The International Forum from October 17 to 19 was held the Tokyo Audio Video Show 2025. This annual hi-fi gala in Japan provides an opportunity to take the pulse of current innovations and interests among the country’s music lovers. While turntables, CD players, and SACD players are still very much present, digital music, sustained by the sensational arrival of Qobuz, seems to be becoming part of consumers’ habits, attracting manufacturers to create new streamers.
Starting on the 7th floor and working our way down to the 4th, we invite you to follow us to discover the latest products from major Japanese brands such as Accuphase, AirTight, Luxman, Esoteric, TAD, Marantz, Soulnote, Phasemation, and Yamaha, as well as systems from international brands such as DCS, Nagra, McIntosh, Linn, and CH. Precision, Atoll, Chord, Revival, Marten, and YG. Enjoy your visit!
Unveiled in the summer of 2024, the Varèse series topped the British company dCS’s catalog, surpassing the products in the Vivaldi series.
But while the launch featured an impressive Core, which is both a filter, converter, and streaming box with RJ45 and USB digital inputs at the heart of the system, a two-chassis mono digital-to-analog converter based on a new Differential Ring DAC, a Master Clock and a user interface for use with the new Mosaic ACTUS smartphone app or a remote control, this fine collection was missing a CD/SACD transport.
Recently released, we were able to hear it in exceptional conditions in Tokyo, on Hiro C4CS speakers specific to the Dynamic Audio store there (see our Instagram/Facebook video), and we plan to listen to it again soon in France or Switzerland, perhaps to offer you a test review.
Even purer than a Vivaldi—as we were also able to verify—the Varèse Transport is completely vibration-free, making it undoubtedly one of the finest CD/SACD mechanisms ever created. Connected to the Core via a dCS ACTUS cable, this new transport is designed to work exclusively with the Varèse series, as it has no other inputs or outputs apart from the mains socket, of course.
With its redesigned tray based on Sound United D&M SACD mechanics and a total weight of 20.1 kg due to the extensive use of aerospace-grade aluminum to minimize interference, this new transport is fully configured to optimally play the 44.1 kHz format of CDs and the DSD64 format of SACDs, with the signal then reprocessed by the other Varèse components.
Available since the end of September, the dCS Transport has not yet been priced in euros, but it costs £35 000 in the United Kingdom, to which you must add at least a Core (88 499 €/£75 000), the Mono-Dac (105 999 €/£90 000) and the user interface (£20 000), or even the Master Clock (37 999 €/£32 500). Then you can find yourself alone, as if on a desert island, dreaming for hours on end of perfect music, perhaps while listening to Déserts… of Varèse!
Without hesitation in talking about audiophile luxury today, Cremona-based manufacturer Sonus Faber, owned by McIntosh group, is adding a Maserati Folgore finish to its Amati G5 and an Amati Supreme version to its catalog.
Amati x Maserati Folgore – Limited Edition For this new finish, the Amati Homage G5 takes on the finish featured on the Maserati GranTurismo Folgore, the 1,200 hp electric version of the GranTurismo. To mark this collaboration, this limited edition features the car brand’s trident logo laser-engraved on the top. And while this Amati version still uses aluminum on the top and bottom, the multi-ply wood case has a matte orange-gray finish that is both luxurious and sporty, while the front features the patented Econyl material used by Maserati for the coupe’s seats.
Apart from the design, this limited edition retains the technologies of the Amati G5, so it remains a 3.5-way speaker with a closed midrange and woofers ventilated by “Stealth Ultraflex” technology. The 28 mm soft dome tweeter features a DAD™ arrowhead and is powered by a powerful neodymium magnet. The 15 cm midrange driver also uses neodymium in the magnet ring, while the two 22 cm bass drivers are powered by a dual motor drive system. This limited edition model is priced at 55 000 € in Europe and 60 000 $ in the United States.
Amati Supreme A new model, the Amati Supreme is a 4.5-way speaker that inherits the “VOS” technology from the Suprema model. Its 38 mm silk dome tweeter is topped by a 20 mm super-tweeter, also made of silk, both powered by powerful neodymium magnets. The midrange is a 16.5 cm driver with a neodymium ring magnet, but like the two 22 cm woofers, it is also driven by a dual motor. With such a setup, the Phase Coherent filters are obviously refined to allow for four crossovers, in addition to being visible through a small transparent cross-shaped window on the top. While the relatively conventional 230 Hz and 300 Hz crossovers allow the two woofers to be slightly differentiated, leaving the midrange to handle frequencies up to 1.8 kHz, the super-tweeter’s 5.6 kHz crossover is less common. Thanks to this latter component, the Amati Supreme delivers a high frequency of up to 40 kHz, compared to 35 kHz for the Amati G5, both capable of going down to 28 Hz. For the finish, if the wood is maintained in the cabinet structure, as well as the lute shape of the enclosure when viewed from above, it is similar to the Maserati edition with aluminum on the outer parts and a matte paint finish—here Sabbia Oro or Terra Rossa—covering the cabinet. The price also contributes to making this Amati even more supreme, at €78,000 or $78,000.
