Review of the Chicago Hi-fi Show Axpona 2019
CHICAGO (PTA) — Despite the sometimes overwhelming size that shows like AXPONA 2019 portray, for me this exhibition withal represents the largest collection of small businesses I accept e'er seen under one roof. Most of the exhibitors are indeed "mom-and-pop shops". Almost of these audio companies have only five to seven primal employees, and often with a single figurehead wearing v of the most crucial hats within that company. Those being: the coin, the designer, the face, the communicator, and the boss. Exist these high-cease wares and what they are, this is still a modest-family-business expo. I say all of this, as a reminder. For as the shows abound bigger these facts will always remain nigh our industry, its people, and its cardinal players. Act accordingly.
The All-time of The Show
For one human to capture the entirety of a bear witness the size of AXPONA 2019 is impossible. Even with a staff of v on hand this year, developing a consensus among the writers proves a challenge. That said, I bring to you one man's perspective. Of the xl exhibit rooms and booths I covered, these were the standouts. Enjoy!
Nearly Intriguing Production: Vinnie Rossi Stiletto Loudspeaker
Vinnie Rossi debuts his new Stiletto xv open up-baffle speaker that does so well to find the absolute truth in the music, that each recording we demonstrated with carried forth with it the recording engineer's unique personality. Vinnie's new Stiletto 15 loudspeaker gets out of the style, imparting nothing of itself in coloration. Information technology delivers stunning levels of detail from top to bottom. For a first foray into loudspeakers, Vinnie certainly has come in like a seasoned professional. Triode Wire Labs and Stillpoints comport the extra level of refinement.
While in the room's middle seat, I did experiment with changing seat positions to help replicate near-field and mid-field listening. In both instances, I enjoyed what I heard and felt that bass loading was quite linear even with changing my fore and aft positions. Everything I've come to dear well-nigh open up-bamboozle designs was nowadays in the new Stiletto — and this isn't even the complete production ready parcel. More than piece of work is scheduled to refine the new speaker both sonically and aesthetically, which bodes well for anyone who was impressed like I was at the show.
Best Value Room: KLH, Rogers High Fidelity
Of the new KLH'south twelve in-room loudspeaker models in the product line-up, two were on agile display at AXPONA. The new Kendall, a three-mode tower loudspeaker — and the new Albany, a two-way monitor loudspeaker. As a nod to the KLH brand's history, each is named after a street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the birthplace of KLH. Each was finished in a real-wood veneer as standard. Kevlar mid-bass and mid-range drivers grow, with anodized aluminum tweeters rounding out the tiptop-end. Unheard of is a ten-year warranty on all of their passive loudspeakers. That is an insane amount of security for such a painless investment.
The Kendall tower loudspeaker garnered the most of my attending every bit it was able to flex all of it'south best attributes with such capable amplification. Bass was deep, solid, tight, and not overblown. Mid-range had a blossom and tone that definitely exceeded the thirteen-hundred dollar asking price. Meridian-end was a picayune hot, just that'due south to be expected every bit the loudspeaker line-up is non just geared for ii-channel listening, but home theater likewise. I could even see myself enacting the often forbidden use of tone controls to tame the meridian-end during more critical listening.
Best Debut Product: Magnepan LRS
On the surface, it might seem that the Magnepan LRS (Little Ribbon Speaker) is a direct replacement for the MMG. In one small sense, information technology is. In many larger senses, it is non. Where the MMG was a sample taken from the bottom of what Magneplanars tin can do. The new LRS is a sample taken from the top of what Magneplanars tin can exercise. What Magnepan has done with the new LRS is requite anyone — anywhere — a chance to feel the true high-end sound of Magneplanar speakers, in-dwelling house on their own equipment.
The new Magnepan LRS sounds more like what you would expect to hear from a Magnepan model iii.7i or xx.7, or fifty-fifty 30.7 loudspeakers. The LRS did everything your audiophile mind can dream of: ability, speed, transients, tones, immediacy, decay, detail, imaging, neutrality, refinement, dynamics. The merely thing the new LRS didn't do was tuck me in and kiss me goodnight. Everything I heard in the LRS was a more complete and telling appetizer of what the summit-of-the-line Magnepan models have to offering.
