3 days, 200 listening rooms, 9,000+ attendees, 600+ high-end audio brands, 445 photos.
Axpona is America’s Biggest Show and according to my rough calculation it felt more crowded this year than any other. Friday and Saturday saw the tower floor hallways nearly too crowded to elbow through with most rooms filled to capacity. This is all good news as far as I’m concerned even though it makes covering a show this size that much more difficult, not counting the 5 lifetimes I spent waiting for elevators (exaggeration for comic effect).
I have one thought for the show organizers, who clearly need no advice from me–how about a press day? Or even a few hours for press only so we get a nice chunk of work done in a shorter amount of time. I know it would be a big help and High End Munich offers 2 full days for trade only and I’ll be there in a few weeks to take full advantage.
I’ll repeat myself to emphasize the greatest thing about visiting a hifi show, beyond the people, is we’re reminded there are as many ways to approach hifi design as there are hifi designers. There is no right or best way, just ways because hifi is a human endeavor and one that is not governed by any particular taste or limited set of measured criteria.
To my mind looking for a “Best” or “Bests” at a hifi show is as wrongheaded as looking for a “Best” room in a museum or library because taste should never become some fixed thing that limits experience. My best guess is this helps explain why some men walking around Axpona look as if they’re arriving for a colonoscopy instead of an event whose ultimate purpose is the enjoyment of music.
Axpona was a resounding, if exhausting, success filled with great people, great gear, and even some great music. Bravo!
