Axpona 2016 - Impressions
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Apr 18, 2016 at 1:32 PM Post #4 of 16
AXPONA was our first show in the proper headphone-related room (not counting CanJam last month, which was a bit different than your usual audio show), and it was a very positive and encouraging experience. This industry is full of really cool, welcoming people, and the show attendees were great. I didn't get to run around that much, but finally tried some recent community favorites like the Meze 99 and the Ether Electrostatic, both of which were impressive in their own way. Definitely was my favorite show we've done so far. 
 
Apr 19, 2016 at 3:48 PM Post #5 of 16
Here's a quick and dirty with my show impressions. I spent a lot of the show having fun talking with the incredible minds behind the products and less time listening, but I did get some head time in with a few of the exhibits.
 
Campfire Audio - I've listened to the line previously and even wrote a review on the Lyra, but the Andromeda was a big surprise for me. I wasn't expecting its appearance and when the curtain was opened the magic was let loose. There's no question that the high end IEM market is dense and intimidating and yet I think the Andromeda will be stirring those waters when it launches. I did comparisons with the K10U and while my preference lies with the the Noble, the Andromeda offers what I see as a substantially better value in the universal market. With a $550 gap between them - almost 1/3 of the base asking price of the Noble - they should be on anyone's audition list before making a purchase.
 
Cavalli Audio - Disclosure: Warren and I talk fairly regularly. I trust his ear and I enjoy talking gear with him. In our chats he consistently talked about how great the forthcoming Liquid Spark is. I've demoed it briefly at past CanJams but I never spent an extended period listening. Well I did this weekend and I'm sold. I paired it with several IEMs: Campfire Andromeda, Noble K10U, Echobox Finder X1, and the Empire Ears Zeus XIV as well as some full size headphones like the MrSpeakers Ether and Ether C. Each I sat down with my skeptic mindset ready but any preconceptions were quickly dissolved and washed away. Day 1 purchase for me.
 
ELAC - ELAC had a suite upstairs where they were demonstrating their upcoming line of bookshelf speakers. They had a 3-way 5" model that will be sold for $499 a pair as well as a 2-way 4" design that will set you back only $179 a pair. Their $999 per pair floor standing speakers were on display but were not used during the presentation. I was very impressed with the sound they were able to produce from a small 100W system playing only red book quality files. I've been considering new passive monitors at home and I may give them a go when they're available.
 
Empire Ears - I've heard much of the line previously and I think they're a brand to watch. I had the chance to listen to some of the less sensitive prototypes that are in production and I think that many will be made happy when they eventually hit the market. My player can be a bit noisy with more sensitive headphones and the models with the lowered sensitivity played much nicer straight from the DAP. Yes that means that they'll need a bit more power but the trade off is well worth it with sources that may be a touch noisy.
 
ENIGMAcoustics/Questyle - I always try to listen to the Mythology M1 when I have the opportunity. At AXPONA they were powered by the newly updated Questyle wireless monoblock amp system and they sounded incredible as always. Wei from ENIGMAcoustics played a demo track that I'd never heard before but really brought the system to life. The dynamic range was incredible with the detail retrieval and spaciousness following suit. It's sad to know that the entire system is well out of my budget but it's never dull when I stop by their room.
 
Etymotic Research - I've previously owned the Etymotic HF3 IEM. I thought it was great. Eventually I ended up selling it because I had made newer purchases that were getting more head time and that was the last time I listened to an Etymotic before AXPONA. The new ER4XR model - named after the eXtended Response of the lower register - added some very enjoyable heft to the Etymotic house sound without sacrificing much in the way of detail, clarity or separation. I adored my HF3 with Comply's P100 tips, so perhaps it's time to buy another pair of Etymotics.
 
