Some Axpona thoughts


Went on Friday. Always try to find great sounding speakers that are not TOO expensive. Ones that impressed me- Vapor Cirrus Black(4K),Kef Ls50($1500), Rega RS5($1500),Joseph Pulsar(not cheap at 7K but a special speaker),Sonus Faber Veneer 3.0(bargain at $3500), Legacy Aeris(12k), Acoustic Zen Crescendo(16K) and lots more. Two others intrigued me. 1)Newform Research line array.(10K) 84" Tall with about 12 drivers and about 3 feet of ribbons drivers mounted directly in front of the other drivers. It looks odd and you wouldn't think it would work,but it sounded totally transparent and with 4 subs and a cross-over thrown into the package- it wasn't a bad deal. The star of the show had to be the Tad Reference One. It was worth the price of admission alone. At 70K, totally unaffordable for me, but what a treat to listen to. They played a Master Tape on a reel-to-reel of a jazz recording. It was literally like the sax player was inside the speaker. The most accurate reproduction of an instrument and music I've ever heard. That's what cool about these shows. I would like to hear other people thoughts if they were there-especially on the Newform Research(am I crazy?) and the TAD(I can't be crazy).
jackmonster
I'm with Drubin on all but the Kef LS50. Hollow sound in a room too big for them. The Blades however...nice.
Did Avalon display their speakers? Curious to know what Tidal & TAD models where on display.
04-27-14: Papermill
Sound Lab Millenium with Clarity Cable.
Thank you, glad you liked the sound.

Actually the speakers we demonstrated were Sound Lab Majestic 845s. (A review of this model was just published on EnjoyTheMusic.com) Power cords, power distributors, and digital cables were by Clarity Cable, while most of the analog interconnects and speaker cables were by Teo Audio.
The system at the show pales in comparison to what's here, even though the electronics and cabling are the same. Chris and Melissa Owen of Clarity Cable, who were in the room, came by today for a listen and were just about in tears the whole time.