The last few times I’ve visited the Wynn Audio room at high-end audio shows, I keep thinking of the phrase “knocking it out of the park.” I’m not sure why, maybe proprietor Wynn Wong, North American distributor of such brands as Vimberg, Karan Acoustics, Metronome, Kalista, Entreq and more, is a baseball fan. But here’s a fact–Wynn Audio understands system synergy. I’m not talking about assembling hi-fi systems that sound greater than the sum of their parts, but choosing audio lines in advance that work well together, which is tougher than it sounds. The best example of this synergy can be found between Wynn Audio and Thiele.
Words and Photos by Marc Phillips
Thiele, pronounced TEE-lah, is a German manufacturer of turntables and tonearms that was founded in 2019. Helmut Thiele worked at Thorens for many years and designed some of their more iconic tonearms. In the Wynn Audio and Thiele room, he gave me a detailed description of the finer points of the Thiele TT01 turntable with TA01 tonearm ($28,000). You can also add such options such as the Thiele Damping weight ($1,000), Thiele Platter mat ($230) and the Thiele Active suspension platform ($18,000). The look of this complete Thiele rig was beautiful and functional, coming close to industrial, but watching that four-pivot tonearm move across the surface of the LP was the real highlight of the Wynn Audio and Thiele room. With a four-point pivot, there is zero tracking error with the Thiele rig.
By the time I finished my listening session in the Wynn Audio and Thiele room, I had that rare feeling that I had just heard something special, something that would set the bar for the rest of AXPONA 2024. The rest of the system was, of course, truly superb: Vimberg Mino loudspeakers ($40,000/pr); Kalista Dreamplay X CD Transport ($66,500) and Kalista Mantax DAC ($64,300); and Karan Acoustics LINEa Preamp ($41,000) with PHONOa Phonostage ($38,000) and POWERa MONO Amplifers ($106,000/pair). Cabling was supplied by Fono Acustica cabling, and the Wynn Audio and Thiele system also employed Entreq Ground boxes and Critical Mass Systems MAXXUM Ultra Racks and amp stands.
It was the Thiele’s ability to convey a soundstage that was both huge and accurate that set this impressive system apart from most others at AXPONA 2024. As we mentioned in The Occasional Podcast, AXPONA featured at least 20 rooms that more than satisfied whatever standards we set for “Best of Show” lists–the Wynn Audio and Thiele room evaluation was a half an hour I won’t soon forget.
If you would like to hear even more coverage from AXPONA 2024, check out our recap report and highlights from our audiophile-oriented show The Occasional Podcast. You can stream the episode direct from the embed below, or from your favorite podcast platform including iTunes, Android, Google, Deezer, Spotify, iHeartRadio and more.
