Axpona Suggestions

I've been going to Axpona for several years now and it's a great time. So much to see and hear old and new. It seems to grow and get more crowded each year. There is no way to cover it in one day or even two. I, however, would like to make some suggestions to improve it. I think Axpona should make it mandatory for the vendors to have a sheet with a list of the components playing in their rooms along with the prices. This would be very helpful to the consumer. Often you go into a room that is dark for ambience and you have no idea what you are listening to. You don't want to interrupt and ask. Say you are looking for a pair of speakers in the $8k-$10k range.  You find some that sound great. You later learn that the reason they may sound great is that they have $100k worth of electronics in front of them. They probably wouldn't sound as great in your system. You would at least know this if a sheet was provided for you as you walk in the door.

My next suggestions is to the vendors.  I would really enjoy it if you played all types of music in a short period. People like to hear lots of rooms. You don't have to play a 9 minute song to the end. I suggest a mix steam of five 1-1/2 minutes snippets of songs that showcase female vocals, strong bass tracks; dynamic music, electronic; folk; etc.  People would get a real good feel in a short time for the capabilities of the system.  I know people love turntables. When I go into a room with a turntable I know that I'm going to hear only that album.  Unless the vendor is primarily selling a turntable he should borrow a decent streamer and dac to show off his speakers; amps; preamps; etc. and play a variety of music.

As for the crowd- if you really need to a long conversation with the Vendor and there are a lot of people present waiting to hear music- please do so later in the hall at the appropriate time.