AXPONA 2024 Ron Reporting

Please enjoy my interview with Lukasz Fikis about the Poseidon and LampizatOr's implementation of Taiko XDMS!

 
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The Darwinian profusion of the expensive high end products never ceases to amaze me. I imagine economically some manufacturers do and don't make it, but there has to be a lot of money chasing these products for so many to be on display. Somebody has to be buying this stuff, and it isn't just the blog lurkers.
 
The Darwinian profusion of the expensive high end products never ceases to amaze me. I imagine economically some manufacturers do and don't make it, but there has to be a lot of money chasing these products for so many to be on display. Somebody has to be buying this stuff, and it isn't just the blog lurkers.

Carl, current prices of these high end audio products are insane and totally detached from reality. Did you see the $200,000 line array from Switzerland built with the “custom” Scanspeak drivers? Not only is there a lot of money out there, there are a lot of gullible customers and also I’m afraid that many, specially in the Asian markets use the cost of the equipment as status symbols. The high-end industry has come a long ways from what it was back in the 80’s, but be assure that that early spirit to progress performance and not prices still lives on in the DIY Audio Community. It is just getting ridiculous and just when you think you seen it all there is always more. I think that customers have become desensitized to these prices and don’t even correlate them with what is being offered. The premise that if it cost more it must sound better is clearly at play and being used by shrewd businessman.
 
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but be assure that that early spirit to progress performance and not prices still lives on in the DIY Audio Community.
The only amplifier I ever built is from 40 year old VFET Sony TA 4650 leftovers according to a DIY Nelson Pass schematic for single ended 2SK60 VFET (I used an old regulated linear power supply from 80's enterprise computer stuff that I got for $120) is one of the best sounding I have heard (builder narcissism aside).

Yes, this was a shock to me considering I thought it would be a toy maybe for surrounds. I spend under $400 for the various bits and implements to construct it, having the chassis, harvested VFETS and heat sinks already.

Given my various construction ignorances and beginner soldering skills, I was surprised I managed to modify the 4650 chassis and ultimately get the thing to work. I had predicted failure.

It is a robust six to ten watts of class A. It is like a 2A3 but with kick and intensity on brass, piano, and bullet like transients. I keep returning to it in lieu of my other amps as a chef's fine ceramic blade for detail and dynamic open sound in the midrange and upper midrange.

I sometimes listen to that l'il ole six to ten watt thing on the 3.6 ohm, 88db sensitive panels full range without a crossover. The sound is the old school 'pure' experience in which the frequency extremes seem of little importance compared to the midrange magic. It reminds me of what the old time Quad guys used to describe. You don't hear that very often, even in shows with all the megalithic setups.

The Pass DIY site has projects with much larger power supplies and Tokin SITs that will push the power limits of the theme to 40 or 50 watts. I'm too scared to attempt such a thing, and I just don't have room for any more large chassis.

However, I think all the exotic products at shows are Rolex gallery pieces from the guys who have the gnosh to build their artistic visions full out balls to the wall, and their various customers. That's fine, too, who doesn't like to see artistic extremism in all its forms in a hobby?
 
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The Darwinian profusion of the expensive high end products never ceases to amaze me. I imagine economically some manufacturers do and don't make it, but there has to be a lot of money chasing these products for so many to be on display. Somebody has to be buying this stuff, and it isn't just the blog lurkers.

it’s a reflection on the type of buyers it attracts.
 
I'm very happy with my new format of mini-interviews, especially for debut products. But the internal mic on the iPhone does not do the job in a noisy environment.

I feel terrible that Kevin's interview is almost inaudible.

So i ran the video through a de-noiser, and I think the discussion is now more intelligible:

 
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I like the masculine looks of the Goebel speakers, WAF be damned. Rhapsody's Lorenzo speakers also strike a masculine chord that I like. They look like they were made for a men's club library/smoking room with stuffed chairs and brandy snifters.
 
The Wi-Fi at the convention center totally sucks! I literally just wasted a full hour standing in a certain spot in the lobby so I could upload this Michael Borresen interview video.:mad:
 
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Avantgarde Mezzo Debut!

 
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