MrSpeakers - Dan and Peter were at the show demoing their line of products as well as the second generation Ether E (not the headphone's confirmed name) electrostatic headphones, and boy was that an electrifying experience. Based on what I heard at CanJam SoCal I would bet that some serious tweaking has gone on underneath the hood because it was a different experience in Chicago, and I'm sure that had nothing to do with the elevation or temperature. I don't like to write too much about the sound of prototypes because they most likely will change by the final voicing, but the Ether E is still one that I'm greatly looking forward to hearing. So far they sound excellent on the Cavalli Liquid Lightning and exceptional on the also exceptional Blue Hawaii SE e-stat amp.
 
ZMF - Zach was at the show and demoing a prototype of a new headphone amp. I don't know the specific models but it utilizes a 4-tube single-ended design and has plenty of connections for your headphones. There are two 1/4" jacks as well as a 4-pin jack for folks who have cables terminated with a balanced connector. No adapters needed and I love that. There was an empty enclosure on display that gave a feel for how the finished product will look and I quite liked the finish. The wood of the amp will make for a nice match to the gorgeous wood cups on the headphones.
 
I listened to some other gear over the weekend, but if you see something not mentioned here I either didn't hear it at the show, it's been on the market for a while, or it wasn't my cup of tea.
 
Apr 19, 2016 at 3:54 PM Post #6 of 16
  Here's a quick and dirty......

 
Just how I like it Axel
wink.gif

 
Great insights, I'm interested to demo the Lyra since you give them so much praise.
 
Apr 19, 2016 at 5:23 PM Post #7 of 16
It was great seeing everyone again.  Ear Gear sure was hopping, it's not often Sunday is as busy as Saturday, but the event rarely slowed down.  Thanks everyone for coming by to say hello or have a listen!  
 
Dan Clark Audio Make every day a fun day filled with music and friendship! Stay updated on Dan Clark Audio at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
@funCANS MrSpeakers https://danclarkaudio.com info@danclarkaudio.com
Apr 20, 2016 at 1:19 PM Post #8 of 16
I'm very interested in the ZMF amp.  I'm rocking my Vali2 from a Gumby for now, with plans to upgrade in the future to a tube based SE/Balanced amp.  Right now the MJ2 fits the bill, but being that I have a set of Omni's on the way, I'd love to throw more business to Zach.  Did he have any release date/projected pricing info?  I'm guessing it's too early for that kind of detail, but maybe.
 
Apr 20, 2016 at 4:51 PM Post #9 of 16
  I'm very interested in the ZMF amp.  I'm rocking my Vali2 from a Gumby for now, with plans to upgrade in the future to a tube based SE/Balanced amp.  Right now the MJ2 fits the bill, but being that I have a set of Omni's on the way, I'd love to throw more business to Zach.  Did he have any release date/projected pricing info?  I'm guessing it's too early for that kind of detail, but maybe.

 
PM'd!
 
ZMFheadphones ZMF headphones hand-crafts wood headphones in Chicago, USA with special attention to exceptional sound and craftsmanship. Stay updated on ZMFheadphones at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
https://www.facebook.com/ZMFheadphones https://twitter.com/ZMFheadphones https://www.instagram.com/zmfheadphones/?hl=en http://www.zmfheadphones.com/zmf-originals/ contactzmf@gmail.com
Apr 21, 2016 at 3:29 PM Post #11 of 16
  I know this was @moedawg140's personal highlight of AXPONA 2016:
 


 
Thanks for posting that!  Found my favorite pro wrestling arcade game there!  I was really happy for being able to perform my favorite combo after literally 21 years of not playing it.  I would have went over to Killer Instinct and performed Cinder's 80 hit combo, but it was time for us to go! 
bigsmile_face.gif

 
Apr 21, 2016 at 3:46 PM Post #12 of 16
   
Thanks for posting that!  Found my favorite pro wrestling arcade game there!  I was really happy for being able to perform my favorite combo after literally 21 years of not playing it.  I would have went over to Killer Instinct and performed Cinder's 80 hit combo, but it was time for us to go! 
bigsmile_face.gif

 
Oh man! They had Killer Instinct!?!? How did I miss that!!!
 
