AXPONA Chicago April 21-23, 2017 - Who's going?

Just like Magnaplanar's.

I was enjoying them very much yesterday in a room that did not do them justice but still I was enjoying a different type of sound projection.

I learned that I can have a great integrated SS amp driving these and what an e-stat soundstage can do.

Yes, I learned something! That's why I'm there!

I often hear how you just don't have low end with these but I heard plenty that didn't vibrate the walls.

NICE!

I really respect the Planer's but they are bipolar and that condition has complicated side effects with regards to room placement.

Bipolar=complication but if you work through it the reward can be very good.

And so, Magnaplanar's are just not my type of speaker but I still respect them and those that tackle their challenges.

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We do hear differently, I'll admit that. Many systems sounded overly bright to me (a few, gratingly so), and I prefer the more balanced demeanor of speakers like the Vandersteens (which I own, but an older model). The Treo pair sounded good in the room with the C-J stack.

I really liked the new (to the US) electrostatics by a company called Soltanus Acoustics (made in Serbia, of all places). They are not curved, but they had little of the "beaming" that other flat stats often have and threw a decent soundstage in the few positions I sat in. They run full-range, crossover-less, down to 40Hz.

Forgot to mention that I believe the Needle Doctor room had the new Clearaudio moving magnet cart which costs $2k. On the same table on a 2nd arm was a Hana SL moving coil. I have to say that the Clearaudio to me sounded a bit bright and etched, with the Hana being more musical. We thought it might have been the difference in phono stage, but a couple other reviews I have read indicated the Hana has a very musical sound to it, similar to what I heard.

The Joseph Audio/Cardas room was nice. They were running a Technics RS-1500 into the Doshi tape head amp, playing several pieces from the Analogue Productions sampler reel that seems to have made the rounds of the rooms with reel decks.

Overall I had a good visit! Next year I'll hopefully be able to stick around all three days.
 
I do think the whole issue around what music is played at these exhibits is a fascinating one. I went into one room yesterday where they were playing something that was flute and cymbal. That's it. For like 5 minutes. It was ridiculously lame. Also had a room Friday where even though they had a CD player, and my 3 buddies and I were the only ones in the room, we were told they would not play our request.

On the other hand, there were several rooms where the hosts were more than happy to either play music I had brought or at the very least hand me their tablet with the music library and let me choose. Again, I never even ASKED for this unless my party were the only ones in the room, or in one case where the hosts actually solicited requests (which was very cool!!!).
 
I do think the whole issue around what music is played at these exhibits is a fascinating one. I went into one room yesterday where they were playing something that was flute and cymbal. That's it. For like 5 minutes. It was ridiculously lame. Also had a room Friday where even though they had a CD player, and my 3 buddies and I were the only ones in the room, we were told they would not play our request.

I have asked several listening room hosts about playing unknown music and heard some funny stories about putting on poorly recorded home demos and clearing a room with a punk/thrash/noise band.

I have also run into hosts that enjoy others musical choices if only to get a break from the normal audio show tunes.

There are also some systems that are so revealing that will sound like ass with a poor recording.
 
I have asked several listening room hosts about playing unknown music and heard some funny stories about putting on poorly recorded home demos and clearing a room with a punk/thrash/noise band.

I have also run into hosts that enjoy others musical choices if only to get a break from the normal audio show tunes.

There are also some systems that are so revealing that will sound like ass with a poor recording.

It's a symptom of "high geek level" that these listening room managers forget the basics of marketing. If they are worried about (an absolutely legitimate problem to worry about) some jerk or someone with no ill intent, but "new" that brings a crappy CD or record to audition, then for crying out loud bring a spectrum of well-recorded music. It's so much better to say, "I'm sorry but we can't play your CD, what genre is it? Thrash Metal? how about we try THIS... which is very close... blah blah" Instead of acting like the stereotypical high end elite jerk and refusing to play anything but esoteric music characterized by what Skylab said.. an endurance event of flute and cymbal.

Maybe the show promoters could put together a list of music from various genres and distribute CDs and vinyl to the exhibitors. Each genre getting a block of time throughout the day... that way when you play punk, death metal or gangster rap, the people in the room are there BECAUSE you're playing that music. I dunno... seems like not too difficult a solution...
 
My favorite room might've been room 454 featuring a great phono setup from Pear Audio, speakers from Sonist, and cabling from Snake River Audio. Beautiful to look at and listen to. Rich, full, and great sound at any price...these just happen to be in most enthusiasts reasonably priced budget.
 
