T.H.E. Show Newport 2016 Review/ Award for Ayon Audio – Enjoy the Music
T.H.E. Show Newport 2016 Report
The Home Entertainment Show 2016
Ayon Audio / USA Tube Audio Labs
Featuring Lumin White, Mastersound, Torus Power, Mark Levinson and Revel.
The Ayon Audio and USA Tube Audio room at T.H.E. Show Newport 2016 filled the large Ballroom Salon E with multiple high-end audio systems. There were so many delights to behold and great sound too! Ayon’s Titan SET Gen 4 monoblock amplifier $53,900) were feeding the truly beautiful Lumin White model White Light speakers ($70,000). This is one of, if not the fave sound system with very fast and clean sound that was highly focused and transparent. Even within this very large room the bass was very good and the highs were naturally extended. Of course the critical midrange is where the acoustic music fun mainly resides and within this system it was very neutral. Ayon’s CD-3sx CD player DAC/streamer/DSD ($9850) and Ayon Auris preamplifier ($8900) played their roles too.
Another system featured something i have always loved, and that being tube amplification from Italy’s Mastersound. The Mastersound PF-100 monoblock tube amps ($25,900) uses the 845 for output tube to produce 117 Watts. This very special parallel single-ended Class A monoblock also uses 6SN7 EH for driver duties and has high-end parts throughout. In fact the internal circuit board has 24k gold traces! Far exceeding the specs for Hi-Res Audio means you have a frequency response from 12Hz to a stratospheric 100kHz. Of course all this comes with some heft, as she weighs over 114 lbs.
A third system within the Ayon Audio / USA Tube Audio Labs room featured Mark Levinson amplification, Revel speakers, Torus Power and Clarus cables. An Ayon digital player fed Mark Levinson preamplifier and monoblock amps, with all power filters being through the Torus Power unit. Revel’s outstanding loudspeakers brought the music into the room as this system was smooth and very musical. Rich sounds filled the room that delighted my ears.
Due to their outstanding transparency combined with extreme accuracy and reference quality frequency response, Lumin White’s loudspeaker White Light easily earns an Enjoy the Music.com award. This was perhaps the most accurate sound heard during T.H.E. Show Newport 2016.