2023 AXPONA Show Report

@dayglow Your comment made me realize that yes, the majority of my coverage was from the lower level floors in larger rooms. I did also visit every floor and listened in dozens of rooms. There were some notable rooms there, like the Constellation/Magico setup, AXISS room with the Air Tight monoblocks and New Franco Serblin speakers, and a few others. Bayz audio also sounded better than it did before. 

Every chance I get, I try to listen on Sonus Faber because I typically don’t like them and I try to make myself understand them. Whether it be at shows, other dealers, or other customers. I associate the way I feel about them similarly to how I feel about MBL, though I have historically found MBL to be more pleasing of the two. This year was no exception, but I can say that was the best I ever heard the Sonus Faber Aida sound. I’ve typically only heard them with the McIntosh 1.2KW amps or other similar gear. The whole Boulder and DCS stack configuration enabled the Aida to be more dynamic and open, while seeming quite natural. That said, it was still not holographic to me. It did not give me a sense of performers playing in the space, despite the system’s resolution and wonderful tone. I guess I personally place a lot of value in a system’s ability to deliver the goods holographically. 

Regarding the Wynn, Vimberg and Karan, I think any mechanical nature of the sound you perceived was likely due to the size of the room. It was enormous for the size of yhr Tonka D, especially compared to something like the massive Estelon in the floor below them. I do think different amps can absolutely shape the final delivery of speakers. I demonstrate this for my customers all the time. What I did love about the sound in the Wynn room is that it had the speed and imaging of something like the Borresen (perhaps not as pronounced), with the heft and fleshed out natural delivery of the Lansche and Thrax combination I heard in the Florida Expo. The Wynn audio was definitely quite effortless in my opinion, but not relaxed and not the most refined. Still, it moved me the most compared to any other room in the show. 

@blisshifi   Appreciate your knowledgeable insight and stating your audio biases.

@dayglow My pleasure. If anything I’ve learned in this hobby is that as objective as measurements can be, audiophiles want to be moved by what they hear. That movement is emotional, and what they hear is purely subjective. As a dealer and guide, I need to respect that people appreciate all sorts of qualities that different gear delivers, even if I don’t value them myself. I will never steer anyone away from Sonus Faber or MBL even if I don’t care for them. I can at least speak to their strengths and weaknesses in order for customers to make the most informed decisions. I’ve probably guided half of my customers to other dealers or brands I don’t carry because they’re looking for something different.

Thankfully since my dealership business is not my primary source of income, I’m not at a place where I have to make a certain amount of sales to survive, and as a result I find myself in a place where I can truly help and guide vs try to sell what I’ve got. Hopefully because of that I’ll find enough folks who share the value the same qualities in the gear as I do and become repeat customers in the lines to make my business more sustainable. For now, I just use any proceeds from my business into funding new brands and product lines that I truly believe in for my floor. Building the business from the ground up, so to say. And I want my whole journey to succeed based on delivering fulfillment vs driving profits. I’d like to say I know I’ll be successful going this route, but only time will tell. :)

@blisshifi you stated There were some notable rooms there, ..... AXISS room with the Air Tight monoblocks and New Franco Serblin speakers

But yet you're not a fan of Sonus Faber. Wasn't it Franco Serblin who designed and had his signature on most SF designs? I also heard those FS Ktema speakers in the Axiss room and in my opinion they were the best of show. Dynamic, with a controlled bottom end yet very natural sounding like real musicians were inside that room. It moved me like nothing else. But these are not "new" FS speakers. They have been around for many years now unless they were redesigned. I believe Franco Serblin passed away in 2013

@rsf507 Fair point. You're right, a bit of digging and seems those Ktema speakers have been around for 12 years, one of FS' last creations. Thank you for correcting me. I think it's the first time I've come across them. Agree they were wonderful, and there's no doubt the Air Tight electronics contributed to it.

I can't really speak to why I like those vs what I have previously heard from Sonus Faber. It's obvious that the engineering in the cabinet is quite different from the Ktema speakers. I did enjoy both rooms, but as noted, I didn't cover either of them as the ones that stood out the most. The musicality and tone of that AXISS room was really quite good, however. There were certainly a lot of "quite good" rooms. But again, everyone has personal preferences. No wrong or right in this one.