AXPONA 2023
- Thread starter Ron Resnick
- Start date
What a great show! I've finally decided to make an account here on WBF. I've been attending shows for around 10 years and it's incredible to see how these companies have evolved over the years.
My favorite rooms of the show:
The new Magico S3, much smaller in size than I was expecting, is absolutely stunning and worked SO WELL in that room. Mind absolutely blown.
I always enjoy visiting the MBL rooms. A very unique speaker that always impresses.
The Acora Acoustics flagship seems ridiculously overpriced... I was a fan of their speakers when they first entered the market, and they don't sound horrible, but that speaker is ridiculously overpriced for what you get.
Unfortunately, the Estelon Extreme left me with the same impression... the bass seemed bloated and there was a horrible separation between the tweeter/midrange and the low frequency woofers. Not impressed in the slightest.
I went to visit the Shunyata room and was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the new version of the Clarisys Minuet panels in that room... just as good as, if not better, than they sounded at the Florida show in February. They blow the Alsyvox speakers away... Clarisys has one of the best sounding speakers in the market right now.
That's what I have for now. I may post up some more notes soon.
My favorite rooms of the show:
The new Magico S3, much smaller in size than I was expecting, is absolutely stunning and worked SO WELL in that room. Mind absolutely blown.
I always enjoy visiting the MBL rooms. A very unique speaker that always impresses.
The Acora Acoustics flagship seems ridiculously overpriced... I was a fan of their speakers when they first entered the market, and they don't sound horrible, but that speaker is ridiculously overpriced for what you get.
Unfortunately, the Estelon Extreme left me with the same impression... the bass seemed bloated and there was a horrible separation between the tweeter/midrange and the low frequency woofers. Not impressed in the slightest.
I went to visit the Shunyata room and was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the new version of the Clarisys Minuet panels in that room... just as good as, if not better, than they sounded at the Florida show in February. They blow the Alsyvox speakers away... Clarisys has one of the best sounding speakers in the market right now.
That's what I have for now. I may post up some more notes soon.
Just a follow-up... I was able to see Chris on Saturday. Great sounding room, but sadly he didn't have any of his tables with him at this show, which happened to be what I was very interested in hearing. Never the less, we were able to have a great conversation. I love Chris! He truly is an asset to the audiophile community.
Best wishes,
Don
Just a follow-up... I was able to see Chris on Saturday. Great sounding room, but sadly he didn't have any of his tables with him at this show, which happened to be what I was very interested in hearing. Never the less, we were able to have a great conversation. I love Chris! He truly is an asset to the audiophile community.
Best wishes,
Don
BIG +1
It is impossible not to love Chris!
Sorry I’m late for the congrats to you, Ron. I was happy to meet the members who could make it. Sorry I couldn’t stay longer but I was wiped out. Four hour delay coming in, and 2-1/2 hour delay getting home!
I was worn out a bit. A great show!I can confirm these sounded much better than when I heard them at the Florida show just a few months ago.
That is a strong statement… where did you recently hear Alsyvox speakers?
I heard the Clarysis in the room with Shunyata, but the guy in the room tongue wagged about cables so long I only had time for a couple songs. I thought the speakers were quite good but unless I had a fair amount of time I’d not say much more. I’ve spent a lot of time with Alsyvox and they are fantastic speakers, so please tell us where you’ve heard Alsyvox the ways you believe the Clarysis blow them away.
Two recent panel designs, with the Clarysis at the show you got the neodymium magnets, but the fellow I spoke with could not tell me if they were on both sides like the Alsyvox (neodymium standard, not an upgrade option like with Clarysis). The fellow I spoke with also could not answer the question of the maximum excursion of the ribbon which is what accounts for the bass response (Alsyvox capable of 20mm.)
The Clarysis sounded good, and I’d love to have an opportunity to get a really good audition. I have a hard time believing they “blow the Alsyvox away” — more likely somewhat different sounding based on the distance between the tweeter ribbon and the bass ribbon. In the Alsyvox the super tweeter is very, very close to mid-tweeter, and both of these are mounted closer to the bass ribbon. Those subtle differences in design will likely produce audible differences to critical listeners -- better or worse hard to pre-judge though closer proximity could be expected to produce more coherence overall, as would having a dedicated super-tweeter ribbon which I do not see in the Clarysis models. Of course, quality of crossover parts will also contribute to differences.
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Yes, having heard neither it still feels like a strong statement to me. So much depends on setup, including subtle differences thereof, room, electronics etc. Under most dealer conditions nothing sounds optimal, and under show conditions things are often even worse (and critical AC power delivery often suffers) and all bets are off regarding assessment of sound.
Just last night I was agonizing again about two speaker positions in my system, differing in nothing but a toe-in change of only maximal 2 degrees, possibly less (subtle change, but with significant impact on the sound), both with pros and cons, and other people might have different reactions to the resulting changes in sound than I do. Everything matters. And that's in a system that otherwise has been optimized over years by me.
Just recently we experimented in a friend's system with different footers under diverse components. Very large differences (no overstatement) in sound. Everything matters.
So how about having to base your comparative assessments on relatively fleeting impressions of much less fine-tuned systems (show or dealer conditions) where small changes would matter equally but many things are not properly sorted out? And all small variations or deficiencies add up significantly to a final impression?
