2023 AXPONA Show Report

@atmasphere, that's "midwest nice" behavior you are describing.  It's a "I don't want to be the selfish one in the room" sentiment and often results in nobody getting "the best seat". It's also why the last piece of pie will sit, unattended, for days, on the countertop.

@atmasphere 

Would love to know how those Class D mono’s played with the Carbon 7 speakers.

Thanks for your response.

Yes I imagine it's quite the frustrating puzzle to get some of those hotel rooms to sound good and then invariably nobody is sitting in the 6 square feet where it does sound good.

Also agree on the music being played.   Not sure I would ever be able to make it through one of these shows...  I like what I like musically and tend to shy away from, if not loathe, a lot of commercial music. 

I have the Fritz Carbon 7's so I know they sound great... I hope to check out your Class D mono's at some point in the near future ...and maybe even your UV-1.

JAS

@treepmeyer I thought the Vandersteen system sounded great. I saw that there were many advertisements about one Audioquest session per day. I attended one, and I thought the presenter was enthusiastic because he designed the product. If you planned to hear the speakers, too bad you hit that moment. Every Axpona, I make a beeline to the Ultra Fidelis room because they always make the systems sound like I like them. It is a point of reference for me. 

@jamesbgood Thanks for the advice.  Next year I will be sure to visit the Ultra Fidelis room.  I can't account for what I heard in the AQ room, but Vandersteens remain on my short list despite that experience.  I will seek them out next year as well as in the interim as the opportunity arises.

@mgrif104 

What Rockport model did they have at the show this year ? 

@ronboco 

The room I saw them in were the Atria IIs showing with Vinnie Rossi Brama electronics. I understand they were in another room but I didn’t get to that one.

Rockports are one of my favorites - so it was pretty disappointing. The room was small and the setup essentially nearfield.  It just didn’t work - for me at least. Perhaps it was also the music selection.

Best,

@mgrif104 

They had they Atria ii when I went last year too. They sounded pretty good in the small room. Would love to hear the Lyra even though I could never afford them. Thanks for the feedback ! 

@ronboco 

Agreed - would also like to hear the Lyra - and the new Orion.  I’m sure they’re spectacular.  But, too big and too expensive for my smallish room.

@mgrif104 

My room is smaller too. I have the Avior ii and they work out really nice in it. 

I'm surprised at some comments about these Fritz speakers. I had these exact speakers in my home for about 7 months. They sounded amazing with Adcom 535L, Atoll IN200SE, MiniGan5 (class D), Quicksilver Mono 60 tube amp. They were played in larger and smaller rooms, along the long wall then the short, with subs or without. In every situation and space, if they were positioned correctly, they were warm, inviting, and clear. I can't imagine them sound bad with the amps from Atma-sphere, which I recently heard sound amazing with some Tektons.

Gotta think the room and/or viewer's standpoints had a lot to do with impressions I'm hearing here.

More feedback at the Axpona 2023 show

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2023/04/19/clarisys-suncoast-clarisys-hegel-axpona-2023/ 

Here more from Axpona 2023  😲😲😲

 https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/axpona-2023.36499/page-4

Clarisys Audio Minuet Loudspeakers won "Best-Of-Show"...Again 😎😈Axpona 2023 Show OMG Bargain....

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/all-new-clarisys-audio-minuet-loudspeakers.36300/page-5

More Feedback from Axpona 2023 😲

 https://positive-feedback.com/show-reports/axpona-2023-several-highlights-and-a-few-observations/

Sorry @rick2000 but while the Clarisys speakers were good the Borresen Acoustics M3 Reference speakers were IMO in another world and best of show. Not even a contest. 

I have a different opinion of the Fritz Audio speakers and Atma-Sphere class D monos. When I walked into the room on Sunday, I didn’t like the music being played (I forgot what it was). My friend and I looked through the LPs and CDs that were available in the room and we found it difficult to find anything that we were familiar with. Atma-Sphere/Fritz really need to bring a good streaming setup or a more diversified collection of audiophile music.

