From sunny Italy comes a new integrated, the Riviera AIC-10.  With a world class headphone amp, and tube pre/hybrid amp of 10 watts, it's one of the most gorgeous I've heard.  Like the first time many of us watched Sophia Loren on the big screen, this Italian will seduce and intoxicate. 
At first I was a bit skeptical of the wattage rating, yet it can drive most anything I've tried...makes the big DeVore X's and Vandersteen Treos sing.  And stellar with the DeVore Orangutan series, and even my beloved lil Falcons.  
  Like the turntables/cartridges the Haven is now demoing, the integrateds now here are all at the top of the heap, and the Riviera is certainly a contender.  Schedule an appointment for a listen.  But be warned, this AIC-10 is addictive.   
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  For the birdwatcher, I've had all sorts of woodpeckers this year at the feeders.  You name it, they've been here.  My bird books and binoculars have been getting a beating this season. 
So now, we have a woodpecker even in house (no, not in barn...I actually do have a barn, you can't miss it as you pull up, unlike some who merely have a tool shed masquerading as barn...sorry, bad inside joke ).   
  All right, all Sunday morning coffee snark aside, I'd like to introduce THE Woodpecker, the Dr. Feickert Analog Woodpecker
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  Flyover, you say? Well, it looks like we've become more than that around these parts....it's like Dorothy always says, it was right here in our own back yards all along....

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/2018-axpona-show-report-analog-sources/

Best of Show:
Best Sound (cost no object)
Audionet (Stern, Heisenberg, PAM G2 Phono w/EPX power supply), Air Tight Opus-1, Kronos, YG Sonja XV Jr., Kubala Sosna Realization and XPander played excellent music in a space one could have in a home environment.

Best Sound (for the money)
While I didn’t get to explore this category as much as I’d have preferred, Stereo Haven’s room 630 withWell Tempered Labs ’table/cartridge, Line Magnetic, Box Furniture, Isotek, Auditorium, and Falcon Acoustics produced good sound.​

and as always, it was beginning to sound best on Day 3..by Sunday afternoon it was glorious, even more flesh on the bone, and then the snows came and that was that....get the heck out of Dodge.

I'd like to thank Team Haven, who helped make all this possible:  Mike Pranka, of Well Tempered Lab and Dynavector USA, Jonathan Halpern, of Tone Imports, my friends Tony Fafoglia, local guitar legend and gunslinger, and the brothers from another Swiss father, Daryl and David, of Centralia, IL, 
and mostly all those who came by and relished the "modest" system.  I was most pleased also with so many industry people coming in Sunday and smiling and tapping their toes.  High praise, indeed. And I would like to thank Mark Freed, the Axpona coordinator, and the gals of Axpona, Jordan and Kim, who were very kind to this dealer newbie. 

Please come and see me, as many are doing from far above Chicago, to the west past Kansas City, from the east beyond Memphis and Nashville and Indy, and from the south.  The Haven is very easy to get to, there are hotel accommodations close by.  I will foot the bill for anyone who overnights and makes a purchase. I will deliver and setup for most of you, within reason. 

I wasn't going to mention this, yet it keeps coming to mind, so here goes. I'd also like to thank all the women who came into the room, and there were quite a few, and not just with their mates.  And no surprise, one individual knew the whole story of the Falcon LS3/5A and the exacting standards Falcon insisted on when making this 70's BBC exact replica, way more so than her seasoned yet uninformed counterparts. It was also refreshing to see so many younger attendees, who definitely got what we were doing.  So, more women and youngsters over here, if you please. 

And as always, keep your stylus clean and your records cleaner. 
Thanks to all !
​Charlie

  Much fun was had at the show, something always good comes from going to a hifi show- new acquaintances, hearing or seeing a new piece of gear for the first time, a funny insider gaff or joke.
So for this show one of my favorite moments was when Michael Fremer visited the room with his video camera.  I was told he might come to check out the new vinyl gear that was showing, in this case the newest version of the Well Tempered Lab Simplex, the Mk2, with the Well Tempered Lab Kauri MC cartridge, or the Line Magnetic LP33 mm/mc phono stage.
  I turned the table on Michael just a bit, and surprised him with asking for his signature on his comedy record. The look on his face was priceless, yet he graciously agreed to the signature, not without some kvetching, which made it all the more memorable.  Thank you, Michael!
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  Here's a very nice article that just came out from the Part-Time Audiophile, an online publication. Much thanks to Rafe Arnott, editor and chief.  

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2018/04/20/axpona-2018-stereo-haven-lives-up-to-its-name/

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