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With a two hour delay at the airport, and many friends having flight cancellations, I have plenty of time to write my report.
At the outset, Axpona 2019 was shaping up to be the largest audio show in America and it didn’t disappoint!
From the wonderful industry reception on the first night to Shelby Lynn’s incredible performance last evening, along with seemingly endless rooms of exhibitors, Axpona 2019 proved to be the biggest yet.
With 9 floors of small exhibit rooms and 1 floor of several large rooms, getting through the near 200 rooms was a real task.
It’s safe to say that not many rooms were having great sound on the first day, but by day two and three, things were in full swing.
I can honestly say there was not one single “best of”, there were several great stand out rooms.
In no particular order:
1. Magico M2’s with MSB Select II DAC and Transport, CH precision amplication. This room just got better and better as the show went on and fully showed the leading edge design of the Magico M series and the most non-digital sounding digital on the planet: MSB. What a wonderful pairing. One which we got to experience again with the MSB Select II and M3’s in another room. I would have preferred an amp with a little more liquidty to the sound. I find the CH still a touch dry, although always beautifully made and staffed by wonderful people.
2. MBL 101e mk2 with NOBLE electronics and Air Force turntable/Gryphon phonostage. Never one to take second fiddle to anyone, the MBL room once again was a standout performer. I have to say, I think this room evoked the most emotions from its listeners. Very engaging and just closing your eyes transforms you to the performance.
3. Gryphon Trident II/Mephisto Stereo and new Ethos CD player/DAC. The Gryphon room was set up with 30 minute demos. Rune Skov back from his short stint at Raidho was at the helm providing a wonderful description of the electronics and the music. Despite excessive noise from adjoining rooms, this room was most impressive. The Trident II’s are semi-active speakers and had the best lower midrange I heard at the show. Hands down, a glorious system.
4. VAC/Von Schwerikert speakers. Finally got to hear this room in all it’s glory during the VAC after hours party on Saturday night. With The Eagles Hotel California spinning on the Air Force One turntable, this room was producing concert level sound and had everyone tapping their toes.
5. Lumin/Vivid Giya G2. Mark Gurvey and the folks from Lumin did a wonderful job with this room. It was clearly the sleeper of the show. The new Lumin amps were doing the duties in bridged mode and had the speakers totally under control and displaying incredible musicality with no faults.
6. Magico M3’s/MSB. Vince from MSB had this tiny room dialed in beautifully. I know this combination very well and was delighted to hear it work so well here in Chicago. Vince played a wonderful selection of music. The Select II DAC and Select Transport were dialed in beautifully and providing music without any edge or fatigue.
7. Avantgarde Duo Mezzo XD. Although I’m a tube man at heart, the Esoteric Grandioso stack was providing the source and amplification duties in this room. Sounding good on the first day, by the third day, this room was sounding splendid, dynamic and live.
8. GT Audioworks planer magnetic speakers. Magnepan has stiff competition. This company based out of New Jersey (I believe) has taken planer magnetic technology to a whole new level. Wonderfully musical and transparent. A true show stopper.
9. Fonica Loudspeakers. Isodynamic loudspeaker technology from Italy. Offering both powered and passive versions at reasonable prices. This speaker had the bass, dynamics and drive with seemingly better dispersion than a Magnepan or typical electrostatic.
10.B&W 802D3’s. I went back to this room several times. On the first day, things were not as dialed in with the subs as you would expect, but by the second day, this room was completely dialed in and sounding awesome - DESPITE a bad room. To get an idea of the true tonality of the speaker, I stood off to the side where the recessed ceiling wasn’t affecting the sound. Quite a dramatic change.
Best new digital product (tie):
Aurender A30. Pictures and specs don’t do it justice. Listening is believing. It’s a winner.
New T+A HV transport and DAC. Taking their digital capabilities to a whole new level. Very smooth and liquid sound.
Best new amplifier:
On looks, the D’Agostino Relentless, but I’m afraid on all three days I didn’t hear great sound from this room. Music selection was likely the culprit. However, on sound alone, the new Lumin AMP. What a sleeper. Terrific musical sound. Liquid and smooth with perfect balance.
Best new Analog:
VPI HW40’s. Pictures don’t do it justice. If this turntable was made by anyone else, it would cost $80,000 or more. Sonically exceptional.
