AXPONA: Ascending the Heights
Negotiations complete, fingers crossed, I discover myself with 18 more rooms to go on floors 12 and 4, and a short day in which to cover them
AXPONA: Herb's First Day
Because the energy is so strong, I always feel drawn to these rooms, and once there, I lose time, spend money, and feel young again
AXPONA: Herb's Friday Postlude
I always laugh at Andrew Jones's demonstrations, because every time he plays some bass-slamming blockbuster, the curtains behind the speakers start flapping in the breeze from the force and velocity of the speaker's rear port.
AXPONA: Jason's Friday Finish
I scored big this year, because my floors included High Water Sound's room. As usual, Jeffrey Catalano was a breath of fresh air, playing LPs of music not encountered in other rooms
AXPONA: Jason's Journey Continues
The AudioEngine team at AXPONAfrom left to right: Brett Bargenquast, Morgan Day, Gavin Fish (also of LH Labs), and Patrick Carrwere really happy with their flagship HD6 self-powered loudspeakers ($750/pair). These handsome little babies integrate aptX Bluetooth and Toslink optical to play 24/96 files. They also stream Tidal, Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube wirelessly via smartphone, tablet, or good old fashioned computer. Optical yields the highest-resolution sound. You can even connect your TV or turntable.
AXPONA: Lower Level Vistas
Once Pro Musica Chicago discovered that one of the electrical outlets in their room was severely handicapped, as it were, and switched to another, the VTL TL5.5 preamp with phono stage ($10,500) and VTL S200 power amp ($12,500) delivered eminently neutral sound
AXPONA: Race to the Finish Line
Slam and visceral impact were superb, highs transparent and extended, and percussion extremely impressive in the ENIGMAcoustics room
AXPONA's Solid Start
Even before 10am had rolled around on opening day, eager audiophiles were obtaining badges in the lobby of the Westin O'Hare
AXPONA's Successful Close
AXPONA Chicago 2016 was, by all accounts, a success. JD Events, who stage the show, report that they sold 5934 tickets, a 16% increase over 2015
Herb's Final Rooms
Brian Walsh and Essential Audio of Barrington, IL put on a highly enjoyable demonstration. There was something eccentric but wonderful happening with each song. The equipment mix was eccentric and wonderful, too: What is not to like about the Kuzma Stabi S turntable ($2156 and perhaps the best bargain in contemporary hifi), the Kuzma Stogi Ref 313 CE VTA tonearm ($4640), and Kuzma CAR-30 moving-coil cartridge. The digital source components were equally impressive: Aurender N100H music player/streamer ($2699), and the Resonessence Labs Veritas DAC which was premiering at Axpona ($2850).