AXPONA 2022 Show Report
Final Update Featuring The First Floor
Audio Expo North America 2022 Show Report
Show Report By Rick Becker

  Nordost did the cabling here and I noticed the speaker cables in direct contact with the unshielded AC lines for the accent lighting. What was new from Nordost here was the little round Ethernet switch tucked way back in the shadows of a lower shelf.

The front end was the ultra-high-end ensemble from Wadax.

At one point a young woman sat down in front of me and opened her iPad to this Liquid Melancholy concerto for clarinet and orchestra. Beautiful music. It was recorded by the Lake Forest Symphony which resides about a half-hour north of Chicago via expressway (except when it's under construction.) The woman, who was involved in the production, was delighted to hear it on such a high-end system.

JS Audio of Bethesda, MD, gave us a real treat with their presentation of Dave Wilson's original Wamm speakers. They had found a new home in Baltimore in 1983 where they stayed for about 30 years. Dave had upgraded them several times over the years and after JS Audio acquired them they were completely refurbished. They appeared to be bi-amped with a pair of vintage Krell monoblocks and a pair of Dan D'Agostino monoblocks. I also noted a vintage graphic equalizer in the rig. Remember those? The wood construction of the speakers reminded me of old view cameras from the 1800s (on a different scale, of course.) With the modern electronics in the rig, it sounded pretty good. Maybe Daryl Wilson will come up with a throw-back model?

David Solomon of Qobuz jumped in with the guys from JS Audio for a photo op.

On the wall, under curved Plexiglas was an original ad with Dave Wilson and his wife Cheryl Lee. That he offered a selection of 100+ fine veneers back in the day was truly exceptional.

AURALiC presented an active rig with ATC SCM100ASL active speakers ($51k) at the end of their chain that included an Aries G2.1 streaming transporter ($5699), Sirius G2.1 Upsampling Processor ($7899), Vega G2.1 Streaming DAC ($7899), and Leo GX.1 Reference Master Clock ($10.5k). An AudioQuest Niagara 1200 power conditioner cleaned up the AC. The Techno music that was playing here sounded... well, pretty techno, but there was nobody around on Sunday afternoon to dance with.

As I headed over to the Expo Hall and Ear Gear Experience in mid-afternoon, there was one more idiosyncratic hole-in-the-wall to explore — the Journey Creation Complex which seems to be the perennial home of Synergistic Research. It is kind of an inner-office listening room with an outer office 'display & explain' space. This is just what Synergistic Research needs because their products need a lot of explaining for most folks, given the technology they employ. Or, as I have been fortunate enough to do on many occasions, you can simply listen to their products and judge for yourself. Most everything has a 30-day money-back guarantee, so it's not a big risk if you're committed to improving your system. (I use a lot of their products in my rig, including cables, power conditioner, and many tweaks.)

While Synergistic Research is all about cables, power delivery, and tweaks, the rig here is well worth noting. That's an Acoustic Signature  Montana Neo turntable ($34k), an Aurender N30SA Streamer ($24k) playing Hugh Masekela's Stimela. There is an MSB Reference DAC/preamp ($49.5k) and M205 monoblocks ($58.5k) driving Magico M2 speakers ($76.5k). If you look closely at the speakers you will see little SR HFT High Frequency Transducers that add a bit of clarity and spaciousness to the music. On top of the left rack is their Galileo Active Ground Block ($7.5k) with a lot of special ground wires ($395 ea.) connected to all the equipment.

The 'tower' on that rack is the FEQ Carbon with an ATM Carbon (($1695), a third-generation, two-channel acoustic field generator that enhances the acoustic space of your listening room. And underneath each component is the new Tranquility Base Carbon XL ($3250 ea.) which generates a field that improves the performance of components. These bases also plug into the grounding system. Also new was the Synergistic Research Tranquility Rack ($23k ea.).

Down in front of the racks is their Galileo PowerCell SX ($28k). This unit also gets grounded to the Ground Block. It is also sitting atop a Tranquility Carbon shelf. In front of it (in white) is their Black Box ($2k) which I've seen in numerous rooms throughout the show. It is a "Broad Spectrum Low-Frequency Resonator Array with UEF Tech that effectively eliminates bass nodes" and "...balances low frequencies, mid-range, and high frequencies through a mathematically derived algorithm based on tuned sympathetic resonance."

Naturally, all of the cables and power cords in the rig were from Synergistic Research including their newest Galileo Discovery interconnect ($8k) and speaker cable ($18k). Also present were the new SRX phono interconnect (($9k) and digital cable ($6k). There was also a new Galileo Discovery power cable ($7k). But don't gasp. Their extensive line begins just above entry-level and it is easy to explore their website and find a price point where you're comfortable, though I often suggest you reach a little further than "comfortable" when buying cables as you're likely to keep them for a long time.

Also, I think most people underestimate the importance and contribution of cables when allocating their audio expenditures. Synergistic Research is a hotbed of creative innovation and I've been continually impressed by the numerous tweaks I've reviewed, particularly their Purple fuses, which I assume were in all the components.

Here's a better look at the Tranquility Base Carbon in the XL size. Sitting on top of it is the Tranquility UEF Linear Power Supply ($2300) that ties into all their Tranquility bases including the Tranquility Pod seen in the foreground, as well as the FEQ Carbon. The white Black Box is a stand-alone resonator that needs no cable connection.

It is difficult to pop these Synergistic Research cables and gadgets in and out of the rig for comparison, though Ted Denney, CEO and lead designer, often tries. I should have stopped by earlier in the show to say hello. Alternatively, he has produced many YouTube videos where he runs comparisons that are often very discernable with a set of headphones. There is also a 30-day guarantee to bolster your courage to try out his products.

Masekela's Stimela was playing at low volume but the music was pure and highly resolved, if not dynamic at such a low level. It is a song that we all know well. Nonetheless, this was easily one of the Best Rooms at the show. I just hope the unusual location hasn't caused attendees to miss them.

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