Best new speaker:
Magico M2. Consistently great and the lack of any flat lines (even a rounded top) really helped create the great disappearing act of this speaker. Bass was far better than I expected. It nips at the heels of the M3.
A few honorable mentions/pleasant surprises:
The Audio Net amps were quite good. A nice step away from the old sound.
The new Esoteric P1X/D1X. No AKM or traditional DAC chip in this baby. This produced a sound I had not yet heard from any Esoteric. Much smoother and more liquid. A nice evolution for sure.
The Magico M6’s really impressed me on the first day. It was fabulous. When I sat down and listened to three songs, it was outstanding. Perfect. I went back on Saturday and Sunday, but both times the music being played was for a reviewer in the sweet spot. Solo violin and piano just ain’t my thing. Hopefully next time this wonderful speaker will be shown in a proper showroom it’s worthy of.
Borresen 01/05 - there isn’t much more I can add to what has already been said by others. Seemingly more dynamic and punchy than Raidho’s and definitely playing loud with ease. Bass was excellent, tight and punchy. Like others, the tweeter was just a little hot for my tastes. But let’s chalk it up to the rooms. A little absorption would go a long way.
T+A’s line array/electrostatic tweeter combo speaker was really excellent. It was one speaker I would love to hear in a slightly bigger room.
Constellation with Martin Logan. Irv Gross had this room sounding excellent - even with just the little Constellation Inspiration Stereo 1.0 amp. I’ll keep saying it: sounds like tubes, doesn’t get hot, made in the USA. What’s not to like?
Goebel/CH room. I heard it sounding pretty good on Friday and Saturday. Didn’t get a chance to return on Sunday. It wasn’t the best room to show these big babies (lots of glass).
Vinburg (Tidal) speakers. This room should really be in my top 10. These speakers for $29K are THAT good. Gorgeous to look at and just as beautiful to listen to. Looking forward to hearing them again. RMAF, now Axpona showed their strong potential.
Last but not least, the PS Audio AN3 (??) speakers. These show a lot of promise and they are no where near finished. The fit and finish is very nice and I thanked Paul for letting us have a listen even though they weren’t anywhere near completion.
There are many, like the Jeff Joseph room and the Muraudio Room that were excellent as well.
At the outset, Axpona 2019 was shaping up to be the largest audio show in America and it didn’t disappoint!
From the wonderful industry reception on the first night to Shelby Lynn’s incredible performance last evening, along with seemingly endless rooms of exhibitors, Axpona 2019 proved to be the biggest yet.
With 9 floors of small exhibit rooms and 1 floor of several large rooms, getting through the near 200 rooms was a real task.
It’s safe to say that not many rooms were having great sound on the first day, but by day two and three, things were in full swing.
I can honestly say there was not one single “best of”, there were several great stand out rooms.
In no particular order:
1. Magico M2’s with MSB Select II DAC and Transport, CH precision amplication. This room just got better and better as the show went on and fully showed the leading edge design of the Magico M series and the most non-digital sounding digital on the planet: MSB. What a wonderful pairing. One which we got to experience again with the MSB Select II and M3’s in another room. I would have preferred an amp with a little more liquidty to the sound. I find the CH still a touch dry, although always beautifully made and staffed by wonderful people.
2. MBL 101e mk2 with NOBLE electronics and Air Force turntable/Gryphon phonostage. Never one to take second fiddle to anyone, the MBL room once again was a standout performer. I have to say, I think this room evoked the most emotions from its listeners. Very engaging and just closing your eyes transforms you to the performance.
3. Gryphon Trident II/Mephisto Stereo and new Ethos CD player/DAC. The Gryphon room was set up with 30 minute demos. Rune Skov back from his short stint at Raidho was at the helm providing a wonderful description of the electronics and the music. Despite excessive noise from adjoining rooms, this room was most impressive. The Trident II’s are semi-active speakers and had the best lower midrange I heard at the show. Hands down, a glorious system.
4. VAC/Von Schwerikert speakers. Finally got to hear this room in all it’s glory during the VAC after hours party on Saturday night. With The Eagles Hotel California spinning on the Air Force One turntable, this room was producing concert level sound and had everyone tapping their toes.
5. Lumin/Vivid Giya G2. Mark Gurvey and the folks from Lumin did a wonderful job with this room. It was clearly the sleeper of the show. The new Lumin amps were doing the duties in bridged mode and had the speakers totally under control and displaying incredible musicality with no faults.
