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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

Showing 2 responses by ohlala

ohlala
1,231 posts
 
The Essential Audio room was fantastic and a lot work to setup I am sure. With my budget, the more rough-around-the-edges King Sound ESL with Purity & Hegel was a big winner.
Really liked the Y.F.S. with Endeavor room. Compelling offerings from them. Lou Hinkey was open about sharing useful insight to his Daedalus speakers. They were well balanced, easy on the ears and good detail at that price point.
ohlala
1,231 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.
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