I just arrived home from the AXPONA show in Chicago. This show might just grow some legs as the turnout appeared to be very good. It was not as polished as RMAF, but that isn't a fair comparison as this was a first-time event and RMAF has had years to achieve that status it now enjoys. One other thing I noticed about AXPONA in comparison to RMAF was the number of women that attended AXPONA. RMAF s pretty much an old geezer show with some young nerds mixed in. AXPONA has all of the old geezers and nerds covered, but they had way more women in attendance and not all them looked like they were drug there under duress or the promise of some new bling from a jewelry store.
I didn't care for the Doubletree hotel as it was a bit run down and funky odors permeated the rooms and hallways. The HVAC system was so loud in some rooms that it was almost unbearable. Another trend at the show that I didn't like was the constant loud yammering in the rooms when you were trying to listen to music. Some of the conversations were so loud you really couldn't listen to the music. And some of this incessant chatter was coming from the exhibitors themselves. People seem to be better mannered at the RMAF.
Having personally been the victim of having an exhibitor ask me to give up my seat to a reviewer before, I saw the same thing play out at AXPONA. I was sitting in the Sonus Faber room which had a pair of their $35K speakers and two pairs of stacked subs powered by ARC Ref gear. I thought the system sounded really good. JV walks in and hands them an LP to play. One of the exhibitors went right to a guy who was sitting in the sweet spot and asked him to move so JV could take his seat. The LP that JV gave them to play was some retched Janis Joplin LP. As soon as the they unmuted the preamp, the Sonus Faber woofers starting pumping like crazy to the point the woofers were actually hitting the grill *strings.* The sound was so shrill it was killing my ears. JV was going on about how great it sounded. I wouldn't have played that LP for my dogs.
My vote for the best sound of the show definitely goes to the VS room. Jack, those speakers are incredible sounding and if yours actually sound better, it would be hard to conceive. The VS room also had extensive room treatment and it was a very large room. The only problem with the room was the constant yammering that I mentioned earlier. I came back several times to this room because I was so taken by the sound, but I wish I could have told everyone to shut the hell up.
Did I mention Gibson's Steak House? Oh my. It is attached to the Doubletree hotel and it serves nothing but the finest prime beef. My friend and I had dinner on Friday night with Myles and his girlfriend Heidi and the steaks were just incredible. My friend and I went back yesterday for lunch and I had a French Dip sandwich made with their prime beef and I can tell you that it was sublime.
Here are a few pictures:
I didn't care for the Doubletree hotel as it was a bit run down and funky odors permeated the rooms and hallways. The HVAC system was so loud in some rooms that it was almost unbearable. Another trend at the show that I didn't like was the constant loud yammering in the rooms when you were trying to listen to music. Some of the conversations were so loud you really couldn't listen to the music. And some of this incessant chatter was coming from the exhibitors themselves. People seem to be better mannered at the RMAF.
Having personally been the victim of having an exhibitor ask me to give up my seat to a reviewer before, I saw the same thing play out at AXPONA. I was sitting in the Sonus Faber room which had a pair of their $35K speakers and two pairs of stacked subs powered by ARC Ref gear. I thought the system sounded really good. JV walks in and hands them an LP to play. One of the exhibitors went right to a guy who was sitting in the sweet spot and asked him to move so JV could take his seat. The LP that JV gave them to play was some retched Janis Joplin LP. As soon as the they unmuted the preamp, the Sonus Faber woofers starting pumping like crazy to the point the woofers were actually hitting the grill *strings.* The sound was so shrill it was killing my ears. JV was going on about how great it sounded. I wouldn't have played that LP for my dogs.
My vote for the best sound of the show definitely goes to the VS room. Jack, those speakers are incredible sounding and if yours actually sound better, it would be hard to conceive. The VS room also had extensive room treatment and it was a very large room. The only problem with the room was the constant yammering that I mentioned earlier. I came back several times to this room because I was so taken by the sound, but I wish I could have told everyone to shut the hell up.
Did I mention Gibson's Steak House? Oh my. It is attached to the Doubletree hotel and it serves nothing but the finest prime beef. My friend and I had dinner on Friday night with Myles and his girlfriend Heidi and the steaks were just incredible. My friend and I went back yesterday for lunch and I had a French Dip sandwich made with their prime beef and I can tell you that it was sublime.
Here are a few pictures:
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