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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
tobb
131 posts
 
CSM your last response is little different in the fact you acknowledge they were very good just not your cup of tea.
It's all about personal preference.
I spent several intimate hours with them and they are very impressive however even without the AMTs I still have a preference for the Whisper XDs, its all about the volume of air moved.It's hard to replace 4-15"drivers.
I have read what others are saying about the Aeris too but from my standpoint the pairing of the XDs with the Coda 15.0 and the 7X in a completely balanced system is my reference point.

The Aeris will however do very well for Legacy coming in 4200.00 under the Whisper XD's base.
As for the Kings it was their flagship they had in Vegas so I was curious what they were showing in Chicago when you mentioned 12K was all.
papermill's avatar
papermill
80 posts
 
Charles,
The Alura was being driven by Quicksilver Mid-Mono blocks, EL34, 40 W per channel - really, much more power than they need. As to disappearing - if seated in the proper sweet spot, like most great speakers, they will not draw attention to themselves as the source. I know - I own a pair.
Tonality is wonderful and true - I AM biased of course.
AXPONA favorites IMHO:
Hornning in the High Water room.
Sound Lab Millenium with Clarity Cable.
Sonus Faber Aida w/ ARC in Quintessence room.
Venture Reference w/ Thrax amplification
amoung others....
ebm
9,311 posts
 
How was the Magico room??
raks
468 posts
 
I'll second the Quintessence room with the Sonus Faber Adia's... the Magico room IMHO was nothing special... and the TAD room was amazing.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,239 posts
 
Papermill,
Thanks for your impression of theVolti. The Horning is a speaker I am very curious to hear. My guess is it sounds quite good.
Charles,
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