Axpona 2016 Official Pictures Thread

[Mike]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160414/be9ddc5fc9e1035383b745392dde66a6.jpg


DAY ONE OFFICIAL SLIDE SHOW. ENJOY.

http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/mb...0-%20Day%20One (http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/mbovaird1/slideshow/Axpona%202016%20-%20Day%20One)


Day Two Official Photo Link ...

http://imgur.com/a/1Hu4H


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[the professor]

Thanks in advance Mike!!!!!

[KeithR]

woot woot! enjoy the show guys - i'm bummed i couldn't make it happen this year. hope to see some of you in Newport in June as well.

[Mike]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160414/0dfdde79363bd7d44b9df127017627c3.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160414/d5aa7d50db90f35563ae946fed7fdb69.jpg


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[tunes]

Let the photos begin :)
Hoping you earlybirds already at axpona will leave some of the vinyl in the marketplace for us arriving late to the party! I'll be there Sat.


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[Mike]

Let the photos begin :)
Hoping you earlybirds already at axpona will leave some of the vinyl in the marketplace for us arriving late to the party! I'll be there Sat.


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Sorry, it's all gone. I bought it all! [emoji1]

[tunes]

That's what we were afraid of!


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[Mike]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160415/c5f301a2e427a7ce29518ce4f39860ea.jpg

This is an Ampex ATR tape recorder. For many years recording studios used them to create master tapes. Now Chad at Acoustic Sounds is offering the serious audiophile that chance to own 30 ips tape transfers of outstanding fidelity. Combined with the Jeff Rowland electronics and Cardas Clear cables will show just how far sound reproduction can go. Not for the faint of heart! Room 532 at Axpona


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[Tom Z]

@Mike, that is seriously nice kit. I can't imagine it gets any better than this, except live music of course :audiophile:

[Mike]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160415/9f3886d98a8f3e0add1aa9dcdab2e02a.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160415/539d83132712c645fdef617fedb5512a.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160415/5988a8d432b97e921e5ef6c61fff19a0.jpg


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[MDP]

Thanks Mike!

[bthomas9]

I should take a picture of all the full parking lots I've tried to park in...


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[Tom Z]

Magico LLC debuting the S5 Mk2's with the awesomse CAT mono blocks which rocked the S1 Mk2's at CES. This year they're using a mix of reel to reel tape, vinyl and digital for audiophiles to chew on :satisfying:

http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15720&stc=1

[mauidan]

http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15722&stc=1

[Mike]

Magico LLC debuting the S5 Mk2's with the awesomse CAT mono blocks which rocked the S1 Mk2's at CES. This year they're using a mix of reel to reel tape, vinyl and digital for audiophiles to chew on :satisfying:

http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15720&stc=1

Awesome sounding room. Everything was world class. Kronos Pro, Sony Pro R2R, Berkeley REF DAC, incredible CAT KT150 amps and of course the S5 mk2 which are sounding leaps and bounds better than their predecessor - which was no slouch. Quite an evolution. Wow.

[Mike]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160415/d89224c8a0af7cfc369914cdbc0e9caf.jpg

Chad giving his exciting news on R2R tapes coming to Acoustic Sounds.

What a labor intensive process - but Chad said, "we're going to do it, and we're going to do it well."


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[tunes]

This is gonna be great. Any info on titles and prices?


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[nc42acc]

Guys Mike wasn't at Axpona today, I looked for him everywhere. :hey:

[Mike]

Guys Mike wasn't at Axpona today, I looked for him everywhere. :hey:

Oh man...I was flying around. We are in the D'ag room now for a private demo. Come on down to the D'ag room in the basement. Knock on the door.

[Ritmo]

Looking forward to joining you tomorrow. At the airport on my way to Chicago. :celebrate008_2:

[bthomas9]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160415/214e0e03443eae03790c6591773ba78c.jpg

Dag demo for Sharks


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[ashandger]

Awesome sounding room. Everything was world class. Kronos Pro, Sony Pro R2R, Berkeley REF DAC, incredible CAT KT150 amps and of course the S5 mk2 which are sounding leaps and bounds better than their predecessor - which was no slouch. Quite an evolution. Wow.

Hello Mike, are you planning to post videos like those from CES...they were great? Thanks for the updates.

[Mike]

Hello Mike, are you planning to post videos like those from CES...they were great? Thanks for the updates.

