AXPONA 2024 - what to do and see?

[quattro98]

Any plans for an ASR meetup at Axpona?

 

[Wolf]

I will have my heather-blue Compact Disc shirt on, that is for sure. Feel free to introduce yourself.

I plan to roll in about 9am, and likely hit up Madisound and CSS in short order. For lunch, the group of DIYers I'll be with usually hit the in-house cafe.

Shameless plug! Don't forget InDIYana is in 2 weeks on 26/27 this month in Ft Wayne for you fairly local people...

InDIYana

World-class audio meets mid-western show and tell with great ingenuity! What: The 17th annual InDIYana speaker-DIY event! (2020 is the only missing year since 2007.)

sites.google.com

 

[im_gumby]

I'm going to be there all three days, my list to hear start with YG Acoustic's fully active speaker's. Magnepan 2.7X's, Volti Audio, Diptque, other various planer or horn speakers. If anyone wants to meet up feel free to IM me.

I'm planning on going tomorrow.
I don't have any set plans but thinking about some of the vendors.

I'm assuming that there's going to be a program and will pick off a few.

 

[Wolf]

It really does take all day, and maybe a hair more to catch all of the exhibits. Last year, I missed some that I intended to see. Te programs usually list the vendor, as opposed to what is in the rooms. It can be hard to hear what you want to with that as a reference. I usually just start and go room to room.

 

[MarcT]

Somebody, please get a listen to the Dali Kore and Epikore and give your thoughts, if you can. Thanks.

 

[im_gumby]

Somebody, please get a listen to the Dali Kore and Epikore and give your thoughts, if you can. Thanks.

Sorry, I missed the Dali room.
Too many rooms.

 

[orchardaudio]

Orchard Audio is sharing 3 rooms at the show.
588 with CSS Audio
1126 with MonAcoustic
1415 with Endow Audio.

Stop by any of the rooms to enter a giveaway for the PecanPi Streamer ($725 MSRP)

More info here:

Orchard Audio @ AXPONA

Orchard Audio LLC 和其他 2 位用户将于周五, 4 月 12 2024 在美国 · 伊利诺伊州 · 绍姆堡举办音乐活动，有 8 篇讨论帖。

www.facebook.com

 

[im_gumby]

Orchard Audio is sharing 3 rooms at the show.
588 with CSS Audio
1126 with MonAcoustic
1415 with Endow Audio.

Stop by any of the rooms to enter a giveaway for the PecanPi Streamer ($725 MSRP)

More info here:

Orchard Audio @ AXPONA

Orchard Audio LLC 和其他 2 位用户将于周五, 4 月 12 2024 在美国 · 伊利诺伊州 · 绍姆堡举办音乐活动，有 8 篇讨论帖。

www.facebook.com

I did see the amp at the CSS Audio room.
You guys shouldn't enter... its a waste of time. I'm going to win!
(I'm sure Orchard Audio didn't want me to say that...)

 

[im_gumby]

There's a lot of interesting stuff.

I think it was the 5th floor had the DIY speaker components (SB Accoustics w Madisound, and then Parts Express. )
One speaker that I thought was interesting was the Vanatoo. Its this small desktop speaker that seemed to have a lot of bass.
For ~$700.00 a pair. (larger ones.)

I would love to hear what others thought. Its hard to get a feel for these things... but the bass was impressive.

First time I heard the Linkwitz® Lab Open Baffles.
They sounded incredible (At least to me).
They're selling a complete package of monoblocks, speakers, cables... for ~23K

I'm trying to see how much the DIY version would be.
(Madisound Flat Pack, Speakers/XO kit, then add in monoblocks... or just a 2channel amp from (Orchard Audio, or Buckeye Audio) )

I think that if you priced it all out... to build would be ~6K - 8K ish... (I'll go back and do the real math)

Overall, a lot of nice people.
A lot of great rooms. And a lot of components out of my price range.

 

[MarcT]

Orchard Audio is sharing 3 rooms at the show.
588 with CSS Audio
1126 with MonAcoustic
1415 with Endow Audio.

Stop by any of the rooms to enter a giveaway for the PecanPi Streamer ($725 MSRP)

More info here:

Orchard Audio @ AXPONA

Orchard Audio LLC 和其他 2 位用户将于周五, 4 月 12 2024 在美国 · 伊利诺伊州 · 绍姆堡举办音乐活动，有 8 篇讨论帖。

www.facebook.com

I'm interested in those CSS speakers. Seems like it could be a nice basic design with good performance and value. What are those Vivid Audio-looking speakers?

