2023 AXPONA Show Report

Clarisys Audio Minuets can play with the very best speakers on the planet now 

 Another Best-Of-Show winner  

Speaker Companies and

..."Forum Moderators" should be very worried about these speakers now.

https://theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-2023-axpona-show-jonathan-valin-on-speakers-30k-and-up/

I have a different opinion of the Fritz Audio speakers and Atma-Sphere class D monos. When I walked into the room on Sunday, I didn’t like the music being played (I forgot what it was). My friend and I looked through the LPs and CDs that were available in the room and we found it difficult to find anything that we were familiar with. Atma-Sphere/Fritz really need to bring a good streaming setup or a more diversified collection of audiophile music.

That said, my friend found a Peter Gabriel CD (Long Walk Home, music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence) to play that he was somewhat familiar with. The soundstage was enormous, melting the side walls and the window/curtains behind the speakers. Layers within the soundstage were very evident. Images were very well defined and there was excellent separation between them. Tonality was very good. I’ve never liked Class D amps and I’ve listened to them for many years going back to the Spectron and Devialet amps. I’ve never liked the high frequencies of Class D amps of the past. I have no complaints about the Fritz speakers or the Atma-Sphere Class D amps in regards to tonality, soundstaging and imaging.

I asked the person to play an Emmylou Harris LP that was pretty good but not as impressive as the Gabriel CD. I wish they had music that I was more familiar with to audition their system. We tried to connect our phone via BT to the Topping DAC in the room but they didn’t have the remote control to do the pairing.

Sorry @rick2000 but while the Clarisys speakers were good the Borresen Acoustics M3 Reference speakers were IMO in another world and best of show. Not even a contest. 

More Feedback from Axpona 2023 😲

 https://positive-feedback.com/show-reports/axpona-2023-several-highlights-and-a-few-observations/

Clarisys Audio Minuet Loudspeakers won "Best-Of-Show"...Again 😎😈Axpona 2023 Show OMG Bargain....

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/all-new-clarisys-audio-minuet-loudspeakers.36300/page-5

More feedback at the Axpona 2023 show

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2023/04/19/clarisys-suncoast-clarisys-hegel-axpona-2023/ 

Here more from Axpona 2023  😲😲😲

 https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/axpona-2023.36499/page-4

I'm surprised at some comments about these Fritz speakers. I had these exact speakers in my home for about 7 months. They sounded amazing with Adcom 535L, Atoll IN200SE, MiniGan5 (class D), Quicksilver Mono 60 tube amp. They were played in larger and smaller rooms, along the long wall then the short, with subs or without. In every situation and space, if they were positioned correctly, they were warm, inviting, and clear. I can't imagine them sound bad with the amps from Atma-sphere, which I recently heard sound amazing with some Tektons.

Gotta think the room and/or viewer's standpoints had a lot to do with impressions I'm hearing here.

@mgrif104 

My room is smaller too. I have the Avior ii and they work out really nice in it. 

@ronboco 

Agreed - would also like to hear the Lyra - and the new Orion.  I’m sure they’re spectacular.  But, too big and too expensive for my smallish room.

@mgrif104 

They had they Atria ii when I went last year too. They sounded pretty good in the small room. Would love to hear the Lyra even though I could never afford them. Thanks for the feedback ! 

@ronboco 

The room I saw them in were the Atria IIs showing with Vinnie Rossi Brama electronics. I understand they were in another room but I didn’t get to that one.

Rockports are one of my favorites - so it was pretty disappointing. The room was small and the setup essentially nearfield.  It just didn’t work - for me at least. Perhaps it was also the music selection.

Best,

@mgrif104 

What Rockport model did they have at the show this year ? 

@jamesbgood Thanks for the advice.  Next year I will be sure to visit the Ultra Fidelis room.  I can't account for what I heard in the AQ room, but Vandersteens remain on my short list despite that experience.  I will seek them out next year as well as in the interim as the opportunity arises.

@treepmeyer I thought the Vandersteen system sounded great. I saw that there were many advertisements about one Audioquest session per day. I attended one, and I thought the presenter was enthusiastic because he designed the product. If you planned to hear the speakers, too bad you hit that moment. Every Axpona, I make a beeline to the Ultra Fidelis room because they always make the systems sound like I like them. It is a point of reference for me. 

