For gear comparison purposes there's actually something to be said for hearing many rooms play a track you are ridiculously familiar with so you can discern the sometimes subtle differences between rooms. I approach the listening rooms more diagnostically in order to compare gear than going to enjoy the music. I listen to my system at home or go out for a live show if my goal is to just enjoy great music.
Please- No more Tin Pan Alley
I love Axpona. I go every year and it's great to actually hear the equipment and meet the designers that you read about. But the music selection is sometimes not the best. I like a wide range of music. I'm not adverse to hearing anything(well maybe not Rap). There are a lot of rooms to cover. Most people want to listen for 5 or 10 minutes to get a feel for the sound of the system and possibly purchase one of the components. Please, vendors play a few minutes of a variety of music so people can see how the system sounds with different music. How's the bass, the vocals, the dynamics, etc? They should play selections for no more than 2-3 minutes and move on. I know it's more difficult with a turntable- but still. Nothing more aggravating than going into a room and listening to a song you don't like for 15 minutes. And PLEASE- no more Tin Pan Alley by Stevie Ray Vaughan. And I like SRV. That song is WAY overplayed. It is so well recorded it would sound good on a transistor radio. It tells the consumer nothing about the system.
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