Axpona 2024 Best of Show and Wrap Up

    Audio: Listen to this article.

Audio Expo North America 2024 is in the books, and I look forward to 2025. The best part of this year’s show was seeing and talking with Audiophile Style contributors Rajiv Arora @austinpop , Bob Fairbairn @bobfa , and Joe Whip @JoeWhip ! When we get together to chat, you’d think we all attended different audio shows because our tastes are different and there were so many rooms to visit that we couldn’t spend time in all of them. If anything, this reenforces the belief that choice is a good thing and we are all happy there’s plenty of music and audio products to satisfy even the most esoteric needs.

The turn out at the Evo Sound / Linkwitz event, where I discussed the latest Tsuyoshi Yamamoto album A Shade of Blue, was great. Evo Sound sold out of the album shortly after the event, but fortunately it can be purchased online from a number of retailers. I really enjoyed sharing my favorite tracks from the album, and I’m very happy nearly everyone in attendance trusted me that they’d be rewarded for their patience on the last track, Last Tango In Paris. The track is a slow burn, and during an audio show people tend to get antsy because of all the “candy” luring them to the next demonstration room, but the drum solo five minutes into the track is legendary. The Linkwitz loudspeakers really surprised me with their dynamics on this track. The entire experience was a blast.

I spent some time in the Aurender room, listening to the AP20, Wilson Audio, Shunyata system. I enjoyed the sound and I enjoyed talking to the Aurender team about its product vision and a couple items we’ve been discussion in the Aurender thread here on Audiophile Style.

Contrasting Experiences

No music is made for everyone and I keep that top of mind as I request songs for demo in each room I visit. Often when I play my own selection in a room, someone sitting near me pulls out his/her phone to Shazam the track. I’m certainly not a tastemaker, but I play stuff that isn’t the usual fare for an audio show. With this in mind, I offer two very different experiences at Axpona this year.

In one unnamed room I played a couple tracks with great music that also sounds great.  One of these tracks was from Lady Blackbird’s album Black Acid Soul. Talk about music! After a couple songs, one gentleman running the room asked for the iPad back, and announced to the audience that he would place something to cleanse our ears, after my music, with a fine solo violin piece.

The experience left me with a strange taste in my mouth that needed to be cleansed, rather than my ears. However, the show was about so much more than this specific gentleman.

In another room, video below, I asked if I could make an appointment to come back after hours, to spend more time listening. This room was very active during the day, and this activity even stretched beyond regular show hours, with people who didn’t want to leave (in a good way). When I returned, I was handed an iPad and all the freedom I wanted to get into the music. This is what our hobby is all about.

I was really feeling the West Coast rap that I grew up with, in addition to my collection of Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, and Pink Floyd, so I played a favorite album, Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A.

Sitting in the best chair, which by the way was in the middle of the second row, I had a blast and made a great memory. Again, this is what our hobby is all about.

Best of Show

Now for my best of show award. To me, the competition wasn’t even close, although I readily admit to NOT getting to all the rooms. The best room I heard the entire weekend was by Mark Sossa at Well Pleased AV. Hands down.

Mark has shown his passion for music, wise component selection, and great setup skills at Axpona in years past as well. But, this year was his best, and it was the best at the show. The first time I stopped in to listen, the internet went out halfway through the first track I requested. Such is life at an audio show.

I circled back on Sunday, and I’m very happy I did. Playing tracks I know very well, Mark’s system had an emotion pull that was absent in most systems at the show. In addition, the sound had a rightness to it that put me in this zone of comfortability.

I played Pearl Jam, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, The War on Drugs, and a track from Olivia Vedder off the Flag Day soundtrack. Each piece of music did something different, but most importantly the audio system enabled me to sink into the music and forget my surroundings.

Of note in this room were the new QLN Reference 9 loudspeakers, Vinnie Rossi Brama integrated amp, Merason DAC1 Mk2, and from Innuos the Statement Next Gen server with the Phoenix NET switch.

Also of note, based on my experience at the show, I’d say that Innuos dominated. The company’s products were in more rooms that I could count, and in many rooms that sounded really good. In the main Innuos room with Soulution and Rockport, the sound was really good, but I was there during the internet outage and couldn’t find much music on the local server that was up my alley. I meant to circle back to this room, but the closing bell rang and the show was over before I knew it.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again in 2025, and just maybe we can coax Josh Mound @Josh Mound into attending the show, to really fill out the Audiophile Style attendance roster next year. I know many members of the AS community were there, and I thank them for kindly saying hello. It’s a great feeling when even the OG members of the site chime into the conversation and say that they were here back when the site started as Computer Audiophile. If only they knew that I get more out of them, than they get out of this site (meaning it’s such a pleasure to do what I do, help people, and hear that this site has made a positive impact on their music listening over the years).

Now, it’s on to Munich, Germany in May!

About the author - https://audiophile.style/about
Author's Complete Audio System Details with Measurements - https://audiophile.style/system