The ATC room demonstrating SCM100ASLT speakers, for me, probably the best sound of the show value for money considered. Of course if money is no object, the MBL, Avantgarde and Krell demonstrations were about as good as things get IMHO. I was also impressed with the B&W 801D4 demonstration, strange choice of music, but, the speakers sounded wonderful and the guy giving the demonstration/talk was very interesting and informative.
I was so blown away by the ATC demonstration, I am thinking about replacing my Magico A5 speakers and McIntosh MC312 power amp, with a pair of stand mount SCM100ASL speakers in piano gloss black.
|
|
David Janszen and Edgar Choueirin Room 1406
Impressed by the Cabasse Pearl Keshi’s in the Upscale Room. All they need is an analog input.
|
Money no object, the Krell Estelon demonstration was beyond reproach. Never heard of Estelon before; amazing speakers:
|
Money no object/constraint, I'll take my reference system. I'm just amazed at the prices people are asking for their products considering they MAY be emitting slightly better (different?) sound. I heard nothing at the show that totally outclassed my rig. BTW, loved the $30,000 Cabasse system. Was not impressed by the B&W 801D4 (but I'm sure it wasn't the speaker's fault).
|
Too many rooms played music LOUD. To be honest nothing really stood out but maybe the Acora loudspeakers. Still the room was HUGE so how would they sound in a normal listening room would be the question.
|
Money no object the VAC / Von Schweikert room sounded literally perfect- deep rich perfectly balanced bass, midrange transparency with no coloration and an insanely delicate top end.
I loved the vibrancy of the Audio Note room and rate it second overall.
Many other good ones but with noticeable artifacts- the Piega coaxial ribbon midrange / tweeter and Rose Audio GaN class D, the Spatial Audio / LTA, the Volti / Boder Patrol 300B set, the Muraudio hybrid speakers.
Nice showing for the new Luxman integrated and Harbeth 30.2XD- each have upped their game with improved resolution and clarity while still sounding sweet and forgiving.
Oh yeah- the Chord / Spendor classic room- unvelievable bass !
Excellent show !
|
I was impressed with the Alta Adam speaker. There were at least two rooms with them, in which one had a black finish to them and another with woodgrain. In the case of the woodgrain pair, I couldn't believe the amount of bass they created. Nice mid and top end too. Of course I don't know what they were driven with. I took tons of pictures and a dozen or so short videos with my Galaxy phone. I will have to go through them eventually to relive the experiences. I'd be interested to learn what the 4lk speakers you are referring to with the large woofer and horn.
|
Very good sound, especially
SCM100ASLT speakers,
Cabasse Peligrina fully inetegrated
Borresen
Wilson original David Wilson speakers
Aretai speakers from Latvia
Bayz look so Kool and sound to match.
|
I also enjoyed the Legacy Aeris on the first floor playing Nils lofgren 'Keith don't go'.
Friends don't let friends play 'Keith don't go'. ;-)
(Other than that, I'm jealous of those of you who attended).
|
What impressed me for reasonable priced systems were the ATC rooms cheaper 2-way powered speakers, the Alta Adam speaker and the New top of the line PSB speaker in the NAD room.
|
I thought the Elac room sounded pretty good for a hotel room - they brought Elac Concerto S507 - 7 driver small tower speakers. They hit all the notes, and sounded amazing down low with four 6.5" side firing drivers. And the Krell/Estalon combo was amazing. The engineer claimed it could 1600 watts into 2 ohms all Class A. Not sure if I believed that, but it sure did sound good!
I was shocked to see the 801D4 in a tiny hotel room. There was a line and I didn't bother waiting (no way were they going to sound good). Also disappointing I would say the Dynaudio room. Just didn't sound full like the other rooms were. Being next door to a phenomenal Focal setup probably didn't help them either.
Best part of the show, though, was doing something normal after two years of lockdowns.