6. Magico M3’s/MSB. Vince from MSB had this tiny room dialed in beautifully. I know this combination very well and was delighted to hear it work so well here in Chicago. Vince played a wonderful selection of music. The Select II DAC and Select Transport were dialed in beautifully and providing music without any edge or fatigue.
7. Avantgarde Duo Mezzo XD. Although I’m a tube man at heart, the Esoteric Grandioso stack was providing the source and amplification duties in this room. Sounding good on the first day, by the third day, this room was sounding splendid, dynamic and live.
8. GT Audioworks planer magnetic speakers. Magnepan has stiff competition. This company based out of New Jersey (I believe) has taken planer magnetic technology to a whole new level. Wonderfully musical and transparent. A true show stopper.
9. Fonica Loudspeakers. Isodynamic loudspeaker technology from Italy. Offering both powered and passive versions at reasonable prices. This speaker had the bass, dynamics and drive with seemingly better dispersion than a Magnepan or typical electrostatic.
10.B&W 802D3’s. I went back to this room several times. On the first day, things were not as dialed in with the subs as you would expect, but by the second day, this room was completely dialed in and sounding awesome - DESPITE a bad room. To get an idea of the true tonality of the speaker, I stood off to the side where the recessed ceiling wasn’t affecting the sound. Quite a dramatic change.
Best new digital product (tie):
Aurender A30. Pictures and specs don’t do it justice. Listening is believing. It’s a winner.
New T+A HV transport and DAC. Taking their digital capabilities to a whole new level. Very smooth and liquid sound.
Best new amplifier:
On looks, the D’Agostino Relentless, but I’m afraid on all three days I didn’t hear great sound from this room. Music selection was likely the culprit. However, on sound alone, the new Lumin AMP. What a sleeper. Terrific musical sound. Liquid and smooth with perfect balance.
Best new Analog:
VPI HW40’s. Pictures don’t do it justice. If this turntable was made by anyone else, it would cost $80,000 or more. Sonically exceptional.
Best new speaker:
Magico M2. Consistently great and the lack of any flat lines (even a rounded top) really helped create the great disappearing act of this speaker. Bass was far better than I expected. It nips at the heels of the M3.
A few honorable mentions/pleasant surprises:
The Audio Net amps were quite good. A nice step away from the old sound.
The new Esoteric P1X/D1X. No AKM or traditional DAC chip in this baby. This produced a sound I had not yet heard from any Esoteric. Much smoother and more liquid. A nice evolution for sure.
The Magico M6’s really impressed me on the first day. It was fabulous. When I sat down and listened to three songs, it was outstanding. Perfect. I went back on Saturday and Sunday, but both times the music being played was for a reviewer in the sweet spot. Solo violin and piano just ain’t my thing. Hopefully next time this wonderful speaker will be shown in a proper showroom it’s worthy of.
Borresen 01/05 - there isn’t much more I can add to what has already been said by others. Seemingly more dynamic and punchy than Raidho’s and definitely playing loud with ease. Bass was excellent, tight and punchy. Like others, the tweeter was just a little hot for my tastes. But let’s chalk it up to the rooms. A little absorption would go a long way.
T+A’s line array/electrostatic tweeter combo speaker was really excellent. It was one speaker I would love to hear in a slightly bigger room.
Constellation with Martin Logan. Irv Gross had this room sounding excellent - even with just the little Constellation Inspiration Stereo 1.0 amp. I’ll keep saying it: sounds like tubes, doesn’t get hot, made in the USA. What’s not to like?
Goebel/CH room. I heard it sounding pretty good on Friday and Saturday. Didn’t get a chance to return on Sunday. It wasn’t the best room to show these big babies (lots of glass).
Vinburg (Tidal) speakers. This room should really be in my top 10. These speakers for $29K are THAT good. Gorgeous to look at and just as beautiful to listen to. Looking forward to hearing them again. RMAF, now Axpona showed their strong potential.
Last but not least, the PS Audio AN3 (??) speakers. These show a lot of promise and they are no where near finished. The fit and finish is very nice and I thanked Paul for letting us have a listen even though they weren’t anywhere near completion.
There are many, like the Jeff Joseph room and the Muraudio Room that were excellent as well.