Audio Expo North America Show 2025 Prelude
By 10 a.m. I pulled into the distant parking lot....
AXPONA 2025 Show Report By Rick Becker
Assorted Photos By Dr. Bump And Chuck Bruce

  I had requested a Press Pass weeks ago and packed my bags on Thursday, but as the time to depart approached I had misgivings about going. It was going to be a pleasure trip without writing a show report but I was only halfway through my Montreal report from that show, two weeks earlier. There was still much writing ahead.

As I sat at my computer after dinner, the phone rang while I was scanning the internet for political news at 6 p.m. and trying to decide whether to go or stay. Steve Rochlin, who was unaware I was planning to go anyway, asked if there was any way I could get to Chicago to cover the show. The main reporter couldn't make it at the last minute.

At 7 p.m. I tore the receipt off the gas pump and hopped on the New York State Thruway with a full tank. After five hours of sleep in a service area on the Indiana Toll Road, I grabbed a thermos full of coffee at the 7-Eleven. As I pulled out my credit card the young woman (most of them are young for me, these days) said "No charge". The day was starting out right.

By 10 a.m. I pulled into the distant parking lot at the Renaissance and discovered I had left my video camcorder charging at home. This was a game-changer as I use the camcorder to make verbal and visual notes in the rooms. As I hiked to the Hotel from the over-flow lot I came up with Plan B. With over 200 rooms, plus Ear Gear and a bullpen full of exhibitor tables, maybe I could cover them all with photos and just a few words on the most impressive or unique presentations.

So that's what I did. I visited virtually every room. (A couple were locked for some unposted reason.) I'll try to post at least one photo from every room — after all, these guys paid about $8000 to $10,000 bucks to exhibit, not to mention the cost of getting their product delivered to Chicago. They all deserve some mention in the Press.

The atmosphere was vibrant and positive, largely oblivious to the political crisis teetering on the brink. There were lots of great rooms and new products. I'll try to mention those I can remember but without my camcorder, I was metaphorically on crutches.

I picked up review samples from two companies at the show. The first was a $2500 voodoo tweak about the size of a thumb drive from Nirvana Audio Co., a new company from Taiwan that had a room on the 5th Floor. They will very likely be getting a rave review. The second company was Stack Audio, a British company whose Linn LP12 aftermarket upgrades I've reviewed in the past, and who now make what I consider the finest reasonably priced footers in the industry. They have followed up with a new record clamp and turntable mat, both Patent Pending.

I tried them out briefly for the first time before I began writing this evening and I can highly recommend them. They will be more formally reviewed in a special article on multiple turntable tweaks, hopefully this summer. In the meantime, just go out and buy them. The mat, in particular, is that good. The record clamp is also outstanding. And yes, I've tried a lot of each over the thirty years I've been covering audio shows.

As usual, I start at the top and work down, visiting each room in numerical order. If I don't have a photo for a given room — that's my screw-up. If I don't comment on a given room, either there was nothing that jumped out at me, or my memory failed me. I had in-depth experiences in some rooms and I will talk about those at greater length. I'm starting with 679 photos from the weekend, but I won't show you all of them. I will also be working simultaneously on my Montreal report, so cut me a little slack if I seem to be moving slowly. Hopefully, I'll wrap it all up before the nine-day Jazzfest in Rochester, NY in the last week of June.

So let's get on with it. Part 1 will be on the 16th Floor... coming soon so check back daily for more AXPONA 2025 audiophile / high-end audio show coverage.

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