 

[orchardaudio]

What are those Vivid Audio-looking speakers

Not sure what you are referring to.

 

[AdamG]

FYI if not already posted. Anyone attending if you demo these please share your observations. Heard him say they are $5,000 USD a pair.

 

[im_gumby]

I'm interested in those CSS speakers. Seems like it could be a nice basic design with good performance and value. What are those Vivid Audio-looking speakers?

First, I liked the CSS room, the guy (forget his name) was really nice.
They do have a new speaker coming out... #TDX-3
He was playing the Typhon to a crowded room. He said the TDX-3 had a similar sound.

For the price I think that they are good, although in that room... there was too much bass. ( Not in a good way. ) I don't know if you'd call it chuff... or room resonance.
(I'm not an audiophile ...)
Obviously the solution would be to put a foam plug in the ports. That would easily solve it.

Unfortunately... these would not pass my 'wife test'. :-(
One of the speakers I am considering is the TDX-1 for my office. If I did it... I may consider the kit without the flat pack and see if I can get the CNC files.

The only thing that makes me pause is that there are sooo many options. Like going w a build that uses the Purify 6.5".
I also want something for our living/dining room. But there I will need to pass the wife test.

 

[im_gumby]

FYI if not already posted. Anyone attending if you demo these please share your observations. Heard him say they are $5,000 USD a pair.

Oh yeah! Definitely a must see room.

Ran in to a couple of guys in the stairwell. (Yes... best to start on #15 and walk down.)
He goes "What's your price point..."
I said I was looking for a Bookshelf and used the KEF R3 Meta as my 'reference'.
He told to look at their little brothers. (I want a bookshelf)

So they were playing the bigger brothers.
Please don't ask me to describe what I heard.
Its in a crowded room and I'm no expert.

I was mostly interested in hearing how they sounded off axis.
Going from memory... it was good. When I walked across the room and you hit the center (on axis) they were nice.

At that price point... Definitely worth it.

 

[tjcinnamon]

Has anyone stopped by the Masimo booth? I'm interested in checking out the Polk L800's. I'm also interested to hear if any rooms have Dirac Live ART.

I'm considering driving down tomorrow for the day.

Are there other must see spots?

 

[im_gumby]

Ok, so I'm probably the first guy to get on this thread since I went only one day.

I will say this... while I'm not an audiophile, I do have a decent ear.

I went there to check out a couple of rooms and to get an overall feel.
If the room was crowded... its hard to get a good feel for the speakers.
You walk into one room where the hardware on the floor is a multiple of your annual salary and listen.
Then you walk into a room where they are showing reasonable speakers. (Something we can afford.)

To me, the 5th floor was my favorite because of the DIY factor.

I did like the Mon Accoustic. While one of the guys spoke English they looked nice and sounded great.
I liked the MoFi.
I was impressed w the Vanatoo desktops, but as a step up from the 'logitech' or other speakers you'd find at BestBuy, Microcenter or your favorite computer store.
I didn't realize that I lived ~2 miles from the Cambridge Audio US office here in Chicago. (Or that they owned by the same company as Arcam...)
I got to see the Fyne speakers in person, although they didn't bring the F series... Although the 700 series isn't a slouch ...
I did stop to see the Vienna Accoustics room. Now I have a ~20yr old set of Hadyns and a soft spot for the VAs.
They did sound good, but its a more mellow sound. Not sure if everyone would like them. I was in a room that had the Zu DWXs.
Maybe it was the music or the amp, but they had a softer sound. (Which I liked.)
In the SB Audience/Accoustic Madisound Room, I saw the Helios TX kit that sounded nice.

I was blown away by the Linkwitz. I mean at one point I was the only one talking to the guy and was listening to them. I mean I heard about sound stage and imaging... and like wow, these blew me away. (Of course at ~23.9 K for the speakers and monoblocks, cables... yeah ) But you can build a kit from Madisound for less.

I was in the Focal room, looking at the Naim streamer all in one when they did the demo of those monster towers. While we were still on axis... but behind the crowd and a fabric barrier... Wow. I mean those were like... wow. But not realistic. For my need, the Focal Pro monitors (cheaper ones) also looked viable but not hooked up...