Thank you. I can, but I wanted to get through the photos first. I'll try to find time tomorrow afternoon to take videos of the good stuff.

[tunes]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160415/c5f301a2e427a7ce29518ce4f39860ea.jpg

This is an Ampex ATR tape recorder. For many years recording studios used them to create master tapes. Now Chad at Acoustic Sounds is offering the serious audiophile that chance to own 30 ips tape transfers of outstanding fidelity. Combined with the Jeff Rowland electronics and Cardas Clear cables will show just how far sound reproduction can go. Not for the faint of heart! Room 532 at Axpona


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Did i catch this right, 30ips? Not 15ips like the majority of other tape suppliers?


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[Mike]

Did i catch this right, 30ips? Not 15ips like the majority of other tape suppliers?


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No, it will be 15ips. 1/2 inch or 1/4.

[Mike]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160416/36d46d1aa5c62ce68c677abb5fa88bed.jpg




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[ashandger]

Thank you. I can, but I wanted to get through the photos first. I'll try to find time tomorrow afternoon to take videos of the good stuff.

Super, much appreciated. As a CAT amp owner I am particularly interested in the S5/CAT room and also the Wilson Alexx room. Really looking forward to your reports.

[Mike]

Super, much appreciated. As a CAT amp owner I am particularly interested in the S5/CAT room and also the Wilson Alexx room. Really looking forward to your reports.

S5 mk2/CAT was awesome.

[joeinid]

Great group photo Mike!

[PureVinyl]

Super, much appreciated. As a CAT amp owner I am particularly interested in the S5/CAT room and also the Wilson Alexx room. Really looking forward to your reports.


Magico/CAT sounded amazing.


CAT also has the "New" debut of the JL7 mono's (JL5 size) shown with Marten speakers in lower level. Great Sound!

very nice show indeed:congrats:

[FlexibleAudio]

My feet are tired. Eww...they stink too. YG /MSB room was my fav so far. It made me cry.

[FlexibleAudio]

Awesome sounding room. Everything was world class. Kronos Pro, Sony Pro R2R, Berkeley REF DAC, incredible CAT KT150 amps and of course the S5 mk2 which are sounding leaps and bounds better than their predecessor - which was no slouch. Quite an evolution. Wow.

I arrived at this room and was excited to see the sweet spot open so I grabbed it right away; however, I found things strikingly subdued (I got there and 6:10 pm and they were done for the day so refused to play any music). :( They sure were purdy though. Gotta go back I guess.

[Odyssey]

My feet are tired. Eww...they stink too. YG /MSB room was my fav so far. It made me cry.

The piano music I heard in this room was among the most realistic I have ever heard rendered in any system anywhere!

[Mike]

Paul, are you going to track us down?

[Mike]

DAY ONE OFFICIAL SLIDE SHOW. ENJOY.

http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/mbovaird1/slideshow/Axpona%202016%20-%20Day%20One

[FlexibleAudio]

The piano music I heard in this room was among the most realistic I have ever heard rendered in any system anywhere!


That's the track that brought my tears. Stunning. So was Three Blind Mice, if you caught it. OMG.

[audionirvana]

http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15723&stc=1http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15724&stc=1http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15725&stc=1http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15726&stc=1http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15727&stc=1http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15728&stc=1

[FlexibleAudio]

Paul, are you going to track us down?


I am home in bed now. You guys have fun.

[Mike]

DAY ONE OFFICIAL SLIDE SHOW. ENJOY.

http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/mbovaird1/slideshow/Axpona%202016%20-%20Day%20One

331 pictures. Enjoy.

[Paul]

Great. Thank you Mike. Enjoy the rest of the show !


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[Tom Z]

DAY ONE OFFICIAL SLIDE SHOW. ENJOY.

http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/mbovaird1/slideshow/Axpona%202016%20-%20Day%20One

331 pictures. Enjoy.My favorite rooms from Day One are Rowland & Magico :audiophile:.

[tunes]

Thanks for the pics Mike!


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[MDP]

Good stuff Mike!

But where's the Avenger porn?

[Ritmo]

Thx for the pictures Mike!

I arrived in Chicago last night. Will be at AXPONA this morning. Looking forward to catching up with the AS crew and listening to some great gear today and tomorrow.

[Mike]

Good stuff Mike!

