I settle into the car, buckling up one last time.
I’m walked out.
I’m talked out.
I’m certainly listened out.
And I’m heading home. Another AXPONA under my belt. Another long weekend of too much music, too much walking, way too many flights of stairs (my first AXPONA where I completely avoided the nearly useless elevators), too much eating (at least for dinner), and yet never enough of renewing acquaintances and hanging out with friends, sometimes well past midnight (you know who you are).
One personal theme seemed to dominate AXPONA this year – frustration. I was not alone with this feeling. AXPONA had the most exhibitors ever in the show’s history, so there was almost too much to see. (According to a post-show press release, this year’s AXPONA also broke attendance records.) If we attempted to visit one room for a specific product or tried to meet a friend or industry acquaintance, we were pulled in too many directions along the way.
Here’s a perfect example. Frank Doris and I both attended the Linkwitz Lab room. Normally we touch base only a few times throughout the show on our own side quests, but I recall Frank telling me that he had met engineer Barry Diament decades ago, and was interested in renewing their acquaintance at this show if their paths crossed. Having stumbled into the Linkwitz room midway through Diament’s scheduled presentation, I shot Frank a quick text message. Which meant he had to abandon other plans to get up to the room. And that also meant we, being ever the gracious guests that we are, wanted to stick around and listen to the next presentation in the room, which took up another 30 minutes.
Regardless of the time spent, it was a pleasure to get to spend a few moments chatting with Barry between presentations. His name has been on so many recordings that it was nice to finally meet the person behind them. (In 2024, Linkwitz hosted a presentation by Kevin Gray.) I can see systems every year at AXPONA; I doubt I’ll get to meet a recording engineer more than once in a lifetime. And the Linkwitz dipoles sounded as wonderful as they did last year, perhaps one of the few cone/dome speaker systems I could live with.
Anyhow, repeat that interruption in my routine several times a day, and you have a rough idea of how a typical day went this year for me. It is nice to see AXPONA has grown to become the biggest show in the US but by the same token, it is almost to the point of being unmanageable. You’re allotted only enough time across three days racing to visit many rooms too briefly, or visit too few rooms when spending quality time in each.
No matter what, Friday morning’s biggest question is, “Where do I start??”
Despite that, I visited quite a few favorite exhibitors, poked my ears briefly into many of the other demo rooms, and learned about a handful of new vinyl-related products in my travels around the many floors of the show.
While the exhibition hall hosts a handful of new and used record vendors (where I purchased nothing this year), my favorite stop in that area is Butcher Block Acoustics. Since the last show, they’ve introduced a new RigidRack Plus series called The Beast. In the two-shelf version, both the top and bottom shelves are three inches thick; the three-shelf version offers the thicker shelf on the bottom only, with the two top shelves measuring the standard 1½-inch thickness.
They have also added hardwood cable risers to their product line, which I like due to their thick, chunky construction. These cube-shaped risers, three inches per side, feature a one inch wide half-round notch in the top, and viscoelastic damping on the bottom.
The third new product are hardwood 1½-inch wide legs (risers) for their wood block platforms, available in lengths of four, six, and eight inches. The top features a threaded stud, and the bottom a threaded insert for your choice of feet (which could be spikes, isolation feet, etc.).
The Beast two-shelf unit, with cable risers on top:
Nagaoka appeared at AXPONA for the first time, and were introducing the new flagship MP-700 moving iron cartridge. The new model will have a MicroRidge stylus and internal improvements including use of a tension wire, a magnetic flux induction plate, and a new cartridge “frame” made of duralumin, plated with tin, and insulated to reduce noise from static.
Hana has upgraded their S series to a Mk II. The “S” indicates the cartridge has a Shibata stylus, and improvements include a more rigid tapered aluminum cantilever which helps reduce effective tip mass, an improved non-resonant body, cryogenic treatment of some interior parts, and an improved generator found in the ML model and the Umami Blue.
Audio-Technica also mentioned that they are developing a new line of moving magnet cartridges that will sit above the current VM series. There is no series designation yet, and no release date, but I did learn that the new series will feature beryllium cantilevers, and the now-standard selection of three stylus tips – the traditional A-T Microline, the Shibata, and the SLC (Super Line Contact). I’m looking forward to trying one in my system.
One disappointment: I wanted to see the Fonoteek record cleaner, but I could not locate it anywhere at the show. This is a top-of-the-line record cleaning system by the folks who brought us the Degritter. The Fonoteek is a floor-standing unit with advanced ultrasonic cleaner, internal brushes, two large water tanks with advanced filtering (one each for wash and rinse cycles…but can it do my socks?), and an air blade for drying the records. One thing that ultrasonic cleaners (including the Degritter) fall flat on is the removal of greasy fingerprints from a record. I am hoping the Fonoteek corrects this.