@atmasphere 

Would love to know how those Class D mono’s played with the Carbon 7 speakers.

Thanks for your response.

Yes I imagine it's quite the frustrating puzzle to get some of those hotel rooms to sound good and then invariably nobody is sitting in the 6 square feet where it does sound good.

Also agree on the music being played.   Not sure I would ever be able to make it through one of these shows...  I like what I like musically and tend to shy away from, if not loathe, a lot of commercial music. 

I have the Fritz Carbon 7's so I know they sound great... I hope to check out your Class D mono's at some point in the near future ...and maybe even your UV-1.

JAS

@atmasphere, that's "midwest nice" behavior you are describing.  It's a "I don't want to be the selfish one in the room" sentiment and often results in nobody getting "the best seat". It's also why the last piece of pie will sit, unattended, for days, on the countertop.

I couldn’t make it to the show, so I’ve just enjoyed watching the many youtube videos posted covering the show. I watch them in my home theater on the big projection screen with a good surround system (Hales Transcendence speakers)

and the impression of "walking in to those rooms and hearing the sound" can be almost eerie. Even if, of course, it's hardly fully accurate to the real sound, there is nonetheless a sense of the sound changing quite specifically from room to room.

In any case, I’ve certainly had my yearly fill of "single female vocalists with sparse instrumental accompaniment." Gag me with a spoon.

Ok, show lots of similar overpriced gear lots of safe bets with design choices and music played. 

Would love to know how those Class D mono’s played with the Carbon 7 speakers.

I thought they worked pretty well. I got a better match with the sub on the second day by angling it a bit to reduce standing waves in the room. The Carbon 7s were running full range. The sub was just there for the bottom octave.

Depending on when you were in the room, the sound was really variable simply due to the recordings themselves. I found out the hard way decades ago that there's no accounting for taste and personally can't stand most 'audiophile' recordings. So I just play what I want to hear, unless I get a request.

Its always surprising to me to see people walk in, and even though a chair in the sweet spot is available, they sit to the side... and might be there for 15 minutes. Those little rooms don't allow you a lot of flexibility to get a wide sweet spot, so the center chairs are really the only game in town.

First time attending for me. I went on Saturday and hit rooms I had mapped out earlier.  Some really quick observations:

Kyomi Audio - showing MBLs and easily the best set up I heard while there.  I will be speaking to George further about the speakers and Ideon DACs.

Magico - about what I expected.  Very detailed and revealing, but dry and not my cup of tea.

Vinnie Rossi/Rockport - I was quite interested in hearing this setup but came away disappointed. It must have been the room because I’ve heard Rockports before and loved them. I’ve had my eye on the Brama gear from Vinnie Rossi (beautiful aesthetics and interesting tech) but this was a really disappointing showing for me.

T+A - I own some of their gear and was hoping to chat w/ the people there, but the room was crowded with little opportunity to interact with them - at least while I was visiting.  Sound was hard to judge but was better than the Magico and Rockport previously noted.

GTT - showing Vivid speakers and Audionet electronics. This room sounded pretty good, but I didn’t come away thinking it sounded great like MBL.  Regardless, I could never live with the speakers. 

What did others think?

Best,

Also agree with treepmeyer and driftingbunnies Fritz/Atma-Sphere didn't really sound very special just ok. Most rooms were just ok which is understandable for show conditions but there were some standout rooms so if you take your time you can get GREAT sonics.

Just got back home from the show yesterday. It was fantastic. I got a chance to meet some great people like John Siau with Benchmark and Gary Yacoubian with SVS. Two things I’m really excited about:

1. Al Clark, Pres/CEO of Danville Signal Processing. He spent a lot of time speaking with me and I’m going to be an early adopter of his dspNexus which will replace my Mini DSP at more than twice the fidelity and offers much more flexibility for an active crossover plus some fun things like Bluetooth play etc. I would never have known about this without going.

2. The best in show was the Minuet Speakers by Clarisys Audio playing in the room sponsored by and paired with Hegel amps. The combo was stunning and bests my 20.1’s by light years and there wasn’t another speaker in the place that could touch them to my ears. They have completely modified and improved on the Apogee system, solid aluminum frame weighing 210lbs per piece at 4ft tall. Frequency range 28Hz to 25KHz, my hair stood up the three times I listened to them. The sound was so coherent and effortless within the entire range. My wife couldn’t come to the show and when I called she said I sounded giddy. Lol

Cost for an AXPONA one day pass was $25.