But where's the Avenger porn?

It's on the slide show I posted. Did you watch it? New $40k Avenger Direct Drive was shown. Awesome stuff as you would expect.

[Mike]

Thx for the pictures Mike!

I arrived in Chicago last night. Will be at AXPONA this morning. Looking forward to catching up with the AS crew and listening to some great gear today and tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing you.

[Mike]

We had a private demo of the Stromtank last night. It's clear that there was a difference and improvement going from grid/battery combo to pure battery (they couldn't do pure grid vs pure battery without unplugging everything).

But my question is, if you've spent the time and money and done the proper things in your home - like dedicated 20amp circuits, dedicated panel box, proper grounding, etc., would the improvement be as dramatic. Hotel power vs battery - hell yeah. But proper home power vs battery? How much improvement? I would be curious to try. It certainly was noticeable to all of us in the room last night.

$30k for the Stromtank. Runs for 6-8 hours. 8 plugs on the back. Batteries last 20 years.

Impressed.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160416/a034cfbb1a466a2e382df875b7d4fe60.jpg
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[CPP]

Thank you Mike for the pictures

[Mike]

Did the slideshow work ok for everyone?

[Tom Z]

Did the slideshow work ok for everyone?I had a slight issue on Firefox with the slideshow freezing part way through, but no issues with Explorer.

[CPP]

I had a slight issue on Firefox with the slideshow freezing part way through, but no issues with Explorer.

Hey Tom, no issues with Firefox here played nice all the way to the end.

[Tom Z]

Hey Tom, no issues with Firefox here played nice all the way to the end.Let's call it an anomoly.

[still-one]

Did the slideshow work ok for everyone?

Mike
I had it hang up on both my iPad and with Safari at slide 48. I am going to try it again with Firefox.

[still-one]

Mike
I had it hang up on both my iPad and with Safari at slide 48. I am going to try it again with Firefox.

I had no problems getting through all the photos with Firefox. Thanks for the effort. There are a lot of products I would like to own just for the industrial design.

[Rscotth]

Did the slideshow work ok for everyone?

Yes. Thanks very much. I would love to hear your impressions of the ARC/Sonus faber Cremonese!

[Mike]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160416/05b67e1842faffaeea18077b08d337fb.jpg

There are speakers and then there are MBL 101 Xtremes. On a completely different planet. Unreal. So real!


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[bthomas9]

Of the 12th floor suites the Pass XS with the Sopra 2 was better than both Sonus Faber rooms...IMO. Maybe they will tweak setup for Saturday. Spent about 45 minutes rotating between the 3 rooms.


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[Mike]

Of the 12th floor suites the Pass XS with the Sopra 2 was better than both Sonus Faber rooms...IMO. Maybe they will tweak setup for Saturday. Spent about 45 minutes rotating between the 3 rooms.


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Agreed. For those at Axpona, try to hear the Sopra 2's with the little MicroMega 1. WOW! 3rd floor I think.

[bthomas9]

I did hear the micromega. While not in the same ballpark of sound, it was still very enjoyable. I would have like to heard different cabling on that system tho. I think that speaks to the Sopra's ability to scale tho as the front end scales. That being said, the Pass room was not 40x more enjoyable ;)


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[mauidan]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160415/214e0e03443eae03790c6591773ba78c.jpg

Dag demo for Sharks


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How was it?

[Mike]

How was it?

Interesting. I posted my comments on another thread.

[still-one]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160416/05b67e1842faffaeea18077b08d337fb.jpg

There are speakers and then there are MBL 101 Xtremes. On a completely different planet. Unreal. So real!


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I agree with you Mike, I have heard nothing else like the Xtreme's. It was my audio epiphany where the room was energized with music. Those four large columns just disappeared.

[jdandy]

DAY ONE OFFICIAL SLIDE SHOW. ENJOY.

http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/mbovaird1/slideshow/Axpona%202016%20-%20Day%20One

Mike.......Tremendous effort and much appreciated. The Mark Levinson photos and gear captured my imagination. Such clean looking gear that still holds to its roots.

