic speakers. There are three models of ascending size, cost, and royalty status—the Prinz ($25,000), the Czar ($35,000) and the Emperor ($40,000). With all, the varying density of the stator patination results in less “beaming” than experienced with other electrostats.

T+A‘s new Criterion loudspeaker line borrows technology from the Solitaire series above it. The S 230 ($11,900) is a transmission-line design with a 60-liter volume ingeniously folded into a modest-sized enclosure.

ELAC introduced the Elegant BS 312.2 ($1999) that sports the latest version of the manufacturer’s AMT tweeter (the JET 6) and a reconfigured crossover network. Every component in the system I heard, down to the speaker wire, was ELAC’s brand. These small speakers were fearless, confidently handling pretty much any musical content sent their way.

YG Acoustics continues to systematically revamp speakers originally designed by the company’s prior administration. The latest example is the Carmel 3 ($29,800), which benefitted from “trickle-up” technology from YG’s Peaks Series products.

The Vanatoo Transparent One Encore Plus ($650/pair) is the third iteration of a wireless powered speaker first introduced 12 years ago. There’s a new tweeter with a different waveguide than the previous model, multiple physical inputs (in addition to Bluetooth), a subwoofer output, and a full-function remote. Vanatoo CTO Gary Gesellchen estimates that, historically, half of these speakers have ended up as desktop monitors and a fair number have replaced TV soundbars.

Mon Acoustic premiered the PlatiMon VC Two ($11,000), a full-range floorstander designed to both complement the output a PlatiMon VC One ($6000) and to serve as a stand for the smaller speaker. Ball bearings are placed between the bottom of the VC One and the top of the VC Two for purposes of isolation.

The distinguishing design feature of Endow Audio loudspeakers is the unique Point Array midrange/tweeter driver configuration. Nine 1.5″ midrange drivers are arranged in a ring within a forward-facing hornlike structure in which a 22mm textile-dome tweeter is mounted concentrically at the rear of the chamber. With the Bravura 7.2 ($4900/pair), this assembly sits atop a box that has a 7″ woofer in front and a 7″ passive radiator to the rear. Off-axis performance was exceptional, providing a whole-room listening experience in a typical domestic space.

Kanto Audio specializes in powered desktop speakers and had two new models to present, the ORA 4 ($399/pair) and the REN ($599/pair. Both have modern Bluetooth connectivity as well as RCA and USB inputs; the REN also has TosLink and—a first for Kanto—HDMI ARC for use with a television. The REN offers several colorful finishes, including the striking Matte Orange playing at the show.

ATC Loudspeakers is building two limited edition products to observe the manufacturer’s 50^th year in business. The SCM20ASL active loudspeaker ($13,999) has on-board power provided by two separate A/B MOSFET amplifiers. In honor of the occasion, the speakers have a blue lacquer finish, and the front baffle has hand-upholstered full-grain blue leather. Production is limited to 150 pairs. There’s also a matching subwoofer, the C4 Sub Mk2 limited to just 20 units, at $9999 each.

ANDREW QUINT’S BEST OF SHOW

Best Sound (cost-no-object)
The Acora/VAC/SAT/Lyra/Aurender/LampizatOr/Cardas room

Yes, again. Sure, there are plenty of other high-performance six-figure loudspeakers out there but when their creators start bringing their best efforts to audio shows, playing them with the finest associated equipment, springing for best room at the show venue, and setting up their system with maniacal care, these competitors will be in the running for this king of the hill designation.

Best Sound (for-the-money)
MoFi SourcePoint 888 loudspeaker

Andrew Jones is a genius. Nobody tell MoFi, but these speakers would still be the best current value in hi-fi at twice the price.

Most Significant Product Introduction
MoFi SourcePoint 888 loudspeaker

See above.

Most Significant Trend

Small, powered loudspeakers ready to accept a data stream via various interfaces or wirelessly. It was no surprise that new products came from specialists like Vanatoo and Kanto, but now it appears that other loudspeaker companies are starting to invade this market space.

Most Coveted Product
Perfect8 Technologies Cube-T loudspeaker

The glass enclosure gets your attention but it’s the sonic transparency and authority that keeps you coming back for more. Especially having heard this new model, I really, really, really want to review something from this manufacturer. Is that enough “reallys,” Robert?