The AXPONA 2023 Chronicles: Part 4
The 12th floor was filled with glorious sounds.
Audio Expo North America 2023 Show Report By Rick Becker

Upscale Audio And Upscale Distribution
Kevin Deal imports the Tannoy line and they are a classic coaxial design in most instances of their higher-end models. They feature high efficiency and are capable of explosive dynamics.

From the Prestige series, they were playing the Kensington GR model in an oiled walnut finish on the furniture grade cabinetry suitable for small to mid-size manors in the Scottish tradition as well as finer American homes. They featured a full, rich sound driven by PrimaLuna tube components, also imported by Upscale Distribution. The Kensington is designed and manufactured in the UK.

The turntable was from Dr. Feickert Analogue in Germany, the Trio SE.

The PrimaLuna EVO 100 tube phono stage ($3695) has a nice complement of adjustments for MM and MC cartridges including selectable gain for MC cartridges. They call it a Phono Preamplifier but it does not have a volume control. It is also a 3/4 size component if shelf space is getting dear. This was a very pleasant-sounding rig — the kind you could listen to all evening without fatigue.

On a table to the side was a selection of PrimaLuna gear, designed in the Netherlands and manufactured in the Far East, and Pathos Acoustics gear from Italy.

Upscale Audio And Upscale Distribution
In their other room was a diminutive pair of Cabasse Rialto speakers on stands that put out an airy, holographic soundstage. The magic of these speakers is their point-source design with forward-facing coaxial tweeter and midrange, combined with a rear-facing 7" woofer. The speakers are self-powered, so they have to plug into AC. They can accept cable inputs on the rear or music transmitted by WiFi or Bluetooth. If working from a cable input, you need an optical digital or Ethernet wire connection between the speakers as only one can receive such a signal. But if you're working with WiFi, there need be no connection between the speakers I was told.

The small, almost cubical form factor works as a desktop or TV speaker. The $2980 price is indicative of the high sound quality I heard here. They are spec'ed down to 30 Hz and from what I heard it would be almost criminal to place them close to a wall on a desktop.

Also on display was a new amplifier from Cabasse with clean lines in a small form factor. Class D amplification puts out 125 Wpc into 8 Ohms, and 215 Wpc into 4 Ohms, all for $1790. It also incorporates DSP profiles for a Cabasse floor stander and stand-mounted monitor, but it can be used with other speakers as well.

A selection of Cabasse ball-shape speakers was on silent display, including the three-piece set with a pair of tennis-size monitors with a volleyball-size woofer for $2595.

I much prefer the Cabasse Pearl full-range balls as they do not have the visibly distracting side-firing woofers of ‘that other brand' which cause my eyeballs to vibrate. The smaller Pearl Akoya wireless active version shown here in white is priced at $1995 per speaker (in case you need an odd number for your surround-sound home theater. Very contemporary; very chic.

Friday Night At Shaw's Crab House
This being Friday night I headed over to Shaw's Crab House, a few miles from the show. As I pulled in I noticed the sign for valet parking, which explained the empty parking spots with orange cones closer to the restaurant. I'll spare you a photo of the red Jaguar convertible and the silver Ferrari, also with its top down, directly in front of the building.

Being alone, I took a seat at the bar and settled into the atmosphere reminiscent of an upscale seafood house that could have convinced me that I was at Capital Audiofest or its sister show, the Pacific Audio Fest in Seatle, WA.

They even had a sign informing patrons which crabs were in season, though I'm not sure they keep it up to date. I'll also spare you a photo of the huge plate of fish and chips served with the house's special flavor of tartar sauce. (I had to ask for a second helping.) The battered fish was delicious and they were not stingy with the French fries (unlike the tartar sauce). I rarely leave a restaurant with French fries still on my plate.

A beer would have been nice, but I still had work to do — downloading still photos and videos to be sure I wasn't having unseen technical problems. And studying the program to see what rooms lie ahead for Saturday. And then cull the wheat from the shaft of 70 or 80 emails that typically arrive on a weekday. Sorry if I'm sounding like Ivan Denisovich. It was a fun day and I'll be returning to Shaw's Crab House next year.

Next Up Is Part 5 With The 11th Floor
Moving on to Saturday at the show, Part 5, covering the 11th Floor will appear in a couple of days. Keep checking back!

---> Onward to the next part of Rick Becker's extensive AXPONA 2023 show coverage.

---> Back to main AXPONA 2023 show report page.