[audionirvana]

Dan: I thought the same thing Joseph Audio had some of Levinson gear running a pair of C1's in their main room this year... They had the 585 Int. Amor and No #52 Pre/Amp with mono blocks very nice looking setup and of course great sound. http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15738&stc=1

[Mike]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160417/6436c31d6d7cf327d4795f18d824171a.jpg


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[Mike]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160417/4d21b597a677d53507d274d347f2bc47.jpg


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[joeinid]

Awesome group photo guys. Hope everyone is having fun. Thank you for all the great coverage.

[Mike]

DAY TWO PICTURES:

http://imgur.com/a/1Hu4H

[Tom Z]

DAY TWO PICTURES:

http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/mbovaird1/slideshow/Axpona%202016%20-%20Day%20TwoGreat photos, thanks Mike. Back in Magico's room I see? ;). Think they need to turn down the lights in their room a bit. No fault of the photographer, but it looks impossible to take a photo in there which isn't washed out :weird:.

[MikeCh]

Thanks for the photos Mike! Glad you guys are enjoying the show.

[MikeCh]

Mike, did Vitus make it to the show at all?

[metaphacts]

DAY TWO PICTURES:

http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/mbovaird1/slideshow/Axpona%202016%20-%20Day%20Two

Were you able to see and speak with Dave? He decided to come to Axpona at the last minute. :cool:

[Mike]

Were you able to see and speak with Dave? He decided to come to Axpona at the last minute. :cool:

Dave Wilson? I saw him several times walking around, but never spoke with him.

[Mike]

Mike, did Vitus make it to the show at all?

Not at all.

[Mike]

Not all the photos from day 2 have uploaded. I have approximately 200 more I'm attempting to upload.


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[Mike]

DAY TWO PHOTOS (FULL):

http://imgur.com/a/1Hu4H

(CLICK ON LINK and SCROLL DOWN)

[BayStBroker]

The Magicos sounded terrific, but their room was too small.

[still-one]

We had a private demo of the Stromtank last night. It's clear that there was a difference and improvement going from grid/battery combo to pure battery (they couldn't do pure grid vs pure battery without unplugging everything).

But my question is, if you've spent the time and money and done the proper things in your home - like dedicated 20amp circuits, dedicated panel box, proper grounding, etc., would the improvement be as dramatic. Hotel power vs battery - hell yeah. But proper home power vs battery? How much improvement? I would be curious to try. It certainly was noticeable to all of us in the room last night.

$30k for the Stromtank. Runs for 6-8 hours. 8 plugs on the back. Batteries last 20 years.

Impressed.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160416/a034cfbb1a466a2e382df875b7d4fe60.jpg
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The Stromtank was one of the more interesting products I saw at last years RMAF. The man behind the product is Wolfang Meletzky the "M" in MBL. If my dealer gets on in I might try and demo it in my system.

[Mike]

Jim - it definitely makes an audible difference when comparing some hotel power + battery power vs straight battery power.


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[Ritmo]

Awesome group photo guys. Hope everyone is having fun. Thank you for all the great coverage.

Always a great time to get together with other audio buddies to enjoy good food and some vino!

[Mike]

Necessary every morning, but especially this morning!


http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160417/f9174d839d672b8ea7c2bfc8b27d5a4a.jpg


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[Ritmo]

Were you able to see and speak with Dave? He decided to come to Axpona at the last minute. :cool:

Saw him several times. He spoke in a panel with Dan D'Agsotino, Frank Van Alstyne and Kevin Hayes.

Also, I ran into him as I walked into the Magico S5MK2 room. Both Dave and Peter M. visited the room to listen to the new S5s. It was a very cordial visit in which several jazz and classical music pieces were played from tape through CAT pre and power amplification - very impressive. Dave was very complementary. Pictures were taken. And, I could tell Alon was quite humbled by the visit.

[tunes]

Saw him several times. He spoke in a panel with Dan D'Agsotino, Frank Van Alstyne and Kevin Hayes.

Also, I ran into him as I walked into the Magico S5MK2 room. Both Dave and Peter M. visited the room to listen to the new S5s. It was a very cordial visit in which several jazz and classical music pieces were played from tape through CAT pre and power amplification - very impressive. Dave was very complementary. Pictures were taken. And, I could tell Alon was quite humbled by the visit.

Bill,
Dave introduced the speaker for a listening session for Valin.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160417/4a5f3a0fba91cb4f90c94f239c5d9038.jpg


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[Audio 1]

Love the format of the day 2 photos.
Thank you very much Mike for bringing the show to all of us not attending.