Apr 21, 2016 at 6:01 PM Post #13 of 16
Oh man! They had Killer Instinct!?!? How did I miss that!!!


Yep, and other fighting game classics such as Soul Caliber, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and the original Street Fighter with the hydraulic buttons! It was great reliving my childhood and shutting up most of the hella trash talking staff there. One of the Beercade workers tried to hustle me with Street Fighter II, Championship Edition, but when he went his hardest, he still got beat, hehe. Then this guy who wasn't a worker came in and we went back and forth with wins, he was really good...can't wait to go back and play those freeplay games again!
 
Apr 25, 2016 at 11:28 PM Post #14 of 16
Hi guys,

Axpona was epic as usual. I went to all three days and still didn't have time to listen to every room. Probably because I spent most of my time in the headphone room listening to the Campfire Audio Andromeda.



I was so impressed by them, I spent a fair amount of time bouncing from booth to booth to see if anything could wow me the ways these little green guys could. A lot came close, but there's something special about these things, they matched my preferences almost perfectly. I expect them to make an impact and have a good share in the market at their MSRP. There's an elite amount of extension and wide soundstage in these, it must be heard to be understood why I "hypesoundfied" the snot out of them.

The new Noble universal shells are a step up in quality, but a step down in terms of fit. Still I would rather take the new aluminum shells over the old ones. To my ears the name and housings may have changed, but the tunings have not. The Savant is ridiculously good. The K10 is a beast of an earphone that I always enjoy having a chance to listen to.

I headed over to the Shure booth to check out their offerings. The KSE1500 is the summit of in-ear sound quality in my opinion. It's a shame that it's in a plastic shell and costs three grand. If it had a metal shell and sold for two grand, I might consider risking spending the next two months sleeping on the couch because I bought a pair. Hell, if that happened I would have time to listen to them :wink:

The rest of the Shure lineup doesn't wow me (YMMV). Aside from the KSE1500, I think my second favorite from Shure is the SE215. To this day there's still great price to performance ratio in that pair of earphones.



Zach's booth had a lot of great gear pushing his cans.

Something that looks promising was the prototype Amplifier he's working on. Zach says he's going to do some more tweaks to it. From what I heard it sounds pretty damn good the way it was. I'm sure he got tired of me walking over to him and sarcastically asking him "where's the Beats booth?" Haha, thanks for letting me store my crap behind your booth Zach. If you let me do it again next year I'll bring doughnuts all three days.

I finally got to try the ER4 from Etymotic. Yes they are incredibly natural sounding. It's a shame I had to poke the side of my brain with a triple flange tip in order to get a seal. I also checked out their new variants of the ER4, the SR and XR. The XR stands for "extended response" and it holds true to its claim. I think many people will really like them.

I had a nice chat with the Etymotic rep, and told him to please make an over the ear version of the ER4. I also threw a dig in there that I would like to do a review/comparison of the new line and compare it to the old ER4. I think the Head-Fi community would benefit from a write up on this.



Cleer Audio was there and showcasing their headphone line. The most notable thing was that they have incredible build quality in all of their cans. I am going to be reviewing their noise canceling cans. They are boomy, but I will say they have a sub bass presence that Bose can't touch. That combined with the superior build quality makes me say that if I'm going to be flying and had to pick between the two, I would probably pick the Cleer Audios and leave the Bose at home. The noise canceling on the Cleer is phenomenal.

I also am checking out their two driver over the headphone. Again, they are a little thick in the midbass, but the build quality is great.

The best new friends I made were the guys from the Cavalli audio camp. They had the "bro table." What I mean by that is they had no signs, no flyers, no business cards that I saw. What they did have was a bunch of kick arse amps, and just about every high end headphone in existence.



