AXPONA 2024

Hello everyone,

I attended Axpona 2024 and I did like A LOT the room 1110 - Grandinote - Sota - Kimber.

Even in the small, totally untreated hotel room the huge Mach8XL speakers did not suffer at all...The line-source design can be a serious advantage to solve the integration with room and bass frequency issues...

The system was very, VERY simple and minimal: Grandinote Solo integrated amp, Grandinote Mach 8XL speakers as well as the evergreen Sota Cosmos (with vacuum) turntable. All cables by KimberKable silver Select.

A really natural sound, unlimited dynamic range and details 🤩. Can't wait to hear some other gear from Grandinote.

One thing that stood out was the technical competence of the guy presenting the system, great experience!

Have a great Listening!

Thanks kennyc a great suggestion and one that should have been obvious to me. Heard back from exhibitor and told they were using RealTraps diffusors just to close that loop. 

@classicalreflections I suggest reaching out to the exhibitors to ask via phone or email.   

Without wanting to hijack this great thread: "And yet the U.S. is home to most of the world’s best comedians. Funny how that happens. " US humour is very different to that in the rest of the world.

Correct. U.S. humor is actually funny!

Probably because it’s an amalgamation of that of humor from around the world. Think about it. 

Re: the Magico rooms does anyone happen to know what they used for the floorstanding diffusers?  They looked really well made and I did not see them used in any of the other exhibits. Thank you!

I mentioned to those that asked how great it was to see so many people at the show this year, the hobby is alive! 

Went back twice to hear the Magico A5s - Just super impressed at the range, coherence, soundstage, effortlessness with which they played any kind of music. I really want to hear their new A7's now that I heard these.

I got to hear Dr. Edward Choueri's BACCH 3D presentation downstairs and sound demo upstairs; my wife, dad and I were blown away. It's been the last piece I've wanted to add for many years. I built my system on the Dr's philosophy. 

- Steve
 

@yyzsantabarbara man it’s been truly a blessing to work with Hans Looman.  He is one of the most brilliant guys I’ve worked with.  He is relentless when it comes to building the best performing amplifiers in the game. Stereophile guy came to our room and listened to 9 songs.  He only anticipated staying 15 minutes or less. 45 minutes later he was still jamming.  We are really pushing the limits at Infigo.  Some amplifier companies build a look and image.  We go by musicality and performance.  

@calvinj I heard the prototype of your Infigo amp years ago at the Los Angeles show. It was the highlight of that show for me. Congrats on making a production version of that prototype.

Stereophile just gave us a great review for Infigo.  He was really impressed.  Some people don’t always come to our room.  The guy said he wished he would have came sooner. Which is a compliment within itself.   Anyways AXPONA really should consider being a 4 day show.  It’s that much to check out with how large it is and the number of rooms there are. 

Surprised the to see that no one has commented on the T&A Criterion S230 speakers.

I really enjoyed speaking Elliott Schultz from the company. He was quite informative and excited with this newer S230 speaker system. The speakers were impressive in my estimation but then again the room was huge on the main floor which was helpful compared to the basic rooms on the floors. I thought the speakers were well balanced without being sharp or shrilled on the high end.

Really enjoyed the show for a first timer and will go again since it's relatively close to my home.

Also as always the Joseph Audio speakers sound incredibly smooth and nice.

I was at Axpona. You don't have to convince me of Infigo Audio being good. They are always my sleeper company. I love how he has transformed the looks also. I love the industrial look with the big long power light bars. And to look into the artwork of the interior. Tell him he has done a great job. 

And also it is Borreson speakers guys. And they all sound wonderful to me along with their other gear. I like them a lot. Also Consonus audio is a new brand of speaker. Wow look out for these guys. Those speakers made me cry multiple times during the show. I really liked them. 

Perlisten  this time impressed me with I think it was Audioflite gear. 

The big PMC speakers impressed me. Yes they were overloading the room with bass but even so the rest of the sound was awesome. I can't imagine how it would sound in an appropriate sized room.

"why do you think I put the lol 😂 at the end! Lol 😂 "

Indeed you did.

Without wanting to hijack this great thread: "And yet the U.S. is home to most of the world’s best comedians. Funny how that happens. " US humour is very different to that in  the rest of the world.

Check out this Stereophile Review of Infigo Audio with Alta

@helomech exactly. 

I have always been told that Americans do not understand sarcasm. The above post proves it.

And yet the U.S. is home to most of the world’s best comedians. Funny how that happens. 

I didn’t make it this year but absolutely it’s all about the tool. Hotel rooms are terrible listening environments. The best i heard was about 5 years ago. Paradigm showed their new at the time Persona 7F (I think, possibly the 5F) with Anthem electronics and room correction. The room correction was vital in the setup. 

@laoman we do why do you think I put the lol 😂 at the end! Lol 😂 

I have always been told that Americans do not understand sarcasm. The above post proves it.

@laoman they spelled it wrong that’s all same company. Lol 😂 

"Borensen" Is this a new manufacturer as I have never heard ot this brand. They may run into some problems as the name is very close to Børresen, a brand from Denmark.

Fastfreight the Borensen c1 is really stellar. At times they play tune that are aggressive for others. If I ever buy those  C1? They will suit me well. Jazz,  classical music. Piano , vocal, rock like Bruce Springsteen album will work.Those agressive music they played are good for demo only.Those speakers will bring out what ever the source has.

Mike, thanks for the pics and your report. It was a great show with lots great sounding room and music. 

+1 @treepmeyer on the wincing!  I thought I was the only one to find the Borresens a bit much.  I have very resolving SS gear, yet still find these over-etched for me. Impressive in many ways yes.  I actually enjoyed their smaller speakers more.  By comparison the big Giyas with GTT's Audionet amps were stellar.