Not sure why you don't hire Jim Smith, Al. Life is too short to be agonizing over speaker positioning all the time.
I doubt Jim Smith will be able to do a better job in a couple of hours, than what Al has done with all his experimentation, in a mature system like Al's
Unless Al is deaf of course, and then it does not matter anyway !I doubt Jim Smith will be able to do a better job in a couple of hours, than what Al has done with all his experimentation, in a mature system like Al's
Thanks for patiently explaining this, Milan.
BUT: Of course I'm deaf !!!!! You nailed it!
Yes, that's definitely a strong statement made on the Clarisys vs the Alsyvox panels... perhaps what was meant by "blown away" was actually the double sided bass panels on the Clarisys blew him away... or this voluptuous Venezuelan beauty walked right passed him and she blew him away... damn that didn't sound right .
Anyway, welcome to the forum DS, and that's why I didn't write that cheque for either the Alsyvox or Clarisys, just can't be bothered. So at the moment, I'm truly enjoying those fine tunes on my CLX's! Hooray!
In all honesty though, so far from all my travels to and from, back and forth to various demos, I must say, and I've said this before, the Alsyvox ribbons (panels!!!l) are truly superb! There's no denying it. But this Clarisys thing is really genuine in their radical design when it comes to sheer weight, rigid structure and those double sided bass panels. So perhaps these will sound different and should be really tops! Question is, how tops... must must have a listen but where?
Nothing over here down unda, other than a few loose roos running around. Oh boy, that'll probably upset someone's apple cart. Sorry
Woof! RJ
Anyway, welcome to the forum DS, and that's why I didn't write that cheque for either the Alsyvox or Clarisys, just can't be bothered. So at the moment, I'm truly enjoying those fine tunes on my CLX's! Hooray!
In all honesty though, so far from all my travels to and from, back and forth to various demos, I must say, and I've said this before, the Alsyvox ribbons (panels!!!l) are truly superb! There's no denying it. But this Clarisys thing is really genuine in their radical design when it comes to sheer weight, rigid structure and those double sided bass panels. So perhaps these will sound different and should be really tops! Question is, how tops... must must have a listen but where?
Nothing over here down unda, other than a few loose roos running around. Oh boy, that'll probably upset someone's apple cart. Sorry
Woof! RJ
I liked that slab of maple speaker with the field coil coupled driver and DSP woofer. Very clean and smooth. Did not sound Hifi at all.
I also liked the VTL with Stenheim. Ron told me to look at the VTL amps if I want to step back into tubes. I liked what I heard.
Most of the other rooms were a disaster. I don't know I would say it was the equipment as much as the room. The ones I ended up at were overscale speakers for the space. I only saw about 8 systems in total.
I bought a pile of records, then scratched my head about how to get them home. I had 5 bags on the airplane. One was 49.5 lbs. Just made it.
I went out to dinner with The Audiophile Junkie one night with Edgar of BACCH and others. It was Easter for many people of the world. We went to a Lebanese restaurant. There must have been 25 plates brought to the table. I'm a pretty big food snob. Having said as much, it was one of the finest meals I have ever had. Edgar is a very fine gentleman. His processor is revolutionary in what it does. If your about soundstage, you have to try it. It immerses and envelopes you like no speaker/room setup can on its own.
I also liked the VTL with Stenheim. Ron told me to look at the VTL amps if I want to step back into tubes. I liked what I heard.
Most of the other rooms were a disaster. I don't know I would say it was the equipment as much as the room. The ones I ended up at were overscale speakers for the space. I only saw about 8 systems in total.
I bought a pile of records, then scratched my head about how to get them home. I had 5 bags on the airplane. One was 49.5 lbs. Just made it.
I went out to dinner with The Audiophile Junkie one night with Edgar of BACCH and others. It was Easter for many people of the world. We went to a Lebanese restaurant. There must have been 25 plates brought to the table. I'm a pretty big food snob. Having said as much, it was one of the finest meals I have ever had. Edgar is a very fine gentleman. His processor is revolutionary in what it does. If your about soundstage, you have to try it. It immerses and envelopes you like no speaker/room setup can on its own.
That was TreeHaus Audio, Rex. He was using a highly modified PS Audio DS DAC (original, not the new MkII). We PS Audio acolytes have been supporting its development for some time.
And it was great to finally meet you!
Not at all- you just need to admit you suffer from audiophile nerviosa on speaker positioning
Not at all- you just need to admit you suffer from audiophile nerviosa on speaker positioning
If I actually do, then a visit by Jim Smith will most certainly not "cure" that "disease"either
On a more serious note:
You like to try or change amps in your system. I am sure that at least some (no, certainly not all) of the differences that you hear with different amps, and which you like, could be mimicked by more or less slight changes in speaker position. It costs exactly zero dollars. You should try it.
I doubt Jim Smith will be able to do a better job in a couple of hours, than what Al has done with all his experimentation, in a mature system like Al's
If one wants to take it serious you need to reposition the speakers with every song played
Most song are mastered on different studiomonitors thus have a different balance
(Or you can cut of the high freq all together for around 10 db like some here opt /do)
No high freq no error
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