I was generally less bothered by disagreeable music this year than in past events.

Overall, I had been waiting (and hoping) for an OMG listening moment (after having still had my socks on all Friday and Saturday) and I managed to get three today. Wow, nice, socks successfully knocked off.
 
Has anyone been in the Acoustic Zen room # 514? They have the Crescendo Mark II Speaker, the first iteration was a favorite of mine at Axpona.

Additionally, Robert Lee, the owner, always seemed to play music that was out of the ordinary and interesting.

You would have liked it today. He was playing some percussive track in 5/4 time that transitioned in to a much gentler vocal/acoustic thing at a slower tempo and in even meter, but the original didn't leave, so they were fully-superimposed (intentionally, as far as I could tell) and the beat only lined up once about every 10 seconds or so; made John Zorn sound like Sousa.
 
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On the other hand, there were several rooms where the hosts were more than happy to either play music I had brought or at the very least hand me their tablet with the music library and let me choose. Again, I never even ASKED for this unless my party were the only ones in the room, or in one case where the hosts actually solicited requests (which was very cool!!!).
Some rooms were even tapping into Tidal, and would therefore handle requests with no problems whatsoever, aside from the Westin's slow WiFi connection.

Overall, I had been waiting (and hoping) for an OMG listening moment (after having still had my socks on all Friday and Saturday) and I managed to get three today. Wow, nice, socks successfully knocked off.
Did you ever get to the Soltanus Acoustics room? I don't know if it blew my socks completely off, but it certainly gave me another future to consider in planar speakers and I came away impressed. If it were my room, I'd pair them with two Hsu Research subs, coming in only around 40-45 Hz. When I visited the second time, one of our fellow visitors requested they play one of his CDs with (as he put it) "some aggressive electronica". It sounded like "Moog overload gone spaz" and the bass of course wasn't so powerful, but the speed of the panels pretty much nailed all of those sharp electronic transients.

And I do like the planars, but I was still disappointed in the Maggie demo. The bass fell apart at a certain depth, becoming ill defined and peaky in spots. I do feel, however, that the speakers were not suitable for the room. With a larger room and some more tuning, that would have sorted the bass out properly. The mids and highs, though--very nice. Better than I remember Maggies sounding.

I am still reeling over the difference in the systems used behind the Martin Logans, as I mentioned last night. Just a change in electronics changed them from "those are good" to "take my money!", in my opinion. They seemed to sound best with the Constellation electronics (and that room was also playing vinyl...double good).
 
Here is a usable pic of the DS Audio cartridge I mentioned earlier, which is optical (as opposed to moving coil/moving magnet/etc.). Effortless tracker. Very nice sound, even though the speakers themselves leaned to the bright side. I know the turntable is a Clearaudio Innovation, but I don't recall which arm it was mounted on.

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How many of us can afford an 8500 USD cartridge?
Well actually, probably more than those of us who could afford $75,000 speakers or $40,000 power amps. :D There are MC carts that cost more than $8500 (Clearaudio Goldfinger, $15k?), so if you look at it that way, it's a bargain!

It is still interesting to hear all of these components and systems, even if we can't afford most of them. In my case, I would go to check out a manufacturer and speak with their reps, or the designer, to get a feel for what their company is like, and that sometimes will sway me when making a purchased of used equipment. And when searching for a specific product, I will discover others. I got to see and hear the Rogue Audio M-180 monoblocks in the Needle Doctor room, which was my goal, but I also discovered the Hana moving coil cartridges in that same room.

My one regret is not having time to hang out in one of the Nordost rooms--the demos he put on last year were eye opening. He would do power cord, USB cable, etc. comparisons, and we heard the demo where he played the same track twice, with the power conditioner supported on their cones vs. sitting directly on the floor. It was subtle but noticeable by everyone in the room, including myself (never believing it could make a difference).
 
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MAny great rooms and new stuff.. Yes the Serbian stats were nice . The TAD room was outstanding too.. The new Dynaudio at 10k were good in the Mark Levinson Joseph audio room. Magico rooms were all about the music played as well as the YG. Salks were glorious at $13 k
 
I have noticed overall that many of the modern systems tend to lean towards the brightness. I found it subtle on some systems, but with others it could be grating. Even in the component car speakers I just installed, the tweeters are overpowering. I had to knock them back at least -6dB to keep them in line.

Generally, I found myself drawn to the rooms where I thought to myself, "There is music playing in here," vs. "That's a nice system."
 
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