Crafted in Australia with French flair
HiFi Shows
Australian Hifi Show | Sydney | May 2026
We had over 400 visitors over 20 hours! Stioked! And everyone was mesmerised by our whole range with a special mention for our award winning Tower 3 Signature, the talk of the show amongst our fellow Australian designers
Read the article about us in Sound + Image magazine below:
"Jean-Marie Lière’s speakers are “handcrafted in Australia with French flair”, their cabinets made from inert marine-grade birch plywood in Australia and fitted with bespoke drivers, including bass units often hidden away to face sideways or rearwards, making for highly slim towers with surprising performance.The newly award-winning 120cm-high Tower 3 Signatures present as slim frontages displaying an AMT ribbon from Mundorf, and midrange made specially for M.A.D. by Audax in France, but firing from the side of each speaker is a 31cm bass driver from SBA Acoustics.
We don’t recall ever hearing any of M.A.D’s speakers sounding as outstandingly good as the Microphase Tower 3 Signatures on demo in the room this year, powered by Holton Audio amplification and playing from WiiM sources. They sounded entirely clear, pure and balanced from top to bottom, and our listening session was only enhanced by Jean-Marie introducing us to Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin and the 2017 Melbourne Symphony Orchestra recording under Benjamin Northey for her piece Golden Kitch – Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra
But there was more, with a static display of a new design intended for professional use, though Jean-Marie confirmed to us that he’s happy to sell to consumers also. This is an active sealed monitor, the Pro 1 (with a smaller Pro 2 also planned): the Pro 1 is a 3-way design with again an AMT tweeter, 13cm bespoke midrange and a 21cm carbon-fibre bass driver, powered by a pair of 100W MOSFET amplifier modules.
While M.A.D.’s birch plywood is the consumer finish of choice, such pro gear for studio use is necessarily black!"
Ask me for a demo!
BREAKING NEWS!
We have exhibited in France mid November after 10 years of absence
Second show very well organised in Aix en Provence by Laurent Le Fers attracted over 1100 visitors over 2 days and 300 of them visited our room!
We demonstrated our SAT MK3.3 and Tower 3 Signature to great acclaim!
Great success at the StereoNet Hifi Show in Melbourne
29-31.08.25 | ROOM 1208
Our 4th show in Melbourne!
We shared with Holton Audio MosFet Amplifiers | Tasmania
”It was like if the flute was playing in the room” | StereoNet
Microphase Audio Design showcased the range of loudspeakers including the active powered models and the new Tower 3 & Tower 4 designs in Signature form, featuring a new AMT ribbon tweeter from Mundorf, new 12” bass driver from SBA in a ported configuration and entirely new crossovers.
The Source Audio was swapped out during the day, alternating between digitally sourced material as well as vinyl and a particularly interesting vintage Stellavox SP8 tape recorder built in 1978 and having lots of room presence. Jean-Marie played stereo recordings that he had made himself just months ago in Sydney.
Sonically, this system was highly engaging to listen to, being powerful and fast with real tonal vibrancy. It filled this small room with a big sound. With the Stellavox reel-to-reel playing his direct-to-tape recordings, there was a natural presentation that closely resembled live music. Instruments like the classical guitar and double bass were palpable and realistically reproduced. Walking through the corridor outside the room, it was as if a real flute was playing inside the room.
Mark Gesuw | StereoNet
The Source Audio was swapped out during the day, alternating between digitally sourced material as well as vinyl and a particularly interesting vintage Stellavox SP8 tape recorder built in 1978 and having lots of room presence. Jean-Marie played stereo recordings that he had made himself just months ago in Sydney.
Sonically, this system was highly engaging to listen to, being powerful and fast with real tonal vibrancy. It filled this small room with a big sound. With the Stellavox reel-to-reel playing his direct-to-tape recordings, there was a natural presentation that closely resembled live music. Instruments like the classical guitar and double bass were palpable and realistically reproduced. Walking through the corridor outside the room, it was as if a real flute was playing inside the room.
Mark Gesuw | StereoNet
Also from Australia is loudspeaker specialist Microphase Audio Design and electronics specialist Holton Precision Audio. Company founders Jean-Marie Lière and Anthony Holton introduced new products, expanding theor line-ups with upmarket models. In the case of MAD (for short) the new Tower 3 Signature, now with a high quality AMT high frequency driver, while HPA showed the new “load-invariant” Gambit monoblock amplifiers, an interesting design with 16 lateral MOSFETS per channel in a vertical format chassis. Tunes were streamed via laptop onto a Denafrips ARES II DAC directly feeding the monos and with Lière’s own gorgeous modified Stellavox tape machine. As is the house sound for the MAD speakers (I’m not so familiar with HPA amplification’s sonic signature), the overall sound was once again extremely ‘live’, with stunning dynamics and profound detail retrieval. Despite the less than ideal relationship between the speakers and the very nearfield listening position, I heard good image placement and a wide soundstage.