@thecarpathian Good definition of insanity, lol.

I was very much looking forward to hearing the Borresen's as I was unable to go to the Next Level demo a couple of months ago.  Must be my 74 year-old ears, but I found myself physically wincing more than once while listening to the X1's (I think).  That was a disappointment.  On the other hand there were lots of great sounding speakers and many rooms were well set up.  Several rooms had Magico's and they all sounded good.  Something new: an Italian company called Turnbull.  They had some stand-mounters with excellent sound, including bass.  There also seemed to be quite a few open-baffle offerings that were good.  I didn't keep good notes, but an example would be Pure Audio Project.

My taste runs toward the BBC sound and as always I enjoyed listening to some large Tannoy's, Spendor Classics and Hatbeth SHL's in various rooms..

A very useful show.  I need to be more systematic about notes and pictures,  though.

My preferences

Thank you @mikelavigne for your report. For those who cannot get there dues to distance this is very informative.

Please all of you, the speakers are Børresen.

Mike - thanks for all that work w photos and observations. Best to you in music.

Jim

@jayctoy we travel to shows all the time.  We get great sound but we come with tools to adjust and the equipment performs and delivers which is the most important. 

Calvinj I agree the Borensen c1 room there was no treatment. The system was able to perform to its highest level.

I think a great sounding treated room should be preferred but not necessarily required.  There are some things in a system that it should just do regardless of the room. 

@mikelavigne 

I am totally with you on the Goebel Wadax room. I heard them two years ago and it was stunningly good! Thanks for all the great pics a well! 
 

Regards 

Ron 

Calvinj thank you for posting the schedule.

@jayctoy we will be at the California Audio Show. June 7,8,9. We will be at the Lone star Audiofest 7,8,9. In Dallas.   We will be at the Pacific Audiofest in Seattle in September. We will be at Capitol Audiofest in Washington in November.

@jayctoy we had a reviewer in there. 

I pass by your room Calvin maybe pass 2pm Saturday, it looks like you guys are on break.Thats ok there is always next time.

@jayctoy we played everything in the Infigo Room. We played Bootsy, Gap Band, Human League, War, Pancho Sanchez, Hiromi, Fink, Ahmad Jamal, Lightnin Hopkins, Prince, Daft Punk.   We jammed hard. We played some demo tracks too. But people want real music.  

Yes they do that playing over and over again one album. I wonder what are they thinking Calvin.I mentioned on my previous post Borensen C1 room played different type of music, to showcase their set up ? It works.

@jayctoy exactly. Then they play hotel California and Diana krall.  Over and over.  Gees. No real music 

Calvinj one more thing I notice the guys who operates the system at axpona don’t k now how to use the volume properly in regards to the size of the room.When they use higher volume then the room can’t handle sound bounce all over. This year some system they are using very low volume.You can barely  hear and feel the music.

Everyone. Rooms can be difficult but you gotta have good setup people and even though you might no be able to,overcome the room. You still have to work it. You have to have good set up folks with knowledge. You also have to brings things with you to try just in case. 

@botrytis

i absolutely respect any listening opinions and did not in any way claim you were wrong. i agreed with you. when i sat down to hear the Gobel/Wadax/Riviera room on Friday morning and heard it do energetic music it was a relative mess. the large speakers moved too much air for that particular room to handle it. you could listen around the room issues to a degree, but most listeners would not likely do that and would not be expected to.

and my original response stated that i respected what you wrote.

i’ll stop there, i’ve made my other points already. but please see that i was not claiming you were wrong.

@mikelavigne Mike makes a great point. That point is that no gear on the planet can overcome a lousy room, plain and simple. Makes no difference how much money is thrown at the gear, if the room is lousy from an acoustic perspective, then the best one is going to get is what the room allows, and no more. This is why I always have a personal laugh at folks who spend big $$$ on gear and give little to no thought on where it is placed, and how the room it is placed in will work with said gear ( usually with no thought to what acoustic treatments will address). The forums are full of folk who have done this, ( not Mike L).

@larsman  They were pleasing. The Borrensen C1's were also nice sounding.

@jayctoy I don't know the equipment, but if the room is an issue, maybe try a different room?  I know that it is hard to get rooms. I am just saying other rooms with big speakers sounded good and with the amount of money in equipment in that room, I could buy my house several times over.

@mikelavigne Is a very passive-aggressive person - that is the type of query this was.

I was stating my opinion is all. 

@botrytis - as the owner of a pair of Marten Parker Duo's, I find your observation quite interesting and pleasing. I love how they sound with my gear in my room. 

 Botrytis , Mike is not attacking you. He is asking how you will do it? MikeLavigne is not gonna do that to you.I have never seen Him attacking anyone in this site.He is always willing to share his knowledge as much as he could so the reader will benefit from it .I bet if you ask Him to listen to his amazing system more like you will be welcome. 

Usually big speakers don’t do well at axpona compare to monitors.You don’t have enough time to treat the room and become familiar how ithe room and speakers interaction.Is it possible to be able to make the system sing ? Why not ? If the room size is right for the speakers. Example the  Borensen room.I also notice the speaker placement is perfect. The Borensen crew know what they are doing. Plus they know how to showcase the system playing right music for the speakers .

Thanks Mike…I wish you did.

@jayctoy 

i did not go into the Borenson or Raidho rooms at Axpona 24'.

@botrytis 

you are refuting my perspective, by claiming expertise on hotel hifi system room set-up. i am asking you to support that claim. 

how would you have overcome those room challenges?

you did not need to throw my perspective back in my face, but you did.