Fidelity Imports was showing, by my count, six separate rooms at Axpona 2023 – and all of the ones I went into had very cool gear in them. The standout for me was the Diptyque Audio and Audia Flight room, which displayed a trait you really never expect from a panel speaker: bass.

Reporting by Grover Neville

Yes, that was my first impression, ‘wow, this is some serious low end.’ Mate that low end to the kind of quick, holographic and detached-from-the-speaker imaging panel speakers are also known for and you have a recipe for a very sweet room indeed. Add on to this the fun dotted pattern of the Diptyque speakers, a notable departure from the fancy mosquito appearance of some panel speakers, and you’ve something that would be right at home in a Bauhaus Nouveau living room.

I did visit this room a second time, and while the small room made low end and imaging challenging, with bass a hint sloppier and imaging a little fuzzier on some highly loudenated electronic music, the Diptyque speakers were still making sound that struck me as distinctly high end. Mind you, I was not intimately familiar with the listening material, and the refinement of the speaker was still evident. If you’ve a love of panel speakers and their signature sonic perspective, these could be the ones.

Loudspeakers

Diptyque Audio Reference Loudspeakers ($49,999 pr USD)

Amplification

Audia Flight Strumento No. 1 Preamplifier ($19,999 USD)
Audia Flight Strumento No. 8 Monoblock Amplifiers ($29,999 ea USD)
Michell Audio Orbe SE w/TechnoArm2 ($8,498 USD)

Rack

NEO High End Rack ($3,999 USD 3 shelf / $5,999 USD 4 shelf)