LOS ANGELES (PTA) — Audio Limits of Laughlin, Nevada was showing a nearly all Thrax Audio system, barring a few components from Weiss Engineering, Antipodes, Soul To Sole Audio, and Hemingway Audio.

The Story

Most exciting at THE SHOW 2019, was the Thrax Audio Spartacus 300B Amplifier, which is their most recent amplifier, running a loudspeaker system that is based on the combining of two platforms, the Lira two-way stand-mount monitor and Basus Motional Feedback Bass System. New for Thrax is their Yatras direct-drive turntable, which connected to Thrax’s Orpheus phono-stage, and Dionysus preamplifier. Overall, the system components from Thrax seem overbuilt, classic, and guilty of superabundance. For example the Spartacus 300B amplifier is a classic DHT design. But the size of its power supplies and aluminum chassis walls, scream modern thinking.

For my money, it’s the Thrax Lira/Basus Loudspeaker system that deserves talking about. The tweeter used in the Lyra is a custom designed low compression ratio ring diaphragm driver loaded with a proprietary waveguide, allowing it to reach under 1500Hz. The Basus dual-subwoofer system consists of a large woofer with “motional feedback” in a sealed metal enclosure, with a 1kW power amplifier, and an active crossover system with switch-selectable preset frequencies that allows the Basus to be used with any speaker/amplifier combination. The Basus subwoofer was envisioned as a bass extension unit for the Lyra speaker.

Here’s the thing, I’m short on details about this room and system, because once I took a seat, it was like coming face-to-face with the Terminator (1984), and only being armed with a basket of kittens. I was rendered silent, and all my attention to the sound, to the music.

The Sound

I sit in front of this system of ultra-capable components nursing a semi. The abundance of impacts thrown my way, is like being in a food-fight at a musical buffet. I feel unguarded from the assault, yet unafraid as this isn’t painful, it’s everything but. I remember the first time I saw The Empire Strikes Back, and how insanely hyped up I was. This system offered up that same enthusiasm for music and the hi-fi hobby inside of me. It’s Sunday afternoon, the last day of the show, and I thought I was done with it all by Friday evening. I was wrong. This alone was worth the trip, and reassurance that I was wrong. Viva la hi-fi!