@bloom How does the Vivid compare with the Borresen. I know the Vivid well and was considering the Kaya 45 in the past. I liked the Yamaha NS5000 a bit more than the Kaya 45 during demo time. Just personal preference.
Axpona 2023
Axpona Show Recap Sunday April 16th 2023- O'Hare Airport
Clarisys Audio-Why these difficult names??
$35k. Easy on the ears at higher volumes.
"Apogee" is what they look like only prettier.
The new T+A $50k speaker model was also excellent. They make smaller models
I plan to look into.
The $43k Joseph Audio is a perennial winner.
The $200k+ Borresen Speakers may still be my all time favorite. Lars was there
but Michael B. was burned out from an Asian tour.
The Vimberg stand mount Speaker they demo'd is a magical speaker.
Last year they showed Lime Green speaker and sold it at the show.
Makers please note. Focal failed to bring even one "Hot" colored speaker.
And they must have had 25 speakers there. Poor merchandising.
Did anyone else partake in one of Wendel's 1/2 hour new subwoofer sessions? (Magnepan)
Wendel's contention is that 12 6.25" drivers mounted in a dipole configuration
beats anyone's subwoofer. Not sure about his science on that but he puts on an
impressive demo!
I am still waiting delivery of my LRS+ speakers ordered Dec 4th.
I did get to listen to the new LRS+ speakers finally. Interesting back story about
something Sandy Gross had to say in the Bacche room. He thinks the LRS+ are "special".
Mike Fremer debuted his new LP. I won't try to review it but will advise against over paying
for an early copy.
Met some fun people at Cambridge Audio Saturday night! Their business is good.
Dined with the Black Ice people at the Weber Grill. Jared has a very
interesting past if you ever meet him. They sold 40 units of one headphone amp
on Friday at the show!
I finally met Fredrik Lejonklou from Sweden. He does things in an all out assault mode.
Also has the best laid out website I've seen. Product history info is wonderful. Other makers note.
I spoke with the Chris Brunhaver, PS Audio Speaker designer, (son of one of the speakerlab founders)
and heard his mid sized $20k speakers. I like the look and the sound is pretty good
for a first effort. I decided against asking him if he missed Darren Meyers the PS audio designer
who was recently hired away by the new Parasound owner. Darren is a very talented guy who will
benefit greatly from his new association with John Curl. I have to think Parasound will be announcing
a new Class D amp soon enough.
Rumor has it that PS Audio is shopping for a new software man to fix some long standing glitches.
When the mute button turns on the TV it is time for a fix.
Andrew Jones was demoing his new Point 8 speaker. $3k. the Point 10 is $4k.
He had some great demo music I will be including in my next Track du Jour email.
The 8's sounded as good or better than the 10's in that setup.
A fun show overall!!
- ...
- 48 posts total
@yyzsantabarbara The Vivid and Borresen are pretty different - both great in different ways. The Vivid caught me by surprise because the great imaging was so apparent - something I didn't hear in many rooms at the show. The Borresen had the sound of a larger speaker and more impressive in filling the room. Bass was tremendous and very tight, treble was smooth. Vivid bass was very good as far as the range goes but not quite as impactful - but treble was super sweet. I haven't heard the Kaya 45 and this was my first time hearing any Vivids so I don't have much experience with the line.. Certainly the type of music you listen to and the room (listening room vs family/great room) would influence selection. The Vivid has a small footprint for a floor standing speaker. Sound wise, I think I'd go with the Borresen if it fit my room... but as you say it's just personal preference. A nice comparison at a similar price point.. |
@jeffseight thanks for the heads up on Fritz. I've come to realize in short order here the amount of boutique speaker makers out there making great stuff. |
@mikempls +1 Yes, The Canton room was very disappointing. The Reference 3k sounded sluggish/veiled and unengaging. I talked to the Monitor Audio sales rep. and he was very upfront about the Platinum Series being made in China He was very convincing about the extreme level of quality control in PRC factories. The Platinum 200's were playing and sounded restricted but I could hear the potential. He claimed they need a fairly large room to breath properly. I did mention the budget Roksan Attessa gear could be holding them back, he agreed the better the electronics ect. I believe the VSA model was the Endeavor SE playing? or was it a new Endeavor 6? If my memory is correct the retail was $29k not $22k. IMO the Endeavor was clearly superior vs. the Borresen X3. The speed/dynamics and tonal balance was near reference level. The X3 had a little of that "fake" HI-FI ish sheen to it that some Focal/B&W speakers "can" have. I do think at $11k they have few if any competition just be careful with component matching. |
- 48 posts total