AXPONA 2023

[kluurs]

I stopped by the annual high end audio convention held near Chicago. I went to ask a question of a particular vendor -thinking that they'd have smart people capable of answering questions - fail.

Once that was done, I stopped in some of the high end rooms - and have decided that if someone forced me to spend a million dollars in under 10 minutes, this place would work well.

I got to check out a $300k turntable - mind you - no tone arm or cartridge. Interconnects - Transparent Opus would run around $300K as well.

I found some nice speakers for $184K and a pair of amps for $300K - which seems to be the go to price for the best.

One observation - if one is seeking to find a woman or even someone who identifies as a woman - this is probably not the convention to attend. Also, most of the people attending are the 50+ age group.

I don't think I'll bother attending in the future.

[mark]

The Mrs and I attended AXPONA in 2019.

I found my second turntable (The now discontinued Schiit SOL) there but it only cost $799.00 with a Grado cartridge. lol It would be 18 months until we actually purchased one. Still have it. Still love it.

We listened to a pair of Focal Speakers that were taller than me and cost $250k. I swear the woofers were like 36" in diameter and when they hit you, they freakin' hit you!

We sat in on a session to listen to the Steven Wilson Remix of YES, Close to the Edge. The system was well north of $250k.

Upon returning home, we also listened to the same remix on our Technics SL-1200 MK6 that cost a whopping $700 and the pre-amp and amp that I built from a kit, wired into my Klipsch RF-7 towers that I bought used for $600.

We liked our system better. lol

[Axtremus]

@kluurs said in AXPONA 2023:

One observation - if one is seeking to find a woman or even someone who identifies as a woman - this is probably not the convention to attend. Also, most of the people attending are the 50+ age group.

Can the ears of people over 50 discern the difference between the sonic output of a $150k system and that of a $300k system?

I don't think I'll bother attending in the future.

Is that because there was no woman or because there were very few people below 50?

[kluurs]

One of my favorite places to listen to music is a CD store that's a few blocks from our house. They guy has a few hundred thousand CDs - but what's amazing to me is that he has a very inexpensive system that sounds phenomenal in his store - largely because he has a great room for music - high ceilings and good acoustics.

It reminds me of an audio showroom that I used to visit. They had a wonderfully acoustic friendly room - that made everything sound wonderful. I still remember the owner assuring me that a set of speakers would sound "even better in your room." It wasn't true - but a nice wish.

[kluurs]

@Axtremus said in AXPONA 2023:

Is that because there was no woman or because there were very few people below 50?

Women have littler interest in audio systems. I remember a joke in an audio equipment magazine where a guy pretended to be placing a personal advertisement where he was seeking a SWF with a Krell amplifier. "Send a picture of the Krell" was the punchline.

[Jolly]

There's a drum store in Memphis with a special acoustic room for trying out cymbals. You go into the store, tell them what you are looking for and the sales staff will select three from hundreds (or maybe thousands) of cymbals they have in stock. They'll bring them to you wearing white gloves and your choice of sticks.

I'm not sure why. Most drummers are stone deaf.