Edgar Kramer | SoundStage Australia
AUSTRALIAN HIFI SHOW | OUR SECOND SHOW IN SYDNEY | APRIL 2025
Jean-Marie Lière’s Microphase Audio Design has been a staple for the last few Australian shows. On show was a variety of the company’s designs including the SAT MK3 standmounts as well as the relatively new, and very impressive, Tower 3 and Tower 4 floorstanders. A short listen confirmed the usual MAD strengths of detail, resolution, and dynamic expression but with a reinforcement in the low frequencies and a filling-out of the lower midrange. In addition to CD and vinyl playback, Lière spun a variety of tape recordings – including his own – via his Stellavox machine. Holton Precision Audio and Quad were used for amplification.
Edgar Kramer | Soundstage Australia
Edgar Kramer | Soundstage Australia
First press coverage from the StereoNet Show in Melbourne October 2024
SoundStage Australia
AUSTRALIAN HIFI SHOW | OUR FIRST SHOW IN SYDNEY | APRIL 2024
Microphase Audio Design’s stable of unique Australian speaker designs has been in constant expansion by prolific designer and company founder Jean-Marie Lière. Lière has recently added three slimline floorstanders to the company’s portfolio, which maintain their svelte fascia by having their woofers mounted on the side panels. The new Tower 1, Tower 3 and Tower 4 speakers feature Lière’s beloved Audax drivers which are made to specification. The woofers come from SB Acoustics. A team of CD player, streamer and a gorgeous vintage Stellavox reel-to-reel player provided the tunes. Lière is a master at wringing dynamic expression and detail from his designs and, despite the limitations of the room acoustics, the sound reaffirmed those qualities. Look out for the upcoming review of the SAT Mk III standmounts in the very near future.
Soundstage Australia | Edgar Kramer
Soundstage Australia | Edgar Kramer
M.A.D. speakers are renowned for their extraordinary clean midrange, certainly demonstrated up in Room 903 but newly supplemented by the more significant bass performance of the latest Tower 4 design (left of picture), now the highest level of the brand’s iteratively expanded speakers. This is the first to introduce an MTM arranged pair of 13cm midrange drivers flanking the tweeter, while below are twin active 10-inch bass drivers in a push-pull arrangement, each powered by a 150W MosFet amplifier. From an eclectic collection of electronics on hand, MAD’s Jean-Marie Liere was using a classic Quad 606 amplifier to drive the Tower 4s, which were most definitely on song, our favourite being a thrilling delivery of London Grammar’s Hey Now.
WHATHIFI and Australian Hifi Magazine
WHATHIFI and Australian Hifi Magazine
INTERNATIONAL HIFI SHOW | MELBOURNE OCTOBER 2023
First show after COVID | New logo | COMPLETE NEW RANGE!
SoundStage Australia said:
I’ve heard Microphase Audio Design’s Jean-Marie Lière’s diminutive speaker designs on many occasions and have been pleased with a sonic presentation which always defies stature. Talking to JM at the show about my even more heightened opinion of what I was hearing, I found out that he had conducted extensive crossover refinements in the current generation. I enjoyed the toe-tapping musicality, the controlled bass, the expressive dynamic contrast and the precise imaging. The latter in total denial of the very near field and cramped room arrangement. Those comments applied to both the SAT-MK3 3-way standmount (rear mounted 170 mm 'subwoofer' crossed at 200Hz) and the slimline Tower One floorstanders. Supporting equipment came via Microphase Audio Design’s own CSW-A subwoofer, Perreaux iX300 integrated amplifier, Holton Audio 101 power amplifier, Accento Dynamica valve amplifier (used through its valve preamplifier stage feeding the subwoofer), Musical Fidelity Bluetooth Receiver and inakustik cable loom. On casual play was a Rega P3 sporting the new-ish Les Davis Audio 33 1/3D record platter slip mat.
I’ve heard Microphase Audio Design’s Jean-Marie Lière’s diminutive speaker designs on many occasions and have been pleased with a sonic presentation which always defies stature. Talking to JM at the show about my even more heightened opinion of what I was hearing, I found out that he had conducted extensive crossover refinements in the current generation. I enjoyed the toe-tapping musicality, the controlled bass, the expressive dynamic contrast and the precise imaging. The latter in total denial of the very near field and cramped room arrangement. Those comments applied to both the SAT-MK3 3-way standmount (rear mounted 170 mm 'subwoofer' crossed at 200Hz) and the slimline Tower One floorstanders. Supporting equipment came via Microphase Audio Design’s own CSW-A subwoofer, Perreaux iX300 integrated amplifier, Holton Audio 101 power amplifier, Accento Dynamica valve amplifier (used through its valve preamplifier stage feeding the subwoofer), Musical Fidelity Bluetooth Receiver and inakustik cable loom. On casual play was a Rega P3 sporting the new-ish Les Davis Audio 33 1/3D record platter slip mat.
INTERNATIONAL HIFI SHOW | MELBOURNE OCTOBER 2018
We had our first Australian public presentation at the International Hifi Show in Melbourne on 12-14 October 2018 at the Pullman Mercure Hotel Albert Park.
In its third year this show organised by StereoNet and Marc Rushton was a great success driving almost 400 visitors to our small room. See some of the comments from visitors and journalists alike on our Testimonials page
In its third year this show organised by StereoNet and Marc Rushton was a great success driving almost 400 visitors to our small room. See some of the comments from visitors and journalists alike on our Testimonials page
Microphase Audio Design
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