That said, my friend found a Peter Gabriel CD (Long Walk Home, music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence) to play that he was somewhat familiar with. The soundstage was enormous, melting the side walls and the window/curtains behind the speakers. Layers within the soundstage were very evident. Images were very well defined and there was excellent separation between them. Tonality was very good. I’ve never liked Class D amps and I’ve listened to them for many years going back to the Spectron and Devialet amps. I’ve never liked the high frequencies of Class D amps of the past. I have no complaints about the Fritz speakers or the Atma-Sphere Class D amps in regards to tonality, soundstaging and imaging.

I asked the person to play an Emmylou Harris LP that was pretty good but not as impressive as the Gabriel CD. I wish they had music that I was more familiar with to audition their system. We tried to connect our phone via BT to the Topping DAC in the room but they didn’t have the remote control to do the pairing.

Clarisys Audio Minuets can play with the very best speakers on the planet now 

 Another Best-Of-Show winner  

Speaker Companies and

..."Forum Moderators" should be very worried about these speakers now.

https://theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-2023-axpona-show-jonathan-valin-on-speakers-30k-and-up/

@rick2000 was correct about Clarysis Minuet. They are so good. Thanks for the heads up.

@bubba12 You're very welcome

Someone else picked the Clarisys Audio Minuets room as Best-Of-Show too at Axpona 2023 so there is more than just One Reviewer saying they are Best-Of-Show now. 

https://hifitrends.com/2023/04/22/experience-the-best-rooms-from-axpona-2023-our-top-5-picks-from-last-weekend/

I’m a bit late to the party but I recently posted some photos and commentary of what I thought were the most notable rooms and wanted to share:

https://blisshifi.com/axpona-2023-gear-report/

Would love to hear others’ thoughts on my findings as I do feel I share a number of opinions expressed on this thread.

Overall, though, I felt that the sound across the board was more challenging than last year. Lots of rooms were inadequately set up, gear not broken in, and the rooms themselves posed a lot of mode and phasing challenges.

@blisshifi I loved the Dynaudio and Octave/SimAudio room as well. Opinions? I don’t agree on the FR 30 comments. The massive size of those is amazing at 30k. Think of the actual size of speakers in this range of pricing. The build was not Estelon quality but it’s 10% of the price. I thought the sounded very good. Just a thought. I agree with all your other points.

More feedback here

 https://www.stereophile.com/content/partnered-shunyata-clarisys-launches-neodymium-magnet-minuet-speakers

@rick2000 do you have any affiliation or are you just shilling for free?

@ghasley 

+1

It's pretty shameless and non stop. 

@ghasley +2

Wish there was a way to block rick2000

Not connected with Clarisys Audio in any way 

Clarisys Audio called and they too wish @rick2000 would knock it off.

This is my thread and you do not like what you see here don't come on my thread !... 🤔👿I will post anything I like about the Axpona 2023 Show ! 

 HAVE A GREAT DAY ! 

Well, reading through this thread, I’m now wishing I had spent more time. As a first timer with just a half day, I was a bit rushed and very selective in what I stopped to see/hear. I clearly missed a bunch. 

As I noted previously, I was disappointed w/ the Rockport/Vinnie Rossi room though Jonathan Valin thought it great.  Hearing/seeing this integrated amp was one of the reasons I went to the show as it was potentially on my purchase list.

On the other hand, he and i both liked the MBL room.

Harley also loved the Magicos, but I don’t think i could live with them. Perhaps I should have stayed for a longer listen.

I would agree with @blisshifi that the T+A room (perhaps my favorite electronics  mfg) was mixed. I didn’t get any time in the sweet spot., I had high expectations but was disappointed they were playing music to demo a system instead of music to listen to. At least while i was there.

So much more I didn’t hear/see. So I guess I’ll have to go next year and do a better job of organizing my day around it.

@bubba12 i did listen to the Dyn / Octave room and thought it was pretty good. Nothing really stuck out at me but nothing about it was bad, either. It was definitely pleasing, but nothing too exciting.

With the FR 30, it didn’t sound bad overall, it wasn’t bad, but I just thought other rooms presented better both from having better flow AND separation/delineation. I could see how many could like what I heard in that room the same way people love MBL, but I just have never jived with them despite how many times I’ve heard them. Also, I have to reiterate how cheap the finish seemed to me. Felt like it would fit right in with all the cheap plasticky stuff from IKEA. I actually love the aesthetic design of the speaker, and I personally love elite speakers as well, but the finish of the FR30 just looked much cheaper in person than what I’ve seen in the pictures. 

