Vivid Audio, Audionet, Mola Mola, Kubala-Sosna, GTT Audio | AXPONA 2023

Vivid Audio loudspeakers and I have a long-standing situationship: readers familiar with my tastes will know my love for the avantgarde and whimsical in all things art and design, and there is perhaps no more beautifully designed speaker than the Giya range in one of the brilliant Oyster Matte colors. What I have so far not had the chance to do however is hear these gorgeous little design-bombs.

Reporting by Grover Neville

Axpona 2023 was my first chance at this, and while love at first sight has on occasion deceived me, love at first listen did not. On paper the G1 Spirit ($95,000 pr USD) tick all the high end boxes, composite aluminum drivers, high-tech fiberglass sandwich cabinets, sophisticated tube-loaded transmission backhorns, you name it, and Laurence Dickie has done it. Yet by sound these are a far cry from high-end speakers which can sometimes speak more to the head than heart.

The G1 Spirit poured rich, enveloping sound into the room, with speed, dynamics and a lovely smooth frequency response that was amongst my favorite sounds at the show. I spent more time listening here than any other room, and found myself focusing more on the music than the gear. Soundstage this deep and wide is always a treat.

Eagle-eyed readers may recall Bill Parish of GTT Audio as the generous provider of the Mola Mola Makua and Tambaqui units for my review at Part-Time Audiophile. He was here an accommodating and excellent DJ, and I have a sense that the Audionet electronics running the G1 Spirit were equally as responsible for the top notch sound. Low end went deep, dynamics were excellent, and particularly on more acoustic sound, the top end was very natural and not stylized or hyped to my ears.

In a second room, Ewald Verkerk, representing Vivid and Mola Mola was showing off a new Mola Mola class-D stereo amplifier leashed to some Vivid Kaya 25 ($11,000 pr USD). There was a particular demo track I didn’t catch the name of that presented some astoundingly deep mid-40hz bass tones at thunderous levels. Everything was clean as a whistle, and the Kaya 25 and new Mola Mola amp proceeded to cruise along with the same sweetness and effortless sense of control I heard from the G1 Spirit. Color me extremely impressed by both of the GTT Audio / Vivid Audio rooms, and for those with a taste for whimsy and great sound, stay tuned for a deeper dive into this brand.