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!!

 

128x128jeffseight

I had a great conversation with Matt, and Bob Scranton at the Cambridge Audio Systems room. They are a great bunch, with a practical philosophy about the quality of their equipment matching a truly cost effective level of value for accessibility in the marketplace...heavy on the value. Sure the number of distributorships decreased, to focus their market presence through around 50 high quality knowledgeable reps, to assure that the customers have only great (or at least good) buying experiences, eliminating (or at least minimizing) poor customer service experiences.

@backdoor 

Thanks. Both the Carver tube preamp from the nineties and the Sunfire tube preamp from the 2000's are hard to find collectors items. I think this may be Bob's last/best preamp so just want to get one while they are in production.

@kota1 Don’t blame you. I’m thinking of amp and preamp. You’re probably right. Bob could be about done. Hope not though. 

The Cambridge People impressed me as well. And it wasn't only because

of the free beer.

Bipod,

For $3.5k the Fritz Carrera 7 BE's will favor some ears over the MoFis

Dual concentric is usually unbeatable but Fritz uses the same 7" driver found

in several Wilson products. His SB Acoustics BE tweeter is not too harsh.

Series style XO eliminates parts in the way. Yes I own them.