AXPONA Live

wow, that deserves an "unlike"

 

Interesting. When you say no warmth, can you define that a little bit more?

 

I am guessing the speaker isn't fully broken in. I've read the same comments from the Bristol audio show ( The Linton was used with audiolab electronics though). From what I can tell the 85th Anniversary monitor takes a while to brake in and the sound changes quite a bit during brake in process. The Linton being an upscaled version the sound it is to be expected to a little bit neutral on the forward side.

 

some post show thoughts and comments-

*The MBL room (the speakers that look like old fashion kerosene lanterns). Such an impressive sound and room. Worth the visit even though this stuff is stratospheric money.
*The Klipsch Forte III surprised the heck out of me, even though the midrange is seriously colored and they sounded like a PA system I loved it. Smooth, dynamic, big big bass without mudiness, bright highs and sparkle without fatigue, I could easily live with them- and had I heard them before I bought my Spendors I may have wound up owning them. If you are in the market and have the room- you need to hear them.
*My favorite sound was the Esoteric room featuring big big esoteric amplification driving silver and black Avantgarde horn speakers- the Uno Fino (about 12,900 Euro) absolutely spell binding. I couldn't leave!

 

The midrange was forward above everything else including bass and highs. I heard little bass and not much sparkle or air either. it seemed like the midrange driver was doing all the work. it sounded clean but overall too much. A sterile, professional monitor type of sound.

 

I appreciate your insight! Sounds like they were definitely not broken in. The Denton speakers put out very good bass for their size, but the kevlar drivers take quite a long time to fully break in and get there. Also, if they were using the mofi one step to demo, it does not surprise me that there is no warmth either. I may be in the minority in my opinion on this, but I do not like the one step process releases I have heard. They sound sterile and cold to me (very 'hi-fi') in a word. I've listended to them on a variety of systems including my own, and just not a fan.

 

@avanti1960 Thank you for taking the time and sharing your impressions from Axpona. I am interested(and many others at SHtv) in the Linton, even though it sounded less than stellar and very "un-British" for a British monitor.

 

Also thanks for this thread! Fun to vicariously experience Axpona.

 

The model HiFi 8. Great transparency-

 

Pictures (confessing to lifting the link from another forum)
https://theaudiobeatnik.com/axpona-2019-photos-day-1-part-1/

 

No problem, my pleasure. I know first hand how drastically the sound of speakers can change once they are broken in but be forewarned that they may not!

 

I wish I could have instantly uploaded pics but this site needs an image hosting service.
The Dadelus audio room also sounded very good. Nice transparent voicing. But OMG those PS Audio speakers sounded like the din in a large lounge. All soft ambient bass with very little clarity or detail, like the music was playing in another room!

 

What were they playing in the MBL room ? Very dynamig percussive tracks ? That's what they did in Brussels a few months ago. Sounded absolutely awesome! But manufacturers tend to play what sounds good on their speakers, so that is one of the reasons I have a lot of questions with audio-shows like this. Good for show, not for making decisions or judging speakers/systems!

 

The big Celestas or the smaller IOs? Both of those are actually pretty good (especially the Celestas).

 

Did you check out the audio note room?

 

I attended and felt overwhelmed. Was there for something like an hour before I couldn't stand it anymore. (I've never been to an audio show before, decided to go to this one just because I've never been, and realized I never need to go to one again.)

But in that hour, I got some impressions, good and bad.

The bad impressions surprised me. I heard a pair of large Wilsons, and a pair of large YG speakers, and found them boring and ordinary, and wouldn't want them even if they cost $100. [Insert "terrible hotel room conditions yada yada yada disclaimer" here.]

Two speakers that sounded great to me were the Klipsch Fortes, and a skinny pair of floor standing Elacs (self-powered, I think) being demonstrated by Andrew Jones. Both felt alive, like music. (And were in hotel rooms just like the speakers that sounded bad to me.)

 

Speakers that have always struck me as designed for those who listen to sounds more than music. Not surprising that so many gear reviewers own them.

 

Yeah, I've attended a few in NYC and it's not the setting to do any serious auditioning but they're fun for sightseeing. As Dorothy says, there's no place like home.

Forte getting some love, I've been drawn to the Heritage series lately. May need to do some rearranging of furniture and priorities!

 

Which NYC conventions do you recommend?

 

Did you see a Sota room?

 

Go to the magnepan room and have a listen. Very impressive.

 

Haven't been in years. They were Stereophile shows as I recall, one was at the Waldorf Astoria long ago.

 

Did you hear Rossi’s speakers?

 

Was it anything like the 2017 LA audio show - very mysterious and perplexing demo behind a veiled screen, no talking, get to your assigned demo time slot, sit, listen, and leave

 

yes, lots of boom / sparkle