2. misc-audio
  3. 1363060374

Some Axpona thoughts

Went on Friday. Always try to find great sounding speakers that are not TOO expensive. Ones that impressed me- Vapor Cirrus Black(4K),Kef Ls50($1500), Rega RS5($1500),Joseph Pulsar(not cheap at 7K but a special speaker),Sonus Faber Veneer 3.0(bargain at $3500), Legacy Aeris(12k), Acoustic Zen Crescendo(16K) and lots more. Two others intrigued me. 1)Newform Research line array.(10K) 84" Tall with about 12 drivers and about 3 feet of ribbons drivers mounted directly in front of the other drivers. It looks odd and you wouldn't think it would work,but it sounded totally transparent and with 4 subs and a cross-over thrown into the package- it wasn't a bad deal. The star of the show had to be the Tad Reference One. It was worth the price of admission alone. At 70K, totally unaffordable for me, but what a treat to listen to. They played a Master Tape on a reel-to-reel of a jazz recording. It was literally like the sax player was inside the speaker. The most accurate reproduction of an instrument and music I've ever heard. That's what cool about these shows. I would like to hear other people thoughts if they were there-especially on the Newform Research(am I crazy?) and the TAD(I can't be crazy).
jackmonster
ltodd
14 posts
 
It was my first audio show, and I had a fantastic time. A lot of beautiful sounding and gorgeous looking systems. Here's a photo record I made of the event for anyone interested on Flickr: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjEjGUnQ.
raks
468 posts
 
After reading all the reviews on the YG Carmel’s, I expected to be blown away by them at the Chicago show. I wasn’t which really disappoints me because based on the reviews, the Carmel’s were on my short list for new speakers.

The Absolute Sound’s show coverage on the Carmel’s said “wonderful tone color, seemingly unrestricted dynamics (which wasn’t always the case with smaller YGs), super resolution (a house specialty), a thoroughgoing disappearing act, and an impression of deep-going bass that belied their size and form factor”... and Mt10425 (above) says “The best soundstage I heard was in the YG Acoustics (small) room.” Looking at the Enjoy the Music’s show coverage I was surprised to find that their picture of the GTT room showed a silver pair of Carmel’s versus the black pair that were in the room on Friday when I was there.

Is it possible that there was something wrong with the black pair?
roscoeiii's avatar
roscoeiii
1,155 posts
 
The detail and speed on those YG's I heard (the silver pair) was incredible. But I worried that they might be a bit fatiguing to listen to for long stretches of time. Technically amazing, but also quite in your face when I listened to them. They demand your attention.
ohlala
1,234 posts
 
Raks, maybe they were not broken in. I remember listening to the silver pair saturday an loving it. Not as enjoyable Friday but still liked them. Take my memory with a grain of salt. I do not remember the speaker color Friday, probably black. I also loved the Crescendos as well. It was fun that Robert Lee rountinely asked the audience if they liked the them. That room's sound may have benefited from him being there to place the speakers. Dynaudio C2s sounded good, but there was too much room resonance.

I stuck around the Volti room as they're dynamic sound was a nice contrast to other rooms, and the best horns I heard at the show. A little shouty, still.
phaelon's avatar
phaelon
1,038 posts
 
Hi Charles, sorry for the late reply. I didn’t spend enough time in the Volti room to give your questions the type of answers they deserve. I was only at the show for one day and was determined to pop into every room. That said, I can’t imagine anyone actually using these speakers in a room like the one where they were being exhibited. Still, I thought that they did a creditable job of soundstaging without being a too obvious source. I had no issue with their tone. I don’t recall what amp they were using. I know you’re looking for more and I wish I could oblige. Maybe the best thing I can tell you is that these are the kind of speakers that can make you forget why you walked in the room. It was that much fun listening to the music.
More to discover