AXPONA 2017 Protocol

Al,
Thank You for the detailed report.
I think our experiences match a lot. I heard the PSB Imagine T3s on Sunday at the Saturday Exchange room. They sounded so much better than the demo I have a few weeks back. At that time the dealer was comparing the T3s vs the B&W 804D3s. I think the B&Ws have a hot treble, and so the PSBs sounded a bit rolled off. But on their own in the AXPONA room, they sounded great.
Monitor Audio PL300II were very good indeed. They sounded balanced.
I too was wowed by the Joseph Audio Perspectives. So much heft for a diminutive loudspeaker. They sounded pretty nice too.
I think you would have loved the ProAcs and the Atohm loudspeakers. The bookshelf Atohm GT1-HD was sounding like a medium sized floorstanders. I had to step to the speakers (2 floor standers besides it) to make sure that the bookshelf versions were playing and not the floorstanders. Slight bling factor aside, they sounded very good.
I also liked the TAD and the Kii. The Kii had no business to sound as good as it did in the demo that was given. I believe it is the DSP magic. One speaker that impressed me this time compared to my experience from 2015 was the ATC SCM40. But I was told that the combination of my Parasound A21 and this loudspeaker will not sound good. This speaker requires much more power. Not sure how true that is. But in the actual ATC room the SCM50 was making some of the best music of the show. These can make you get up and dance.
I liked the MBL, Vivid Audio Giya, YG and the Sonus Faber rooms too. These were all the upper echelon rooms. One thing I should mention is that, in general the rooms did not sound bad in this show - unless the speaker was not good. And that leads me to the Endeavor. I was disappointed by them in 2015 and that did not change in 2017 as well.

And I enjoy reading detailed report. So please do not apologize. I am sure folk here also enjoyed your detailed report. If you can get a chance, try to listen to PMC and ProAc when you are in San Antonio. Good Luck, and I will wait to hear your feedback.

Thanks!

Went Sunday after reading one of the earlier posts about smaller crowds that day.  What a great suggestion.  Very comfortable crowds, and we were able to get seats in every room visited (we got there right at 10 AM).  My favorites were the Kii, Spatial (great sound as always), Harbeth, and especially the new ELAC monitors which sounded fantastic (especially at the suggested price of $2,500).  I also thought the Salk Song3a sounded very good, and what a gorgeous finish!

Biggest gripe was the choice of music and the volumes which some of the exhibitors used.  No need to crank bad rock to '11' in those small rooms and with only 3-4 people in them (actually, shouldn't crank bad rock under any circumstances).  Had to repeatedly ask to have the sound turned down to more appropriate levels at which I listen.  Otherwise a good show.

Ihor I agree nice show, the new Elac, Aurum Cantus, new technics all are excellent speakers, Austin Acoustic is the best for higher echelon.

Anyone got to Hear Atma-Sphere & Classic Audio Loudspeakers?

@dragon_vibe I did spend some time in this room. When I was there the sound I heard was engaging, really beautiful. If I'm not mistaken, they were featuring the T1.5 Reference--little dog and parrot sitting on top of the speakers. Those speakers take up some significant real estate. Anyway, I would have spent more time in the room, the SQ was very good, but it was a large room and lots of people were there socializing vocally. It simply was too much verbal competition fighting against the music. So I left. What I heard, I would love to hear again--in an otherwise quieter room.