@blisshifi +1 Great overview on the 1st Floor "Ultra" level systems. The $70k Vimberg Tonda D(Wynn Audio) set up was exceptional as my No.2 system at the show. I thought the muscular intense sound had a very live presentation. Not sure if you commented on the Sonus Faber Aida 2/Boulder/DCS/Clearaudio room. I thought this was the "Best Of Show" system. The liquidity/flow and ease of operation and non mechanical presentation was exceptional. I’m curious if you believe the Vimberg could be improved with less powerful/aggressive electronics(Karan Acoustics)? My No.3 system is somewhat a sleeper(value) system. Room 418 YG Acoustics Hailey 2.2/Zesto Audio/Dr.Feickert/Tri-Planar/Cardas. IMO this system brought extreme resolution/detail with a very musical/liquid presentation at a somewhat more affordable price point($!50K+) Only giving up scale and some deep bass which would be better suited for reasonably sized rooms.

@dayglow Your comment made me realize that yes, the majority of my coverage was from the lower level floors in larger rooms. I did also visit every floor and listened in dozens of rooms. There were some notable rooms there, like the Constellation/Magico setup, AXISS room with the Air Tight monoblocks and New Franco Serblin speakers, and a few others. Bayz audio also sounded better than it did before. 

Every chance I get, I try to listen on Sonus Faber because I typically don’t like them and I try to make myself understand them. Whether it be at shows, other dealers, or other customers. I associate the way I feel about them similarly to how I feel about MBL, though I have historically found MBL to be more pleasing of the two. This year was no exception, but I can say that was the best I ever heard the Sonus Faber Aida sound. I’ve typically only heard them with the McIntosh 1.2KW amps or other similar gear. The whole Boulder and DCS stack configuration enabled the Aida to be more dynamic and open, while seeming quite natural. That said, it was still not holographic to me. It did not give me a sense of performers playing in the space, despite the system’s resolution and wonderful tone. I guess I personally place a lot of value in a system’s ability to deliver the goods holographically. 

Regarding the Wynn, Vimberg and Karan, I think any mechanical nature of the sound you perceived was likely due to the size of the room. It was enormous for the size of yhr Tonka D, especially compared to something like the massive Estelon in the floor below them. I do think different amps can absolutely shape the final delivery of speakers. I demonstrate this for my customers all the time. What I did love about the sound in the Wynn room is that it had the speed and imaging of something like the Borresen (perhaps not as pronounced), with the heft and fleshed out natural delivery of the Lansche and Thrax combination I heard in the Florida Expo. The Wynn audio was definitely quite effortless in my opinion, but not relaxed and not the most refined. Still, it moved me the most compared to any other room in the show. 

@blisshifi   Appreciate your knowledgeable insight and stating your audio biases.

@dayglow My pleasure. If anything I’ve learned in this hobby is that as objective as measurements can be, audiophiles want to be moved by what they hear. That movement is emotional, and what they hear is purely subjective. As a dealer and guide, I need to respect that people appreciate all sorts of qualities that different gear delivers, even if I don’t value them myself. I will never steer anyone away from Sonus Faber or MBL even if I don’t care for them. I can at least speak to their strengths and weaknesses in order for customers to make the most informed decisions. I’ve probably guided half of my customers to other dealers or brands I don’t carry because they’re looking for something different.

Thankfully since my dealership business is not my primary source of income, I’m not at a place where I have to make a certain amount of sales to survive, and as a result I find myself in a place where I can truly help and guide vs try to sell what I’ve got. Hopefully because of that I’ll find enough folks who share the value the same qualities in the gear as I do and become repeat customers in the lines to make my business more sustainable. For now, I just use any proceeds from my business into funding new brands and product lines that I truly believe in for my floor. Building the business from the ground up, so to say. And I want my whole journey to succeed based on delivering fulfillment vs driving profits. I’d like to say I know I’ll be successful going this route, but only time will tell. :)

@blisshifi you stated There were some notable rooms there, ..... AXISS room with the Air Tight monoblocks and New Franco Serblin speakers

