Axpona 2022

Speakers that don’t look like every other speaker can be polarizing—some people like ’em, some don’t. Which is all well and good until some nitwit with a keyboard believes they get to decide for everyone.

Aretai, founded in 2018 by Jānis Irbe and Edgars Zvirgzdiņš, showed off their Contra 100S Stand Mount Loudspeakers ($7500/pair) that do a wonderful job of  incorporating a horn-loaded tweeter, both aesthetically and sonically, with front and rear firing 6″ woofers.

Florida-based Dealer and Distributor Bending Wave USA combined a number of blue-chip brands in a big room for big sound.

NJ-based dealer, and nearly-a-neighbor, GTT Audio premiered the new YG Acoustics Summit Loudspeakers along with a host of gear that made for some captivating sounds.

That’s one half of the Avantgarde Acoustic Trio G3/iTron/Spacehorn Active Speaker system in the Presidential Suite Alexander and if I stretched my legs out from the couch where I sat and listened, I could nearly touch ’em.

Vivid Audio Gaya G1S Loudspeakers ($86,000/pair) in the Audio Skies Room.

Oh Luxman, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Auralic had a full stack of digital gear on display paired with a pair of active ATC speakers for a nice twist on system-building.

The next room on my first day morning tour was about as far from silent as you can get, and the VTL/Stenheim combo produced some of the most captivating sound at the show, at least according to my big mojo detector.

The first room I entered for Axpona 2022 was silent.

More news of the new at Axpona 2022, which is just days away!

I will be seminar’ing at next week’s Axpona along with friends & colleagues Michael Fremer (Stereophile/AnalogPlanet), Greg Weaver (the audio analyst), and Marc Phillips (Editor-In-Chief, PTA) on a panel hosted by Stereophile’s Julie Mullins to talk about Reviewers on Reviewing!

With Axpona happening next week, news of the new have been hitting my inbox. Here are a few new speakers, or speakers that are new to me, that I’m looking forward to listening to.

Axpona 2022 is a month away and I am ticketed, booked, and ready to roll.