Best Small Speaker System: Dynaudio Conviction 20 (The Audio Surgeon)
Many things came to realization about Dr. Collen's room at the show. For one, the system seemed to use the curt wall better than anyone else at the show. Once more, this comes from system setup experience, of which Andy has enough of. But secondly, it has to exercise with the Dynaudio Conviction twenty, which was the star (slice of equipment) of my time spent in the Sound Surgeon room.
Forth with the fact that Andy and I are both insane. Or maybe better notwithstanding, we speak the common language of the asylum. We both found the Dynaudio Confidence 20 to be that outstanding value, that even at the prove produces the musical colloquial within the aforementioned telescopic and admitting "conviction" of many full-range speakers at the bear witness, well into the $40K-60K price range. Only to those involuntarily committed to this hobby, would nosotros brainstorm to explore a near $13K reference level stand-mount monitor as a supreme deal. Merely to us, that is exactly what the Dynaudio Confidence 20 is.
All-time Large Speaker System: T+A Electroakustik, Lonely Star Audio
The T+A Elektroakustik Solitaire CWT 100 40th Anniversary Editions, a line-array design loudspeaker with a design technology that T+A calls "cylinder wave transducer", all underpinned with four 8-inch woofers on each cabinet. Four woofers are easier to count than all of the drivers on the forepart bamboozle of the speaker, just know they are many. Including the electrostatic tweeter.
The whole T+A Elektroakustik system, when coming together is magically very analog. Giving myself over to the system, I was seduced by the Solitaire loudspeaker'due south gut rattling bass. Soundstage tall as it is wide. Drum speed and attack of snares are superior. Human phonation would exist characterized as slightly lean, with ribs showing. Detail and structure of vocals were offered up by the pound, with a footling fleck of the "chesty" mankind we associated with larger speakers not equally much present. Some might fifty-fifty say, this was due to a lack of boominess in the mid-bass, which in the end would exist a welcomed characteristic. So much of this speakers sound was downwardly correct perfect, even the slightest smudge on the lens became a personal nitpick, so disregard annihilation I have to say that might seem negative.
Best Headphone Experience: Weiss Engineering, The Phonation That Is!
At AXPONA 2019, Daniel Weiss was showing two Roon-ready DAC models the DAC501 and DAC502. The differences are that the DAC502 is larger and includes a four-pin headphone output, but internally the two are the aforementioned. Each has a congenital in DSP chip, allowing the DACs to peform many DSP related tasks like equalization, room EQ, and finally headphone processing. The final of which I demoed — and boy was it was glorious.
Giving a heed to sample tracks on the smaller DAC501's headphone output, each tracked issued a directly A-to-B comparison betwixt different headphone processing algorithms. I was able to compare the industry standard for recorded music playback over headphones, versus what is possible with DSP headphone processing. The headphone processing takes everything I hate near headphone listening and fixes those problems. The processing added proper sound-staging where it was missing, and gave an overall more than accurate rendition of what a live operation sounds like. Gone was the "within my head" sensation that feels foreign to me. With dissimilar DSP profiles I was able to experience music in simulated venues. Each having their own size and reverberations. The Crossfeed processing is a must take. The false room acoustics was groovy, and helped with sure types of music seem more than real, peculiarly classical. Do I need the room acoustics? That depends on the recording. The Crossfeed DSP is the greatest affair I've ever heard in headphones.
All-time Exhibitors: Zesto Audio, Marten, Merrill-Williams, Cardas
Some rooms exercise everything correct. The lighting, the mood, the sound, the music option, and the personalities. A perennial favourite of many — duly worthy of the acclaim — the team that is George and Carolyn Counnas of Zesto Audio are no strangers to the awards podium, and so why not have them dorsum for another round.
Zesto and the rest of the players were exhibiting i of the best examples of truthful high-fidelity at the prove. Everything you would demand as necessary in a critical listening experience, had it'southward box firmly checked off. The new Andros Deluxe Phonostage was exhibiting ultimate control of racket and detail, while in chorus with the Merrill-Williams tabular array, Tri-Planar tonearm, and Benz Micro cartridge. The Marten loudspeakers actually found the Goldilocks zone for my tastes. That zone betwixt ultimate resolution and endless hours of fun. Everything was simply right.
All-time New Song: "I'm A Girl You Can Concord IRL" by ML Buch
This song is extremely hard to find. It may even be a prototype.
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Source: https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2019/05/08/erics-best-of-show-axpona-2019/
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