For the first time went to Axpona, one heck of a show more audio then we have ever seen, the old New York audio shows were like this.
Anyway walked most of the show and most of the systems heard were just bad, common problems no room tuning, rooms that were too big for the gear or too small. Even some of the really expensive stuff was dissapointing.
There were a few room that were good.
So far winners for us that were very good not in any particular order:
1: Big Horns from Germany forgot the name really famous one, 2: Muiraudio $15k electrostatic hybrid 3: Alta Audio cheapie $5k speakers sounded great 4: Vimburg 5: Paradigm Persona 3F
(not a great setup, but the sound comming out of them for a $10k speaker was very impressive. excellent, midrange soundstage was impressive image floated nicely, even though the speakers were way too close together and the bass response was excellent. Would have been way better with a few substitions.
6: T+A $75k floorstanders were impressive for such a small size reference speaker, don't know if they are worth that kind of money, the electrostatic tweeter coupled to a line array with buillt in subs was very musical in a way too small room. Would have liked them to be taller
Decent but not up to the hype the new PS audio speakers bass was very good for a $12-15k set of speakers filled up a big room ugly, and not the ultimate wow that PS was billing them as.
The Scaena line array when we had them setup in our show and at some of the older New York Audio Shows were mind blowing this setup didn't gel which was sad.
Today to hear the Gryphon room, Golden Ear and a few others.
Scott Markwall gave a great demo of the Furutech NCF products which are really cool.
Innous gave a great demo of the Statement vs the Zenith, and wow what a difference in soundstaging and clarity.
Dave and Troy Audio Doctor NJ Paradigm, T+A, Persona dealers.
Pwhin: No real surprise re the Sanders advantage. -Roger designed Mls for years -Roger make a transmission line bass (which I am a sucker for) -Roger has room correction +++ -Roger has class a/b power up they ying yang. 2,000 wpc a side. No clipping there -Roger makes one speaker. ML has a dozen. Make sense? Sanders is my next purchase.
I was there two days and saw a lot of very nice rooms. The towering German speakers, Goebel (?) were stunning as was were the Salk Towers... as always a reliable fine speaker in beautiful cabinets. The two MBL rooms were simply amazing, particularly their new standmount speaker for $17K. Now we're talking!
Spatial Audio was in two rooms with the $7500 X3 speakers, which have a powered woofer now and new ribbon, I think, tweeter, driven by a Modwright amp in one room and an LTA ZOTL Ultralinear tube amp.... both set ups sounded fantastic and the X3' are clearly a step up with the M3's... lower LF and clearer HF. The Rockport room was excellent. The T&A room pretty much blew me away with their exotic gear.... a unique preamp/DAC combo that is state of the art for playing hi rez recordings. Their speakers were excellent as well. Magico's $400K system at the end of a hall was quite impressive, to say the least.
Oh, finally Vanatoo demo'd their Transparent One Encore and Transparent Zero BluTooth speakers going for $600 and $360, respectively. Even with no sub playing, these little gems sounded absolutely amazing. I will be ordering a pair for my desktop, yet on stands, they would surely delight most music lovers!
I liked the vibe at the show a lot. My visit with Steve Guttenberg showed him to be just as pleasant and humble of a fellow as he appears to be in his videos. I could have done without the snow storm on Sunday, but you never know in Chicago.
Pwhinson, funny thing about the Pass room -- they told me that only one of the amps in the room had any electronics in them! They were just empty cases.
Think you're right about the Sanders vs. the Martin Logans, though I found both too bright (and a 61-year-old pair of Quad ESL 57's just right).
Like everyone else, was disappointed by the AN-3 but in all fairness it was in an absurdly big room and location (a corner!), and I read that the prototype isn't as adjustable as the production models. Like the Vandys it couldn't really be judged. But I suspect it was also overhyped in the videos, a single Neo 10 is never going to sound like an IRS V! Not in a big space, anyway. The comparisons to the IRS set me up for disappointment.
At the opposite extreme, the little LRS was the hit of the show for those lucky enough to hear it. Magnepan was showing it to the press and then letting others discover it through word of mouth.
Audiotroy, I had the impression that the big Magico setup was suffering from the space it was in. It was the sort of space appropriate to a PA system, not a pair of loudspeakers! None of the Magicos I heard this time sounded good. Go figure. But I thought a lot of speakers were suffering from bad acoustics.
I have not seen much mention of it but I was really impressed with the Spendor room and the D7. I kept coming back and stayed longer each time. Wonderful balance for these ears. The Chord dac and integrated seemed to make for terrific value too. The Altas were something special also and some pyramid shaped italion stand mounts I cannot recall the name
I was at the show 2 days and heard a lot of good systems. I thought Jeff Joseph's room sounded great, as always. I also liked Jonathan Tinn's room with the Evolution Acoustics speakers and the Wave Kinetics Turntable / Durand tonearm. There were many other rooms including the MBL room which I enjoyed stopping in.
