Sound Insight system at AXPONA 2025 featuring Infigo Audio components and cables and Altec Lansing Ribbonacci Speaker System with dsp subwoofers (note: four subs total used in the show system). Image of Sound Insight’s showroom, courtesy of Steven Rabitz.
This will be a short show report, as it consists of one room and one image. I have not written show reports for a few years now. I found that they did not appreciably affect my success in procurement of equipment for review. Further, after several years, they tend to blend – I’m only being honest.
After 17 years of reviewing, I decided to attend a show without an agenda. No scouring the manufacturer listing for new names and hunting through every website to spy new products. No charting a course through the hotel for three days in a bid to hit as many rooms as possible. I literally showed up and enjoyed conversations with show goers and industry members, and I saw what I saw.
I hear there were a few notable rooms, but the standout moment for me happened on Saturday when, as I passed by a corner room with a sign that said “Altec Lansing”, I thought, “Wow, now that’s a blast from the past…” I was not thinking much of exploring, but the door opened at just the right moment for me to see a huge dipole speaker! I was stunned, determined to hear it. I have a fondness for panel speakers and this one looked enormous.
The system seemed to be overlooked compared to previous shows’ systems which generated buzz. I quickly found the prime listening seat, and what I heard was glorious! On display was a scintillating blend of components, cables and speakers that had an arresting quality. Within moments, I knew I was hearing one of the best ribbon speakers to grace my ears. I’m not going to go into all the gory technical details, because I plan on reviewing the Ribbonacci technology. I also am seeking to pair it with the Infigo brand of electronics and cables that worked their magic with the speakers.
Cutting to the chase, I have heard most of the notable dipole speakers on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. None of them have impressed me more than the Altec Lansing Ribbonacci. This seven-foot-tall speaker and accompanying set of four 1,000-Watt dsp subwoofers in a tight configuration, to the inside of the speakers due to the room size, had it all, grace, power, scale, finesse. The dual sided membrane technology is obviously an advancement over the typical single driver, single magnet array used by most dipole speaker manufacturers.
The listening session was good, really good. I pronounced the speaker and amplifier one of the best systems I had encountered and said I ranked it in my top 3 systems. I had already put my head into the usual rooms on the first and second floors where the usual big gun systems reside. They sounded nice, typical for their assemblage. None of them woke me up like the Ribbonacci. After perusing the other floors some more, I returned and found the prime listening seat available again, and I took full advantage of it! More intimately familiar tracks from my playlist caused my head to bob and my spirit to fill with beauty.
On Sunday, I did something I have never done previously; I went back for a third serving. I still had two hours or so to cover the show. I had already skimmed past dozens of smallish tower speakers. I knew what was happening on the first and second floor. How would my time be best spent? On the outside chance that I might never get the 7-footer in my room, I used the time for an extended listening session. The show was emptying out and I sat for well over an hour drinking in the system, time very well spent. My mind drifts back about twenty years ago to a reviewer commenting that he chose to spend an inordinate amount of time in front of one system. At the time, I thought he was nuts. Now, I am that reviewer, one who has peered into a thousand rooms and sat in hundreds. At some point when the system appears, the best move is to appreciate it. It’s like a beautiful sunset; it may never be precisely duplicated.
Regarding the components and cables, Hans Looman, Infigo Audio’s owner and designer, has a magic touch with solid state design, at least with these monstrous dipoles. I have rarely heard a more correct sounding solid-state system comprised of one brand of electronics than the Method 7 Preamp and Method 3 Mono Amplfiers. Forgive, nearly one brand; the DAC being used was the Infigo Method 4, with the Infigo IS-1 streamer. (We reported the DAC used was a LampizatOr previously. Our apologies for the error and confusion. -Pub.) The assemblage of gear and speakers was north of $200K MSRP. A system had better sound good for that pile of money, but most others in the building did not sound better than it.
The other reason I soaked it up so much was that it pains me to say it, but the full bore Ribbonacci is too much for my room. It’s even larger than my Kingsound King III electrostatic speakers. At about 270 pounds each, it’s too much for me to handle by myself. But Altec is working on another model, somewhat smaller. I’m their man! I have the subs, a pair of Perlisten D212s, to make a proposed lighter-weight, perhaps 6’ tall, Ribbonacci sing majestically in my room.
And now, for the image. It is not from the show. I was so casual about things this year, I did not take a single picture. The principles in the Altec room (Jim Harvell, Altec Lansing; Giorgio Tomasini (Ribbonacci designer); Hans Looman, Infigo Audio; and Steve Rabitz, Sound Insight dealership), took photos but sadly they were washed out by ambient light. Steve provided me an image of the system in his dealership’s listening room.
Dipole fans, note these speakers! Solid-state component fans, note the electronics and cables! Take my comments with whatever grains of salt you wish. I do not have an innate bias against other genres of speakers or electronics. I just put the finishing touches on a review of a small hybrid horn speaker that I purchased following the review. I came back home and sat in front of those speakers with the Perlisten subs. They have their own form of magic that is undeniable.
If you dismissed the Altec Lansing room, you made a big mistake. I see that there were other interesting speakers that generated buzz. Nevertheless, I made a good choice. The Ribbonacci deserved to be in a much larger room, and perhaps next time they will be. Despite the tight fit, whoever heard it caught a listen to a speaker that may well develop into a category killer and a classic. It was that good!
There are other stories to tell regarding this experience. But I will hold them until such time as I can expound further.
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