Apparently I missed it for this year, just went to the website, how much were tickets?

I agree with treepmeyer, Fritz/Atma-Sphere didn't really sound very special compared to many other good rooms out there. I don't doubt they're good speakers but they weren't convincing enough to make me want to switch.

I contacted Fritz before the show and he alerted me to the show discount.  I've heard great things about his speakers and was considering a purchase.  Plus, I have a Peachtree Gan1 so I thought the Atma-Sphere D amps would give me a good idea how the pairing would sound.  Well, I've put that on the back burner.  They didn’t sound bad, but rather unremarkable.  Nothing that would cause me to switch from the Spendors I currently have.  Now, I have a lot of respect for both Fritz and Atma-Sphere so I chaulk this up to poor room acoustics.  Too bad as I was ready to be convinced.  No changes for the time being.

Is there anymore feedback from the Atma-Sphere / Fritz paring from anyone who may have been there?

Would love to know how those Class D mono’s played with the Carbon 7 speakers.

I was kind of hoping a room or two would play some big orchestral music with some dynamics but anyway, one room played a choral piece and that was refreshing and sounded quite good. This was the room with Vitus speakers I think. I could have listened to a lot more of that style but they switched to one of those standard tracks so that was it there.

I went all day Friday and Saturday morning. I covered all the rooms I had planned more than 40, then went into many more after that. I was surprised by two monitor speakers, the little Falcon and the Paradigm/Anthem room. Both of those packed a good punch for the size and cost. I also liked the Volti Razz LE it seemed very smooth but still had enough detail. The MBL room was too loud maybe but was still very lively. They were playing some more upbeat jazzy stuff I think.Headphone room was really fun but I didn’t get to spend a lot of time there.

Made it to two seminars and I enjoyed the one Friday on reissuing recordings. Michael Fremer mentioned some young talented jazz pianist he is working on releasing so that sounded interesting. I’ll have to look that up.

So for a first time show, I enjoyed it but definitely could feel the listener fatigue setting in earlier than I thought it would. Taking breaks is a really good idea. Looking at comments around, it looks like I still managed to miss some interesting rooms but maybe next year. I might go down to the Florida show and visit some friends and bring someone along.

@s7horton I first read you "charted a plane" :)

More info on the Much Improved Clarisys Audio Minuets and still the same price at $33,800 too ! 😎 One of the Best Speakers at Axpona 2023 ! BARGAIN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYpPVgW6KPw

This year Axpona is much better. Only problem so many good systems but they play crazy sounds not music. When they play real music those systems shines.Overall this show is a good one. I was also able to buy good records and xrcd24 and sacd.Since I bought 3 day pass ? Iam coming back today.So far so good. 

Overall a positive experience for me. It’s been a few years since I’ve attended.  I was front row center in the million dollar estelon room.  I thought it sounded very good.  The credo room was fun also.  A stand out for me was the CSS room, exceptionally good, and some of the best value at the show for me.  I wish the Focal Maestro Utopia EVO setup was better.  I am certain they sound great.  Lastly, the Joseph audio room was great, and it was fun chatting with Jeff for a few moments.

this was the first time I charted a plan for what to visit, it was totally worthwhile for me.  I only had a day.  I skipped quite a few floors, but got to see everything I wanted to see.

Fritz called me yesterday.  He's not at the show but shipped the speakers to Atmasphere. 

Fritz usually brings several acoustic panels with him and that's about all they need.

Gang:

For added color, if you are on LinkedIn, do a search for Axpona.

I spent 4 hours at Axpona yesterday and it was worth going; next year I'll do two mornings  before the crowds.  I'd never justify to myself (or my wife!) spending $100k on a stereo but for reference it was indeed worth experiencing the MBLs.  I had to shut my eyes and just enjoy the music because they look like harbor bouys  sans the beacon.  Closer to earth, the large Tannoys in one of the Upscale rooms was marvelous.  An unexpected pleasure was hearing the new version of the Mission 700.