[Dizzie]

Love the format of the day 2 photos.
Thank you very much Mike for bringing the show to all of us not attending.

Me too = +1

Thanks for all of your hard work Mike. I much prefer the format for the Day 2 photos. They display much larger and I am in the driver's seat for quickly varying speed, stopping, and starting. No self-driving car for me.

[audionirvana]

Mike, I love coffee but lets see some more pictures of equipment! ;) I only had a day at Axpona this year, I saw a ton of great new gear, take a listen to the Dynaudio Xeo 2 at Joseph Audio room 4th floor if they have them hooked up yet.. Those little powered speakers are loaded with great sound and blew my socks off sonically so much when I heard them at a friends house I picked up a pair at Axpona via Next Level Audio...http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15750&stc=1

[a.wayne]

Saw him several times. He spoke in a panel with Dan D'Agsotino, Frank Van Alstyne and Kevin Hayes.

Also, I ran into him as I walked into the Magico S5MK2 room. Both Dave and Peter M. visited the room to listen to the new S5s. It was a very cordial visit in which several jazz and classical music pieces were played from tape through CAT pre and power amplification - very impressive. Dave was very complementary. Pictures were taken. And, I could tell Alon was quite humbled by the visit.


Hi Mike,

Peter M ? could you elaborate more I'm not familiar ..

[audionirvana]

Here are a few more pictures from Friday:

http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15751&stc=1http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15752&stc=1http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15753&stc=1http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15754&stc=1http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15755&stc=1http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15756&stc=1http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15757&stc=1

[Mike]

Mike, I love coffee but lets see some more pictures of equipment! ;) I only had a day at Axpona this year, I saw a ton of great new gear, take a listen to the Dynaudio Xeo 2 at Joseph Audio room 4th floor if they have them hooked up yet.. Those little powered speakers are loaded with great sound and blew my socks off sonically so much when I heard them at a friends house I picked up a pair at Axpona via Next Level Audio...http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15750&stc=1

More? There's almost 600 pictures! Check out the two slide shows if you haven't already. I heard it all.

[still-one]

Hi Mike,

Peter M ? could you elaborate more I'm not familiar ..

When you mention Peter M. when discussing Wilson Audio that would be Peter McGrath. For many years he has been travelled the country demoing Wilson speakers. He is also a very capable recording engineer and often uses his some of his recordings in these demos.

[a.wayne]

I must have missed the WA link , yes and thanks , i know Peter very well , gave me my first tape introduction way back in his sound components days ...


Regards

[Rod#S]

Any pics of the back of the Stromtank?

[Mike]

Any pics of the back of the Stromtank?

It has 4 duplex's if I remember correctly.

No pics. I tried. Couldn't get a good shot.

[Odyssey]

Any pics of the back of the Stromtank?

http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15758&stc=1

[Rod#S]

It has 4 duplex's if I remember correctly.

No pics. I tried. Couldn't get a good shot.

Thanks, I was beginning to wonder if there was an embargo on the back :)

[Rod#S]

http://www.audioshark.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=15758&stc=1


Wow, just 4 outlets, DAMN! For the price and size of this thing I would expect nothing less than 12 but was thinking there might be like 20+.

[La Dolce Vita]

They said you can use it with an appropriate power conditioner or power strip.


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[Rod#S]

Ah so it's more of a system augmentation piece in that regard, use existing power conditioners, etc. to continue to plug your gear into but plug the power units into this to provide batter backup when needed.

[FlexibleAudio]

I want to get this out early so people don't think I am copying off the kid in front of me. After a long second day today, here is where I come out. Please remember I have a hearing impairment.

Top Five
1 YG and MSB
2 Wilson Alexx and Doshi with tape and vinyl3 Raidho D1.1 and Aavik
3 Avantegarde Uno XD and Av Amp
4 Wilson and Dag
5 Martin Logan and McIntosh (seriously)

Runner-ups in no particular order:
- The 12th Floor (et al) - ARC, Sonus Farber, etc., etc.
- VAC and Von Schweikert
- Vapor and Lampi - spent time with Myles pickin the tunes and finally really dug the DSD. PCM even with new r2r not so much.

No shows (for me):
Magico S5mkii - I just can't love the tweeter (even with CAT's and Tape :() everything else is peachy.
MBL - I was to scared to listen....too loud and just too much.