The Cavalli Liquid Tungsten prototype was in attendance. Until Axpona, I had never heard the Hd800 and been very impressed by it. It seemed like people were hell bent on pairing them with top end Schiit stacks, and they always sounded bright to my ears. Well, the tungsten rocked the Hd800 like I have never heard. I was kind of in awe of this combo. Another great pairing was the Ether (another headphone that was always too neutral with other gear) and the Cavalli Liquid Carbon. Long story short, Cavalli rocks and the only thing cooler than their amps was the guys behind the booth. warrenpchi it was an honor and pleasure to meet you. Cavalli is in good hands with you steering the ship. I forgot the other guy's name, but dude, you're cool too :) Thanks for hanging out after the last day of the show guys! Next year come get some doughnuts from me!



Here's a picture of a couple of really expensive headphones from the Hifiman booth. I'm putting it here just because.

Boom, on with the next...



JH Audio was in attendance. I offered them doughnuts. They all turned down my offer. I'm going to be a conspiracy theorist and say that when you work for JH Audio, you have to sign a contract that says you aren't allowed to eat doughnuts. Anyways, It was fun to try out the Siren Series. The adjustable bass knobs are pretty awesome and allowed me to dial in just the right amount of bass for my preference. Well done JH Audio!



The Onkyo Dp-x1 is a boss of a DAP, and it appears the latest firmware update has addressed any bugs that people were reporting. THIS THING NEEDS A REVIEW FROM A TRIED AND TRUE HEAD-FIER. I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE! If not me, maybe someone else. For real, the sound quality on this thing is phenomenal, dynamic and rich with enough detail and sparkle to say that it's awesome. I was content with my recent LG V10 purchase until I heard this DP-X1. Now I have order envy.



This is what a half million dollar stereo looks like. It's the MBL room. I listened to a Rolling Stones concert there and spent the whole time wondering how they got it to sound better than if I was at the concert.



Here is another stereo I will never be able to afford. It's the Legacy audio room. The sound quality and midrange I heard coming from their speaker setups is incredible. This might have been my favorite room to hang out and listen. The sound quality from their rigs were just flat out awesome.



Here are some speakers I can afford (and plan on buying). The Elac UB5 bookshelf speaker is a masterpiece. The legendary Andrew Jones was there showing these babies off. He played us some Deadmou5e, and when the bass line hit I uncontrollably belted out some profanity. Despite the embarrassment, it got Andrew to chuckle. These UB5 sell for $500, but sound like towers that cost many times more.



So, I'm walking along minding my own business and I hear someone say "Are you Hisoundfi?" I'm like "ya what's up?" The guy says "I'm moedawg140, nice to meet you." We chatted for a good while and walked away friends. Maurice is an awesome dude and I was honored to be able to meet the guy.



The best thing about any headphone meet is the people. This isn't just a hobby where a bunch of dorks cram into a room and listen to headphones. It's a hobby where us dorks cram into a room and listen to headphones, then talk about them :) The conversations lead to friendships, and those friendships become bonds that make me look forward to attending the next meet.

zach915m, AxelCloris, Hansotek, warrenpchi, and two dudes who's names I can't think of (dudes I am so sorry), and myself all went for deep dish Chicago pizza, recapped the weekend, scored free t-shirts, and ended an awesome weekend of great gear and conversation.

And this is my 2016 Axpona convention in a nutshell. I hope this will inspire more peeps to attend the event next year, and I hope the expo continues to grow. It's an epic event and a grand experience for anyone interested in Hifi.

Cheers
 
Apr 25, 2016 at 11:41 PM Post #15 of 16
It was a treat meeting you finally, @Hisoundfi!  Once I heard you were around, I knew I wanted to meet you in the flesh.  You're a great guy, and I hope the Cubs do well for you!
 
Also, your Meizu HD50 headphone you let me listen to (on my neck in your picture, above) is seriously good for the price!  One of my favorites I've listened to in that price bracket for sure!  I appreciate the listen!
 
Hope to see you in SoCal sometime for some of our events (maybe next year, CanJam SoCal).
 
Take care! 
 
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