-Geoff
|
Agree on the Von Schweikert new Ulta 7's. Although rather diminutive in size compared to the other big boys, their price was not at $180,000 but they sounded fantastic. I stayed there for a long time. And who can fault the Estalon flagship at $160,000. Magic. I also was very impressed by the Legacy Aries at a mere $10,500 a pair. Stayed there a long time also. These were all in big convention size rooms and a lot of attention was paid to controlling acoustics. There were many fine sounding speakers in the smaller hotel rooms - too many to remember. Interesting that VAC electronics was predominant. The Cabresse room, featuring small baseball sized speakers putting out a lot of good sound was an engineering marvel. But as a Focal Fan - having traded up from my trusty Electra 237's to the Sopra 2's, I was appalled by their exhibit room - in one of the big rooms. They had a huge counter at the entrance where they were selling stuff with loads of people creating a din of noise. They also had a home entertainment section in the back which played loud distracting heavy bass music. But the worst part was their demo of one of the Utopia models - heavy bass dominant music played extremely loud by some kid to overcome the noise. They sounded awful and were unlistenable and I had to leave the room. They were also demo-ing Kanta 2's in a corner where you could hardly hear them, like at a cheap mid-fi store. Since I had the money to spend for the Sopra's and already ordered them (maxing out my credit cards), if I hadn't purchased them already I would never have done do based on the terrible demo of the much more expensive Utopias. There were plenty others to chose from at that price or less. A failed business model for an exhibit of well-regarded speakers. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed Axpona.
|
Having been to many shows and setting up systems when I was a dealer ,to be fair to all ,they should all have to bring a spl meter and all rooms should be max under 88db.which is fairly loud For several reasons. In smaller rooms too many hard reflections ,and hard sounds because of this, also to not impede on other systems in other rooms , also it’s a known fact that 90 db + spl level creates hearing loss over accumulated time.
vendors should be at the end of hallway so all the disturbing chatting won’t disturb musical demo’s. That’s just from my experiences . For Everyone pays monies to present their products , and people go to listen . Common courtesy goes a long way !!
|
I thought the Goebel speakers on the top floor were great. Anybody else get a chance to hear them?
|
@ronboco
I couldn't get to Axpona, but at RMAF 2019 the Goebel speakers were (are) the
best speakers I have ever heard. Totally amazing! And that was in the largest
conference room there which is really big. If I had a "spare" $280K they would be
mine. Then a million or two for a larger house etc etc....
Regards,
barts
|
@barts
I have the same daydream every day ! 😂😂 They we’re amazing! Maybe my next life will be more lucrative. 😂😂
|
TAD Micro Evolution 1 speakers and the seminar on correcting your room,
|
There were some horn speakers with either 15-18" woofers that were $5k a pair that sounded surprisingly good in the small rooms that at modern prices seemed like a bargain. I also really like Dali and the oberon line pushes a lot of air for the dollar. Making speakers that cost as much as a car or a house doesn't really seem like an achievement compared to getting quality sound at a real world price point.
|
I couldn’t make it to Axpona, so thank you to @steve59 and everyone else for their observations and thoughts.
Maybe next year?
JD
|
Been going to AXPONA for manty years and this is the first time I was actually floored by a speaker. Actually 2 speakers from the same maker that were in 2 separate rooms. Borresen 01 and 02. $60,000 bookshelf speakers on the first floor and $90,000 floor standers on the 16th floor. If I ever win the lottery these are mine! Also really like the TAD Micro evolution bookshelves and the Valorem bookshelves.
|
I can’t justify Raidho or borrensen prices, I love the demos and I expect another six figures driving the speakers helps. I just know somehow in my room they would lose that magic.
|
The Joseph Audio Pearl Graphene speakers driven by Doshi electronics; Vivid speakers driven by JMF Audio and Ideon (big bucks); TAD Evolution 2 driven by T+A HV separates
|
Perlisten in the regular room, the tower with 3 tweeters sounded really good too and if you’re local to axpona I think simply stereo has a pair I may check out
|
Styleman I think you are mistaken about the price or model of the Legacy Areis. Those go for around $21K a pair. I think the Focus (which are also amazing) go for $10-11K.
Legacy speakers ars incredible and offer a lot for the money. |
|
I too was super impressed by the Alta Audio room! I have never heard that much bass energy from a tower speaker! I missed what Amp as well…
|
Mikey was not impressed.(1118) Why Audio Trade Shows are LAME !! - YouTube
Man that guy is hard to watch (for me). He may be a swell guy, but the way he comes off, he basically typifies the caricature of the opinionated audiophile loudmouth. It's like the opinionated guy at a party holding court who just...won't....stop...talking!!!
|
|
@prof +2 I concur with your assessment 100%
|
I had the same opinion when I first saw him on you tube....but after you watch his demos .....he's very sincere and I've grown to enjoy his upfront honesty. Love him or hate him...He is interesting and very dedicated to the helping out of people during their audio journey. He is a Roland dealer and was comparing the $3500 Gan amp to the $18,000 amp and laughing because there wasn't hardly any difference in the sound....I actually licked the cheaper one better. Check out his you tube video comparing the Roland GAN amps....very interesting and informative.....
|
He is interesting and very dedicated to the helping out of people during their audio journey.