:hide:

[slowgeezr]

Thanks for all the pictures Mike!

[nc42acc]

1. MBL

2. Avantgarde Uno XD/Not sure of electronics.
3. ARC/Sonus Faber
4. Gamut

[nile49]

My girlfriend and I did the last two days at Axpona and while neither of us heard anything we thought was downright stunning here are some comments that may be of interest...

The MBL's were certainly an experience. I couldn't help but imagine the grid shutting down or the walls bursting while we were in there. We enjoyed them.

The Wilson - Dag room was pretty good. Despite being (relatively) reasonably priced the the classic stereo amp is out. It's enormous, there is no way I'm housing that thing in my current digs.

Volti Vittora room - possibly my favorite of the show. Huge, effortless, natural. In a very large room.

Focal-Pass room:
Girlfriend - Best combo of looks and sound
Me - agreed

Raidho D1.1 - I thought this was one of the best rooms while my girlfriend couldn't stand it, telling me there was some sort of annoying high frequency ringing on transients and explained that her and Dexter (my dog) wouldn't be able to live with them. Interesting.

Magico S5mkII: On occasion a little bright/not quite harsh sounding but not absolutely smooth either, otherwise very good. Could have been the source. Wanted to come back to hear something besides esoteric tape recordings but never did unfortunately.

YG - Kubala Sosna: Didn't spend a whole lot of time here but I thought it sounded really good and we both agreed we liked it more than the somewhat hard sounding YG-MSB room.

ATC SCM40 - really good sound. Open, coherent, great staging, ugly. Wish they had something a little bigger and better looking that isn't their massive flagship.

Magico S3 - Devialet: Holographic and detailed. Bass was weird and kind of amorphous though. Still feel they have a little trouble getting out of their own way by not sounding completely effortless. I want to hear these on stout conventional SS.

KEF LS-50: the limited edition colors are cool and they sound quite impressive. My girlfriend wants the red ones.

There were some cool looking Isoacoustics footers in the Focal/Micromega room that I will be investigating. I thought they were stillpoints at first.

That's off the top of my head. It was a pretty casual visit for us. We skipped a lot of rooms and didn't listen to anything real seriously.




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[the professor]

Love your thoughts. Especially with the comments from your girlfriend. Well done. I wasn't there so no clue if I agree or disagree but awesome!


My girlfriend and I did the last two days at Axpona and while neither of us heard anything we thought was downright stunning here are some comments that may be of interest...

The MBL's were certainly an experience. I couldn't help but imagine the grid shutting down or the walls bursting while we were in there. We enjoyed them.

The Wilson - Dag room was pretty good. Despite being (relatively) reasonably priced the the classic stereo amp is out. It's enormous, there is no way I'm housing that thing in my current digs.

Volti Vittora room - possibly my favorite of the show. Huge, effortless, natural. In a very large room.

Focal-Pass room:
Girlfriend - Best combo of looks and sound
Me - agreed

Raidho D1.1 - I thought this was one of the best rooms while my girlfriend couldn't stand it, telling me there was some sort of annoying high frequency ringing on transients and explained that her and Dexter (my dog) wouldn't be able to live with them. Interesting.

Magico S5mkII: On occasion a little bright/not quite harsh sounding but not absolutely smooth either, otherwise very good. Could have been the source. Wanted to come back to hear something besides esoteric tape recordings but never did unfortunately.

YG - Kubala Sosna: Didn't spend a whole lot of time here but I thought it sounded really good and we both agreed we liked it more than the somewhat hard sounding YG-MSB room.

ATC SCM40 - really good sound. Open, coherent, great staging, ugly. Wish they had something a little bigger and better looking that isn't their massive flagship.

Magico S3 - Devialet: Holographic and detailed. Bass was weird and kind of amorphous though. Still feel they have a little trouble getting out of their own way by not sounding completely effortless. I want to hear these on stout conventional SS.

KEF LS-50: the limited edition colors are cool and they sound quite impressive. My girlfriend wants the red ones.

There were some cool looking Isoacoustics footers in the Focal/Micromega room that I will be investigating. I thought they were stillpoints at first.

That's off the top of my head. It was a pretty casual visit for us. We skipped a lot of rooms and didn't listen to anything real seriously.