I disagree that the Vandersteen room didn't sound well. I was there on Saturday, after they got the equipment issues resolved. When I walked in the sweet spot was empty so I grabbed it. Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey was playing and the sound stage was a mile wide and quite enjoyable. The room they were in was huge so I can't get worked up over some of the sonic characteristics like there not being enough bass. That is a room issue, not an equipment issue. There is no way the system nine lacks in bass. I have heard it in smaller, better tuned rooms.
I did stop by again later and the "DJ" was playing some unfamiliar music so I really couldn't get a sense for the sound then. I wish these exhibitors would realize that playing well-recorded standards is the way to go. What's the point of playing stuff nobody knows?
I found two rooms at AXPONA 2019 to be my personal standouts this year. The first demo'd Rockport Cygnus speakers driven by all CH Precision electronics and an Auralic Aries streamer; "Life" by Ludovico Einaudi was played. This recording was my primary evaluation track, and I heard it on several high end systems. None, even my former favorite (the Sonus Faber Aida II driven by Audio Research electronics), came close in terms of offering a realistic experience. Only this system got both the piano and the strings right! I have a fairly decent system at home, but it paled in comparison to that Rockport/CH Precision system. The second was the Wilson Alexx/D'Agostino electronics/dCS streamer and DAC setup; "You Want It Darker" by Leonard Cohen was played. This was the other track I played in a number of rooms. When the song finished everyone in the went "Wow!" Mr. Cohen was resurrected! Every aspect of his gravelly voice was recreated, emanating from a rock-solid and stable image. Again, my home system disappointed in comparison.
I think it is important to note that, regardless of how good the audio system might be, without outstanding source material, all that technology will be wasted. Both of these tracks are marvelous recordings; these two systems brought them to life.
Muraudio Sp1 is probably one of the best speaker I've ever heard. After hearing it in NY Audio Show, I ended up spending an entire evening at Distinctive Stereo to listen to them. Fantastic all around speaker. Only reason, I didn't end up buying them as it'd require me to switch my amp. But, I totally see myself getting a pair in future.
I was at the show for all 3 days and visited every room (nearly 200) in the huge hotel, but I am surprised no one mentioned the hidden (apparently) treasure found on the 14th floor, the amazing Grandinote Mach 4 speakers, powered by the Grandinote electronics and superbly supported by Luna Cables. The sound was the epitome of natural, no coloration whatsoever! The only explanation that seems plausible to me to have not discussed such an incredible sound was that many visitors never made it up to the 14th floor to experience it. That is a shame. The Grandinote equipment is from Italy and the Luna Cables are from Canada.
My favorite room was the Raven Audio room. They have great tube gear and had their own speakers now. I think their tube gear is comparable to VAC in sound.
Orenstein, how did you get to every room? I'm distressed at all the stuff I missed, but I don't see how I could have done that, not and waited to be in the sweet spot of the most promising rooms.
(Does anyone else feel bad when they go in a room, there's no one else there, and you aren't impressed by the sound and have to be polite to the poor guy giving the demo?)
Not a new product, but I have the PS Audio Sprout 100 and it is a great product in my opinion. I run my TV through it and power a pair of Mark Audio Sota Cesti B and it sounds great.
the amazing Grandinote Mach 4 speakers, powered by the Grandinote electronics and superbly supported by Luna Cables. The sound was the epitome of natural, no coloration whatsoever!
@orenstein Thanks for the mention of the Grandinote / Luna Cables room.
Interesting that so many opinions matched what I heard at the 2019 Tampa show, esp the rooms not matching the speakers and either too boomy or no bass at all. Even rooms with active correction had big issues. Has anyone ever seen/heard synergistics research acoustical treatments at shows: Black Box, HFT, panels? They get some great reviews and was wondering if they were really that good when compared dollar for dollar with items like GIK. SR stuff seems a lot more portable than large panels, and I can appreciate the difficulty of hauling many large panels to a show along with everything else.
It would be nice if the show promoters had a large stock of mid-priced treatments kept in a storeroom locally to help people tune their rooms, especially some cantilevered/side supported way to treat the ceilings which are really low. Re being nice to people with bad sounding rooms; shouldn’t we be a little more honest while trying to be remain kind and grateful about their participation? Sounds like Apoxna was larger than Tampa, is Rocky Mtn about as large? I had lots of fun in Tampa in spite of room issues, and am looking to forward to another show someday soon. It’s a great way to learn about our hobby and find items to audition seriously later.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
