Does size matter? I think so, for the 9,115 audiophiles that descended upon the Renaissance Schaumberg Center in Chicago, April 14-16, 2023. The final press release from AXPONA states that there were 9,115 visitors over […]
Man oh man, I knew it was going to be tough to pick out the Top Rooms at AXPONA 2023. It reminds me of one of those cooking competition shows on the Food Network where […]
This was a puzzling room. Puzzling to me, at least. To be honest, though, I am easily distracted by big sounds and shiny objects, so perhaps it was just me. I’m pretty sure what was […]
Damon Gramont of Bricasti Design, the company known for the “gold standard” in pro-audio reverb, is (still) kicking ass in hi-fi. Words and Photos by Scot Hull I can no longer recall how/when I was […]
Fidelity Imports is relatively new to the audio scene, but this distributor was there in force as AXPONA 2023 by exhibiting in six rooms in the Tower at the Renaissance Schaumburg. One of their reps, […]
Audio Research, one of the stars of the main floor at AXPONA 2023, also snuck into the Vandersteen room hosted by Ultra Fidelis. For the life of me I can’t understand why this Wisconsin dealer […]
BorderPatrol Audio Electronics, Triode Wire Labs, and Volti Audio are perhaps better known as the Three Amigos. Or as I like to call them, the Three Musketeers. And that makes their usual fourth, Innuos, perhaps better […]
Quintessence Audio was prevalent at the show, commandeering several rooms next to the escalators on the first floor. In a dedicated Audio Research area, the very popular ARC i50 integrated amp was displayed in a […]
It was in the Nordost room at AXPONA 2023 that I might have discovered the best low frequency performance of the show. All the essential ingredients were there–Stenheim‘s flagship Reference Ultimate Two speakers ($155,000), VTL […]
The Wynn Audio room at AXPONA 2023 was also revelation–with brands such as Vimberg and Kalista and Karan and Crystal Cable, how could it not be? Wynn Wong is a North American distributor based near […]
There were two $39,000 Vinnie Rossi Brama integrated amplifiers at AXPONA 2023. One was in the Vinnie Rossi room, obviously, with an Innuos digital source. The other was in the Innuos room, with the Vinnie […]
Here’s a great example of why AXPONA 2023 may have been the best-sounding high-end audio show ever. I’ve visited the Luxman and Magico room at many shows over the last few years, and it always […]
I had a few questions when I walked into the Artisan Fidelity room at AXPONA 2023 and came face to face with a full TIDAL Audio system. Is TIDAL Audio going to sound okay in […]
At this year’s “Reviewers on Reviewing” seminar at AXPONA 2023, moderated by our own Scot Hull, Roy Hall of Music Hall rose from the audience and commented on the importance of reviews on high-end audio […]
Audio Note Schaumburg? Don’t I mean Audio Note UK? Of course I do, but back in my Florida coverage last February I called it Audio Note Florida, which amused me if not anyone else. So […]
This is the second time I’ve heard this Fidelis Distribution system, with Heretic Audio loudspeakers and Lab12 amplification, at a high-end audio show. I wasn’t so sure about these high-efficiency speakers with the coax design […]
Alma Audio, a dealer in the San Diego area, hosted two rooms at AXPONA 2023. Both rooms featured Technics, but I made a bee-line for the room with the gorgeous $20K Technics SL-1000R turntable. I […]
I’ve heard this system at least a half dozen times now, and I think I know it pretty well. This is the room from Credo of Switzerland, as well as John McGurk’s AudioShield Distribution–we’re talking […]
Insiders, intelligentsia, and those-in-the-know, know that Steven Norber has got the mojo — and they know that his demos are always among some of the most engaging, liquid, analog-sounding, and real-to-life to be heard. I […]
Didn’t I just spend a weekend with this system when I flew to Baltimore a few weeks ago and visited Dr. Vinyl? When I first walked into this room, I felt like Dr. Vinyl just […]
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