AXPONA Chicago April 10-12, 2026 - Who is going??

williewonka and hilde45, thanks for the kind words. This was my first presentation, a "meet the author" session in which I tried to compact 20 years of testing and conclusions into 35 minutes of talk and 10 minutes of questions. I failed; a bit too much to cover.  ;) 

I am a relative unknown as regards the presentations, otherwise it may have been recorded. The content, if not the precise wording, is in the book, and extended discussion of the principles. 

It is more difficult to argue against my conclusions regarding cables, tweaks, and break in when I have conducted tests/comparisons in my room to reach my conclusions. The Audiophile Laws do not rest on conjecture or mere opinion but on demonstration. 

One of the most important aspects of the talk was the Law of Efficacy. It is used throughout the book as a means of weighing any change to a system. Applying that and the Imbalanced System test can save audiophiles many thousands of dollars and years of fairly undirected attempts to advance the system. 

The linked video in the post above regarding shows was tough to watch, distasteful imo. While I don’t care for the presentation, there is one point I concur; it is not possible to isolate the performance of individual elements of a show system. I discuss in my book what an audiophile is able to learn generally and specifically  from hearing systems at shows. 

FYI, I have a few reviews lined up from the show, but I typically do not discuss them prior to publication. I like the element of surprise with my reviews. These should be pleasing. 

@douglas_schroeder I agree with you about the Altec Lansing speakers. But I think the electronics paired with them should be considered as well. Infigo @calvinj ? electronics design is fascinating and worth a deeper look by us all. Those speakers can't be easy to drive and they could use any amplifier they want to demo these speakers. They chose Infigo and it's truly impressive! 

The headphone room had a lot of good stuff.  I will just say what I like regardless of price point since that is different for all of us.  

My headphone highlights were (in no particular order) the Audeze LCD-X and MX4,, Dan Clark Audio Stealth and Noire X , Meze 109, ZMF Atrium Closed and the Fiio FT7, Fosi i5 PLanar Magnetic

Headphone amps that stood out: the Europa from Moon Audio (expensive but mind blowing)  also a preamp, Pass  HPA-1c, Auris Nirvana (really liked it), and the Prima Luna 100 (integrated), the iFi idsd phantom (amazing for the price), allnic asra.  Oh, yeah, Ampansound products were incredible. Competes the the best.  

 

Focal Room was too loud to really get an idea.

I did not go to Axpona but I have heard a lot of the phones that were at the show. The Allnic ASRA headphone amp is amazing and not back breaking in cost. I wish that amp had preamp out (RCA).

The more expensive Allnic HPA 15000 OTL/OCL has preamp out (RCA). I had that in my home for a couple of weeks, and it was excellent with all the phones I tried it with, including natively with the RAAL 1995 Magna. I also used my RAAL SR1a with this amp but had to use Mitch Barnett's convolution filter with the HPA 15000 to mimic the baffle compensation which that phone needs. Again excellent, but costly.

I am also a big fan of the ZMF Caldera Closed phone. I heard that with a great amp at another show. A shame it is so expensive, I ended up buying a used Meze 109 Pro for $500 for my bedroom. It is not too bad with the Schiit AsgardX amp with integrated Mesh DAC.

ericfhodes1, yes, the Infigo system is the other half of the equation in the superb performance of the Altec Ribbionacci. I meant no disregard to Infigo. I know Hans, a personable man. He was showing me the Infigo streamer at the show, and he takes extreme measures in design to assure superb sound. Definitely not off the shelf design or sound. 

douglas_schroeder

Tell us more about your Book.

Happy Listening!