In a way that also seems to promulgate lots of nonsense.
|
Legacy. Way under appreciated. Aeris and the Valor were awesome. The other models are great too.
|
Borreson is too much money. .....His electronics etc.
|
@nyaudio98 the Borreson stand mounts sounded awesome but at $60,000 agree WAY too much $$$$.
|
@rsf507 Borresen was going to price his stand mount at $120K but his dealers suggested that might be a tad too high, so they all agreed on $60K and will quickly increase the price as they fly off the shelves.
|
@Steve59
I can’t justify Raidho or borrensen prices, I love the demos and I expect another six figures driving the speakers helps
The Raidhos were driven by a pair of anniversary-edition Margules tube amps that cost $10,000 each but that I believe are completely or substantially the same as the $6,000 version.
You don't even need two of them to drive the Raidho TD 3.8s to perfection. I was blown away by the sound in that room.
|
@daveyf 120k for a small 2 way? And the stands will be an extra 25k? When will this madness end?
|
@rsf507 Great question. It might end when folks with money begin to realize how little value they are getting for their money ( and actually care about that!)...and more importantly, do not open up their wallets to allow the madness to continue! IMHO.
|
My wife has shut my wallet but doesn't make much difference b/c there's little left after paying for food and gas. Luckily I got a Bricasti M3 at a good price and love streaming, hearing so much new music.
|
I think the borrensen 01 is $32k a pair with $3500 ea for stands, lol. shysters for sure. The room I was in Aavik electronics were driving the speakers and it looked like 2 amps per channel, but idk which ones. The show is fun and I’m just wish I could have gotten into hear the wilson’s as they usually put on a great demo also.
|
I heard the new Rethm AARKA speakers were the shock of the whole show
|
From what I saw - and I was only there for 5 hours so I saw nowhere near everything:
1) Janszen + Bacch room. Best value for the money, probably best sound overall for my tastes! That 3D sound was incredible.
2) Bayz speakers - holographic
3) The big Sonus Fabers - FILLED A ROOM!
4) My first time hearing Audio Note, was fairly impressed but like my Tannoy Ardens better...just bigger sound with much bigger drivers on my Tannoys. The Audio Note had big sound for not large speakers.
Other thoughts.
All the big rooms were good, of course.
Didn't like MBL for whatever reason. Really wanted to. Will have to hear again sometime.
The Acora speakers were awesome, never heard of that brand but they were very good.
I thought TAD was overpriced.
Didn't get to hear Raidho.
The little bookshelf speakers in the Carver room were really good. What a system for not a lot of money!
Again the Janszens were the only ones I could afford that made me willing to open my wallet...and I did. Bought a used pair of the older Z2.1A's. Will also be buying a demo of the Bacch software. Trying to re-create the magic I heard in room 1406! (I think that's the right room, anyway).
Now will I be able to let go of my KEF 107/Accuphase system, or my Tannoy/Leben system? Hmm, we'll see. Janszen speakers arrive tomorrow!
|
Oh, also the Joseph Audio speakers were pretty awesome. Avantgarde too. man there was a lot of awesome stuff there, just not a lot I could afford beyond the Janszens, and luckily I preferred them to basically anything at any price. They don't do scale and slam as well as those mega-buck systems, but I don't need that and I don't have huge rooms to fill in my home. Can't wait to hear them in my home tomorrow.
|
TAD room --- e1tx and compact reference 1 are god damn good. One of the most 3d-image sound of the show.
Rockport atria 2, Joseph pearl, Raidhos, Borreson, Wilson benesch... Those are very impressive brands
|
|
|
|
After driving to AXPONA last month, I received an official letter from the Illinois tollway authority. It said I owed $35 for "unpaid tolls" (8 unpaid $1.50 tolls each with a 200% penalty). Driving up from Indiana (Indy), I was expecting some kind of toll action and I did see signs stating "pay toll ahead". The thing is, I NEVER encountered a toll booth EVER! I did find extensive construction EVERYWHERE, and I did SEE toll booths when the highway split off in a different direction, but the road I was driving on never presented a place to pay tolls! I think these jerks are just scamming people because the can: "Oh hell, it's just easier to pay the fine than to fight it...". Institutionalized theft. Please Illinois, hold your breath until you see me in your moth-eaten state again.
|
|