Maybe we’ll see this next year? (Photo courtesy of Degritter.)
While “themed” turntables have become passé in recent years, Clearaudio’s execution is worth featuring here. They are offering a limited edition Al Di Meola turntable. It is seen here below with a matching Di Meola edition Clearaudio phono cartridge. Oddly, I never heard a single note out of this rig during the show – every time I passed by, the platter was rotating with Di Meola’s album Elegant Gypsy spinning, but never being played.
In the “I feel like I’ve been living under a rock” department, I came across a turntable brand that relaunched in 2021…and I didn’t come across any of their turntables until this year’s show. One complaint I hear about modern turntables is that there appear to be few, if any, fully automatic models. The Dual CS529 is a fully automatic model, designed and manufactured in Germany. Not only is it fully automatic, some functions can be triggered through their app via Bluetooth. It also offers a built-in phono preamplifier. If you don’t want to spring for the CS529, there are more basic automatic units, the CS329 and CS429, with fewer features that cost less. If you prefer a manual turntable, you’ll find options in the CS618Q (with auto lift and stop), the CS518, and the CS418.
The CS529:
A notable product relaunch this year was the introduction of the popular Revox B77 Mk. III tape deck. The version pictured below is the Alice Cooper special edition, limited to 25 numbered units worldwide, signed by Cooper himself. They also showed a turntable, the T700, and Revox also now sells what they call Master Tapes, real-time copies of all-analog recordings. As part of their Alice Cooper promotion, they are selling a “Master Vinyl” version of Cooper’s album Paranormal, which is a set of lacquer discs cut on the lathe directly from a master tape.
Revox B77 Mk. III:
Revox T700:
Last year I noted that Morel had reentered the home market, and the company displayed their new Sopran 634 floor-standing speaker at the show this year, a model one step down from their flagship. What amazed many of us in the room was the bass extension of this pair – it reached down low, to the point where a few visitors to the room were looking for a hidden subwoofer. And it wasn’t all about the bass either. Like the pair they demonstrated last year, these had a nice tonal balance without being too edgy, as many modern speakers tend to be.
In addition to the new speaker, Morel once again displayed the Biggie, which is their Bluetooth-capable portable speaker which through their app, can be used as a stereo pair if you own two of them. I’ll repeat my sentiments from last year, when I first heard these – someone could happily use these as a spare set of speaker in a small room and not want for anything. For their size, cost, and capability, they sound more like a really good bookshelf speaker than they do a portable. They are available in several color choices.
Morel also displayed a couple of systems in another, and unexpected, part of the show. This year, AXPONA added a high-end car audio exhibit tied to an IASCA (International Auto Sound Challenge Association) competition. Unlike much of the hand-wringing I saw on the internet prior to the show, this was not a festival of extreme volume and structure-leveling bass – it was more about high-end car audio. At the most, I only heard a faint rumble of bass from the vehicles on display. Morel had a couple of their own vehicles featuring their automotive speaker line, including the Supremo Special Edition, an active three-way component speaker system. I did not get to demo any of the systems due to time constraints but at least got a few photos of the proceedings.
Overview of the car audio exhibit:
A custom installation:
This year, Klipsch once again showed their Cornwall speakers, as well as a nicely finished set of La Scalas. For 2025, they were highlighting the La Scala AL6, which is now available with an optional active crossover which also time-aligns the drivers for a more coherent sound. The rear of the La Scala has two sets of inputs for each driver – one which uses the speaker’s onboard crossover, and the other an input direct to the driver. The active crossover is also available for the current Klipschorn model as well.
Here’s an unexpected perk at AXPONA – you could meet Jesus! One of the most unusual displays this year was in the Ear Gear Expo. Cardas Audio brought along two of their cable terminator people, Jesus Ornelas and Jason Duval, who were soldering cables throughout the three days of the show. I understand that it was quite well received, and I enjoyed a brief conversation with Jesus regarding some older Cardas cables I own. Visiting them makes me miss the days of smelling rosin-core solder. (And yes, Cardas sells that also. It’s one of their more popular products.)
Jesus Ornelas (left) and Jason Duval of Cardas Audio (right) at work. (Photo courtesy of Cardas Audio, as I forgot to take my own.)
More of the Ear Gear Expo:
The music in the rooms? More disappointing this year than ever, I’m afraid. I’m not the only one who feels that way. (Thank goodness our late Saturday “ear cleansing” session provided a much-needed musical reset.) My prized drink coaster from 2023 AXPONA says it all:
This may be the end, however. I don’t know if I can do AXPONA anymore. It’s physically tiring, it can be frustrating, it’s an overload of the senses, and it’s mentally draining. So it goes without saying, I’ll see all of you again at AXPONA in 2026!
Header image: it's not a plasma speaker; it's a strange-looking fireplace in the hotel lobby. We don't know if it had any effect on the sound of the systems near it.
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