Unveiled in a world premiere at Accuphase’s headquarters in Yokohama, as you may have seen in our widely shared videos on social media, Accuphase’s benchmark line preamplifier becomes the C-3900S.
Like the E-800 and A-48 before it, and soon to be followed by the replacement for the DP-570 SACD player, the letter S appears in the names of all the new models, marking a return to a catalog renewal technique used by the manufacturer in the previous century. As such, these are not just partial improvements, but entirely new devices.
However, Accuphase had already gone so far in its technological perfectionism with the C-3900, that this time, the brand seems to be making just a few improvements with the C-3900S. As we heard when comparing it to the old model, the new one is even purer, thanks in particular to the optimization and changes to certain components on the AAVA dual symmetrical circuit, with feedback control by the ANCC noise cancellation circuit, which has been made even more reliable. As a result, operating noise is reduced by 15% compared to the C-3900, but since the latter was already at 1.07 μV at the -18 dB volume position, the C-3900S reaches an even more infinitesimal level of 0.91 μV.
The overall structure is even more rigid, with a total weight of 25.3 kg, compared to 24.6 kg on the previous model. This is due to the internal panels in a large solid aluminum block to separate each part, as well as the two enormous toroidal transformers, which would not look out of place in a powerful power amplifier, and six filter capacitors of 10,000 μF each per channel, in a fully dual-mono end-to-end architecture.
The control panel, which is still as easy to slide open by pressing the hatch button (removable version only available on the C-2900 preamplifier), has changed very little, offering the same options for managing gain, outputs, left-right balance, and compensation. The front panel also remains very similar to the previous model, although the indicators under the LEDs are more clearly marked as they are now placed under the glass plate rather than inside it.
On the rear panel, the plethora of balanced and unbalanced inputs and outputs have only changed in that their circuits have sometimes been improved in terms of internal components, while the wood cabinet retains its two ventilation grilles on the top. Based on what we heard in the Accuphase auditorium, we can confirm that the C-3900S goes even further than the C-3900, without urging you, except for the purists among you, to invest in the new model if you already have the recent one. On the other hand, if you were hesitant to purchase the C-3900, the C-3900S will dispel all your doubts.
After launching the Tecnodec model (review to appear in French VU#62) and presenting a new Apollo phono preamplifier, British company MICHELL shows no signs of slowing down this year. Founded in 1966 by John Michell, Michell Engineering began manufacturing turntables three years later, before designing its own models from 1977 onwards. The Gyrodec appeared in 1982, with subsequent improvements to the power supply, before being joined by the Orbe (1995) and Gyro SE (1999) models. This year, the catalog is undergoing a major change with not only a new Gyro, announced as superior to the current Gyro SE and Gyrodec, but also a lighter version with the new Revolv.
REVOLV Positioned between the Tecnodec and the new Gyro, the chassis of the Revolv is based on the Gyro design. All the components are placed on the same line at the rear, delimited by the end of the platter, whose axis is positioned in the center at the front. On the left is the belt drive system, with no distortion from the motor or power supply, both of which are housed in an external machined aluminum case with electronic speed control. As on the Gyro, the main frame of the Revolv is made of 19 mm thick aerospace-grade aluminum. A second machined aluminum plate is added to the coupling part of the arm. The Sorbothane (a viscoelastic urethane polymer) isolation feet with six damping nodes greatly reduce vibration, as does the Delrin platter with 10 mm brass peripheral weights to improve inertia, all mounted on a reverse single-helix oil bearing. Without the arm or cartridge, the Revolv is priced at 4 990 €, with a dust cover and mat.
GYRO The Gyro chassis has the same rigidity, also with a thickness of 19 mm, but with integrated brass counterweights and a Delrin arm coupling. The suspension with 3.5 kHz frequency and lateral damping have been improved compared to previous models thanks to AI-assisted computer modeling systems. Sorbothane isolation feet support a new aluminum base plate, which replaces the acrylic plate used in the Gyro Se frame. The inverted bearing is now equipped with a double-helix oil pumping system, which doubles the lubrication flow.
Like the Revolv, the Gyro comes with a pressure pad and cover, but lets you choose the arm and cartridge. It is priced at 7 490 €.
