Axpona 2023

@designsfx  I was a little unimpressed with the Aries Cerat room. Maybe it was the music at the time, but it sounded fairly pedestrian; especially in contrast with the gargantuan scale of the equipment. One of the guys in the room told me that they were limited by the fact that they couldn't put 15' of space between the speakers. Presumably, even more clearance would be needed from the side walls. He went on to tell me that it's always impossible to set up a great system with less than 15 feet between the speakers. So, I may as well give up on the hobby, eh?

I did have a lot of fun at the show and enjoyed some  great conversations with people I've met over the years. The big Borresens sounded absolutely stunning. I'm just glad that Lucifer himself wasn't there with a form I could sign to trade my soul for a $280k sack of cash. I enjoyed the wry humor of Lars, and he played some great tracks including a Beatles song.

~Oran

That’s unfortunate for everyone involved- you would think if that were the case they would have gone for a larger space (as you pointed out above). It’s hard to imagine 15’ between speakers being a requirement for optimal sound- 

I thought the Borreson X3 for 11,500 were the star of the show. An relatively affordable speaker that sounded as good as the 30k speakers. Should fit into many rooms. Good looking. 

I attended this show and also went last year. I been to many shows over the years including Rocky Mountain twice and several in Southern California. This year I decided to spend MUCH LESS time on the Ultra High-end exhibits and more time in other rooms since I was looking to buy speakers, a power amp and new streamer. My main focus was on speakers in the $4k-$7K range. I targeted rooms to listen to the new KLH Model 7’s, Wharfedale Dovedale, and Audiovector QR7. This was the first time the Wharfedale and KLH models were shown in the US. I thought the KLH speaker was very impressive for a $4K speaker. This is a sealed design meant to go against the wall. I was also very impressed with the Dovedale model. This is a higher end (Ported) speaker that retails for $7K. I did think the quality of the Wharfedale speaker was better than the KLH in both cabinet quality and overall. This speaker has a high quality 2 circuit board crossover and sounds very good.

I had high hopes for the QR7 but to be honest it was very disappointing to me. I don’t know if it was just the music he was playing or the Bel Canto electronics. I have seen where other people who listed to these speakers really like them so maybe it’s just me and not my cup of tea. I also listened to the Dutch and Dutch 8C speakers and was very impressed with their sound. The downside to these speakers are it down samples everything to 48K. These have an active built in amplifier, DAC and DSP. The other problem for me is all of the needed connections needed to the back of the speakers. I was blown away by the bass these speakers had.

I also had a very long talk with one of the tech support people from the Aurender room. I think I’m going to purchase an N200 in the next few weeks. Magnepan was a disappointment for me again and I was unable to get in their room because of the long wait list! The Pure Audio project speakers were also a joy to listen to. Did anyone have any listening comments on any of these items at AXPONA this year? I would love to hear other people’s comments. Also, I have an informational sheet I took a picture off on the KLH 7’s that hasn’t been released to the general public if anyone would like me to send it to you. Also heard from Aurender that they are seeking Roon certification. This has not been announced yet. They will still use the Conductor app but I have no further details except they claim this would be a software update only. Not sure if its only for specific models or not.

benzman, ref Borreson X3.

But it has 4 1/2" woofers? Is that correct?

ozzy