By Paul Elliott
As you have read from all the glowing posts, AXPONA has developed into a great show, well run by JD Events. This is a professional company, and one that understands our industry and our people. Their staff get it, and they are always there with a smile and a hand.
This new venue seems to be working for the show. At the least, they have announced the dates for the next two years at the Renaissance Schaumburg: April 17 – 19, 2020, and April 16-18, 2021, so get used to it.
On Saturday afternoon, some of the rooms were so jammed that I could not get in. This is a great thing for the vendors. Having their products seen and heard by so many people over a weekend is invaluable. You really have to do some planning and pick and choose where to spend your time.
The range of products from all over the world was a treat to see and hear and it’s hard to not think of our industry as healthy. We music lovers have so many choices today to bring the performance into our homes. I heard musical systems from a $400 Vanatoo and a laptop to the >$1M VAC/Von Schweikert that did just that. I feel we are very lucky to have these choices. A lot of these manufacturers are practically one-man shops, hand building amplifiers, and speakers with sweat, and love.
To me, this is the real importance of these shows. A chance to meet the designer/builder. Like Lou Hinckley of Daedalus, Jim of Salk Sound, Mike of McGary Audio, Vinnie from Vinnie Rossi, Greg Roberts of Volti Audio, Gary Dews of Border Patrol, Pete Grzybowski of Triode Wire Labs (did you know he hand-braids every cable he sells?). These guys and many others love what they are doing and put their heart and soul into their products. I’m pretty sure the most mega-companies started this same way.
We, music lovers, live in a great time. Our music system can be time machines that bring great performances of the past into our room, transporting us to a small jazz club in Manhattan in the 1960s or the great Opera halls of Europe. How lucky we are! This is what I have been trying to do in my reporting such as it is. and I hardly bring justice to it.
See you next time! Hope you enjoyed my pix.
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