But yet you're not a fan of Sonus Faber. Wasn't it Franco Serblin who designed and had his signature on most SF designs? I also heard those FS Ktema speakers in the Axiss room and in my opinion they were the best of show. Dynamic, with a controlled bottom end yet very natural sounding like real musicians were inside that room. It moved me like nothing else. But these are not "new" FS speakers. They have been around for many years now unless they were redesigned. I believe Franco Serblin passed away in 2013

@rsf507 Fair point. You're right, a bit of digging and seems those Ktema speakers have been around for 12 years, one of FS' last creations. Thank you for correcting me. I think it's the first time I've come across them. Agree they were wonderful, and there's no doubt the Air Tight electronics contributed to it.

I can't really speak to why I like those vs what I have previously heard from Sonus Faber. It's obvious that the engineering in the cabinet is quite different from the Ktema speakers. I did enjoy both rooms, but as noted, I didn't cover either of them as the ones that stood out the most. The musicality and tone of that AXISS room was really quite good, however. There were certainly a lot of "quite good" rooms. But again, everyone has personal preferences. No wrong or right in this one.

rick2000,

So, you have managed to pique my interest in the Clarisys Minute. I have a set on order, probably will take a couple of months.

The only problem (other than cost and weight) will be deciding which room treatments will not be needed.

ozzy

@ozzy That's great news !  They are six of us saving our pennies to buy a pair of Clarisys Audio Minuets some day !

Who has listened long term to the Clarisys Audio speakers? Yes I know they are fairly new on the scene but would like to hear from anyone that has owned them their thoughts. Not that I can afford these currently. 😉

Anyone hear the new NS-2000A Speaker - Yamaha USA at Axpona? They had both the NS5000 and this new speaker.

BTW - Clarisys Audio info, Clarisys Audio (audioshark.org)

We tried to connect our phone via BT to the Topping DAC in the room but they didn’t have the remote control to do the pairing.

@smatsui In case you ever run into this again, the Topping does not need the remote to switch inputs. You push the main power button to do that. All the functionality of the remote is duplicated on the front panel. I though Matt knew that- sorry about that!

They picked the new $280K Borresen M3’s as the best speakers they have ever heard period at a Show ! 🤔 I wonder how good those all new $11K Borresen X3 are ? I hear they are on Backorder already...

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2023/04/16/axpona-2023-highlights-axpona-2023/

The X3 are quite good, especially for the price point. I heard them both at FLAX and AXPONA this year. That said, I absolutely hate how they look aesthetically. The tweeter baffle is ugly, as are the checkered drivers. They took the carbon pattern that they had with Scansonic and copied it, but the rest of the cabinet is clunky and unrefined. It seems to have lost all of the aesthetic finesse that all other Danish speakers seem to possess. But hey, if you’re listening in the dark, none of that matters.

I would say that the performance is good, especially for a Scansonic MB series competitor, though sonically they sound very close based on the experiences I’ve had (I am a Scansonic dealer and personally have owned a Borresen Z3 Cryo and a Borresen 02). But the X3 does have more break up and less clarity than any of the higher end product lines from Borresen and Raidho.

I would say overall, since Michael’ and Lars’ departure from Dantax, they have shaped their speakers to be more transparent and focus on a completely holographic soundstage. Raidho, on the other hand, has been advanced by Benno Melgaard to be more fluid and musical (and not to mention room friendly), all while still retaining an incredible amount of detail and clarity.

@blisshifi Thanks for the feedback on the Borresen X3's !

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-2023-axpona-show-alan-taffel-on-loudspeakers-below-30k/

https://www.audioholics.com/trade-shows/best-loudspeakers-of-axpona-2023-show-report

 The New Improved JBL L100 Classic Black Edition Speakers and New Monitor Audio Platinum 200G was the biggest Bargains at the Axpona 2023 Show ?!..😎

Axpona 2023 Recap from Michael Fremer  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evyb75eFhb4

https://audiobacon.net/2023/04/27/axpona-2023-show-report-awards/5/

 https://audiobacon.net/2023/04/27/axpona-2023-show-report-awards/4/

 🤔😮

Those Focal Utopia EVO speakers sounded really good at Axpona 2023 ! 😲

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTVz545P3xY