The varying SQ had me scratching my head.  All of the above speakers were in small rooms.  Some that I expected to sound great were just OK, like the Fritz speakers in the Atma-Sphere room.  And there were others where I had to leave, they sounded so bad.  I want to be a Vandersteen fan but in a crowded room where an unpleasant salesman was extolling some magical Audioquest DC line cleaner the gorgeous Vandersteens were causing my temples to vibrate like a driver.  I am well-disposed to both Vandersteen and Audioquest, but I couldn't get out of that room fast enough.  The beaming salesman was surreal.

Altogether the show was well worth it to me.  It's always good to have one's expectations challenged.

Kenjit - the room admins have every right not to allow everybody to -lay their own music and I agree with them. Most of the music I have heard in rooms was garbage and it takes forever for the admin to cue up a specific track. 1 clown couldn’t remember which track he wanted to hear so we had to listen to 5 seconds of each track before he got to the track he wanted. Then he wanted to do the same for another album. BS, not enough hours in the day to put up with this. If somebody was really interested in the speakers/equipment, then make an appointment for after hours and play what you want. 99% of the show goers aren’t interested in buying at the show. I’ve never brought music the CES, rmaf, THE Show, Florida expo, and others, I check out each system and if I wanted to pursue something further, I met with them after hours

I would like to see a genuine comparison between a piano and a system playing a recorded piano.

I would guess even the highest end systems would fail this test.

Quad UK had a selling point " QUAD for the closest approach to the original sound" This still has not been achieved 

First time, I was ever been to Axpona and I went yesterday late morning for a couple of hours as that was all I could get away.  I won't go into too much detail, but honestly it was a lot of fun and I saw a lot of pretty neat gear, although a large percentage of it was way out of my budget.  I made a list of the things I wanted to see and do.  I managed to see most everything on my list, though I certainly would have liked at least 4 or 5 hours to really spend the time to really appreciate everything.  I will definitely attend next year.

@rsf507 Speaker and component matching is very important for amazing sound Right ?...Amen

Michael Fremer in the Clarisys Audio Minuets room spinning some Vinyl and he Loved them and he owns some Wilson Audio XVX's !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ5eH5CURbE

Clarisys Audio in room 352 didn't sound good, no depth and lack of controlled bass. Now the same speakers in room 676 were outstanding. Transparent, quick, clean, musical and high energy. If I had only heard them in room 352 I would have dismissed them. Just my opinion.

All it takes to make an audio show worthwhile is to give out a few choice freebies for your price of admission. Like say a nice Audiophile music sampler CD. Don’t cheap out expensive audio shows!

Eric,, I'm not surprised you like the Fritz speakers as well as the Steen's. I really enjoy their sound too (as you know I'm a Vandersteen owner).  I wish was there to hear Richard and others talking (they just started as I'm typing this) in the forum.  I also wanted to hear the new VAndrsteen control center with built in EQ (his new remote controlled preamp).  Wasn't able to attend, but I read Bliss Audio's post on how to attend and it makes a ton of sense. 

Clarisys Audio Minuets part two 😎 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG4RMSex_Y0

The Much Improved Clarisys Audio Minuets SOUNDS AMAZING now for the same price too ! 😲😈 OMG !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd5_31as51w

Clarisys Audio just might get one of the Best-Of-Show awards again with these upgrades to their speakers and the prices will stay the same ! On these Minuet Speakers they made the mids and tweeters Ribbons wider.. bigger ! In rooms 352 and 676

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQrqmgrHfUM

@rick2000 , $25,000 for the Supermons? You have to be out of your mind. The only thing special about them is the marketing. 

@rsf507 , The Sanders model 10 is a fabulous speaker......for one person at a time. Anyone not directly on axis with the speakers will not get any high frequencies. Sander's argument for this is that all systems have only one listening position and if you are not in it the system is just playing background music so it does not matter. I still like to have a balance of frequencies even as background music and my system doubles for theater use. I think most people would prefer the Sound Lab 545 as it's dispersion is much better and it requires only one amp not two and a digital crossover. Both speakers would still benefit from subwoofers but the 545 more so than the Sanders. 

Don't see Sanders sound system listed at Axpona

Sanders sound always rocks!

odyssey room is always packed, did Klaus make it this year?

heard he may skip this show.