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[Ritmo]

When you mention Peter M. when discussing Wilson Audio that would be Peter McGrath. For many years he has been travelled the country demoing Wilson speakers. He is also a very capable recording engineer and often uses his some of his recordings in these demos.

Jim is correct. Thx!

[FlexibleAudio]

My girlfriend and I did the last two days at Axpona and while neither of us heard anything we thought was downright stunning here are some comments that may be of interest...

The MBL's were certainly an experience. I couldn't help but imagine the grid shutting down or the walls bursting while we were in there. We enjoyed them.

The Wilson - Dag room was pretty good. Despite being (relatively) reasonably priced the the classic stereo amp is out. It's enormous, there is no way I'm housing that thing in my current digs.

Volti Vittora room - possibly my favorite of the show. Huge, effortless, natural. In a very large room.

Focal-Pass room:
Girlfriend - Best combo of looks and sound
Me - agreed

Raidho D1.1 - I thought this was one of the best rooms while my girlfriend couldn't stand it, telling me there was some sort of annoying high frequency ringing on transients and explained that her and Dexter (my dog) wouldn't be able to live with them. Interesting.

Magico S5mkII: On occasion a little bright/not quite harsh sounding but not absolutely smooth either, otherwise very good. Could have been the source. Wanted to come back to hear something besides esoteric tape recordings but never did unfortunately.

YG - Kubala Sosna: Didn't spend a whole lot of time here but I thought it sounded really good and we both agreed we liked it more than the somewhat hard sounding YG-MSB room.

ATC SCM40 - really good sound. Open, coherent, great staging, ugly. Wish they had something a little bigger and better looking that isn't their massive flagship.

Magico S3 - Devialet: Holographic and detailed. Bass was weird and kind of amorphous though. Still feel they have a little trouble getting out of their own way by not sounding completely effortless. I want to hear these on stout conventional SS.

KEF LS-50: the limited edition colors are cool and they sound quite impressive. My girlfriend wants the red ones.

There were some cool looking Isoacoustics footers in the Focal/Micromega room that I will be investigating. I thought they were stillpoints at first.

That's off the top of my head. It was a pretty casual visit for us. We skipped a lot of rooms and didn't listen to anything real seriously.




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Good stuff Nile. I agree on much but some not so much. It is so interesting to me how much either ears (brains) vary or maybe its the track. I adored the YG's with MSB and the D1.1's.

[nile49]

Thanks guys!

Personally,I would chalk up the differences to show variabilities. (Seat, track, volume, source, ambient noise, etc.)
I tend to find that two people sitting next to each other usually interpret aspects of of the sound similarly but maybe differ on the overall gestalt.

The MSB certainly wasn't bad and I only heard one track, and the Raidhos I really liked and didn't hear anything untoward from. i'm guessing my hearing doesn't extend to the problem range if there was one.

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[Mike]

Thanks guys!

Personally,I would chalk up the differences to show


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Agreed.

I'll post my thoughts later. Lots of great stuff.

[nile49]

I elaborate a little bit more above, I had a misfire before editing. [emoji16]


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[nile49]

Also, I was looking out for you Mike but didn't spot you. It would have been nice to be able to point to somebody and say, "honey, it's all that guys fault". [emoji6]


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[Mike]

Also, I was looking out for you Mike but didn't spot you. It would have been nice to be able to point to somebody and say, "honey, it's all that guys fault". [emoji6]


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LOL! I was buzzing around like crazy. I would have loved to have met you. I met so many of our members for the first time. All super nice guys.

Are you going to RMAF? IMHO - it's THE best show.

[ACHiPo]

Love the format of the day 2 photos.
Thank you very much Mike for bringing the show to all of us not attending.
+1! Great to see and read about it!

[audionirvana]

Mike, I was being sarcastic! :yahoo1: Thank you for the pics! Too bad Sat/Sun turned out to be a bust for more traffic! That's what good weather will do to a show!

[FlexibleAudio]

Mike you did a great job with pics as usual. I didn't even bring my camera this year cuz I new I could count on you. God gave you both better ears and eyes than me. :)

Thanks for the memories.

[nile49]

LOL! I was buzzing around like crazy. I would have loved to have met you. I met so many of our members for the first time. All super nice guys.

Are you going to RMAF? IMHO - it's THE best show.

Ditto Mike! Next time. There is a chance I'll make RMAF but it's slim. I'll look you up if I do.