I liked the rooms where the guy had Spotify and asked what you wanted to hear. ( I asked for Otyken and some Japanese Metal or Electronica.)
(That actually brought people in to the room.)

I did some rooms that I thought they were nuts.
I forget the room, but they had these large square monsters. They were playing some 70's Rock. (Ozzy maybe...) and it sounded like carp.
The voice was hidden by the music... I remember as a kid listening to this song and the vocals were forward of the music.
(This is why I liked rooms where the host asked us for music. It let us stress the speakers. )

 

[im_gumby]

Orchard Audio is sharing 3 rooms at the show.
588 with CSS Audio
1126 with MonAcoustic
1415 with Endow Audio.

Stop by any of the rooms to enter a giveaway for the PecanPi Streamer ($725 MSRP)

More info here:

Orchard Audio @ AXPONA

Orchard Audio LLC 和其他 2 位用户将于周五, 4 月 12 2024 在美国 · 伊利诺伊州 · 绍姆堡举办音乐活动，有 8 篇讨论帖。

www.facebook.com

Wow, I did hit those rooms.
Loved the MonAccoustics. (Wife doesn't like the tower look, but they sounded good. ) Thinking about the Micros for my office.
When did you take the photo in the CSS room?
When I stopped by the TDX-3s were switched out and he was playing the Typhons. Would have loved to hear the TDX-3s too. (These are their new towers not on their website yet as a kit)
I did see the Endow... sorry I wasn't impressed, thought it was a bit 'gimmicky'. I'd love to see a review on them.

 

[orchardaudio]

Wow, I did hit those rooms.
Loved the MonAccoustics. (Wife doesn't like the tower look, but they sounded good. ) Thinking about the Micros for my office.
When did you take the photo in the CSS room?
When I stopped by the TDX-3s were switched out and he was playing the Typhons. Would have loved to hear the TDX-3s too. (These are their new towers not on their website yet as a kit)
I did see the Endow... sorry I wasn't impressed, thought it was a bit 'gimmicky'. I'd love to see a review on them.

The 3TDX are hooked up right now.

 

[Emphyrio]

There's a lot of interesting stuff.

I think it was the 5th floor had the DIY speaker components (SB Accoustics w Madisound, and then Parts Express. )
One speaker that I thought was interesting was the Vanatoo. Its this small desktop speaker that seemed to have a lot of bass.
For ~$700.00 a pair. (larger ones.)

I would love to hear what others thought. Its hard to get a feel for these things... but the bass was impressive.

First time I heard the Linkwitz® Lab Open Baffles.
They sounded incredible (At least to me).
They're selling a complete package of monoblocks, speakers, cables... for ~23K

I'm trying to see how much the DIY version would be.
(Madisound Flat Pack, Speakers/XO kit, then add in monoblocks... or just a 2channel amp from (Orchard Audio, or Buckeye Audio) )

I think that if you priced it all out... to build would be ~6K - 8K ish... (I'll go back and do the real math)

Overall, a lot of nice people.
A lot of great rooms. And a lot of components out of my price range.

Check, but I think the new lower midrange is only available through Linkwitz Audio.

 

[im_gumby]

Check, but I think the new lower midrange is only available through Linkwitz Audio.

Yeah...
Its interesting...
You can buy the driver... but the Seas drivers work well.

I did a quick spreadsheet on what it would cost to build this...
Roughly $4800.00 for the speakers and the ASP Signal processor.
You would then need 2 5 channel amps to drive it.

So that's around $9,800.00 So lets say 10K.
You could replace the Signal processor and your own amps w 2 boxes from Linkwitz ( 3K Euro each) or ~$3200 USD each... plus shipping.
So its roughly 10.5K vs 23,000

Now that's a Birch Ply flat pack.
There's an Aussie who has some videos of the HDF baffle failing.
I don't think you can just buy the AL/Panz/AL baffle on its own.

Here in the states, I'd consider doing a Richlite/AL/Richlite baffle or AL/Rich/AL since its easier to get.
But like Panzerholtz... its expensive.


I think if you can get the CNC files as part of the plans... you could do your own flat pack.
If you can get a blank AL case or want to make your own case... (which is possible... ) you could go w Purify or Hypex cards and make your own amp but I don't know how it would compare to buying a Buckeye or something similar.

Anyone hear the mini without the subs?