The Only Complete Coverage Of Cutting-Edge Audio At AXPONA 2025
Rick's first floor coverage features top-level audiophile gear & innovations!
Audio Expo North America (AXPONA) 2025 Show Report By Rick Becker 

Iconoclast Cables (as well as Blue Jeans Cables) are made by Belden, as was Enjoy the Music.com's Max Rochlin Memorial Digital cable, as Belden is without a doubt one of the giants in the cable industry. They were also heard in room 1420 in the Treehaus system, where Rich Pinto has been using Iconoclast for several years in his system, and his speakers and amplifiers. At the booth, you could get one-on-one with Galen Gareis and his associate from Iconoclast.

Likewise, at the Elusive Disc block of tables, you could pick the brains of hardcore vinyl experts such as Kevin Berg (left) and Jason Marcum.

More than just records, Elusive Disc also sells audio equipment, phono cartridges, and other audio accessories. Just ask Caleb.

The Turntable Configurator.com website is where you can listen to combinations of different Turntable/Cartridge/Phono setups, painstakingly recorded to help you make purchasing decisions. This sounds like a very cool site. That said, let me suggest you keep an eye out for my turntable tweaking article coming out later this year.

Unfortunately, they were out of medium-sized commemorative AXPONA shirts.

In the far corner of the audiophile Expo was the Master Class Theater, where experts gave presentations to debunk all sorts of audio myths you've been harboring. Unfortunately, I never have time for such enlightenment when I'm covering shows, but I highly recommend such lectures. There are a lot of really bright people in this industry who can take you on a much deeper dive than most reviewers, including myself. There is always more to be learned, and often a little bit of knowledge can save you an awful lot of money in high end audio.

Groove Guardian offers premium vinyl solutions for record care, namely inner and outer vinyl record sleeves. Check them out online.

OnFilter was seeking to branch out into audio after establishing itself in more commercial/industrial fields.

I dropped the ball on this one. It seems to be some sort of amplification device for a smartphone.

Having bought a copy of Hoodoo Man Blues (LP) last time, I was greeted with a smile this year at the Delmark Records booth, possibly hoping I would splurge for a 1/4" tape version of the album, as cued up on the Yello limited edition of the new Revox B77 Mk III. This tape recorder was also on display in the Revox room (430) on the 4th Floor. Sorry, I'm not into tape.

Stillpoints had a table where I had the pleasure of meeting Paul Wakeen, CEO, after many years. (I more commonly encounter his business partner, Bruce Jacobs, at shows.) I wrote the first review of their Stillpoints footers and ERS paper back in November 2003, and continue to tweak some of my components with the ERS paper. Their footers have gone way upstream in price, but Paul showed me their new Ultra I V2 footer that is much more affordable than their flagship footers. Designed for use with electronic components, it is available as a basic footer for $100 each or with a 2" flange base for $150 each. It's available in sets of 1, 3, and 4 footers.

My recollection of their initial footers was that the addition of the flange made a significant improvement. Their goods were also seen in room 418 with Zesto and YG, and their room (1545) with Viola Labs amps, Rockport speakers, and Madison cables, where they showed their component rack that can be customized for individual components. I've seen their rack in numerous very fine-sounding rooms over the years.

I encountered Eastern Bay Sound at Capital Audiofest last November and extolled their fine craftsmanship, very good sound quality, and affordable prices in my show report. It was a delight to meet Buff Colchagoff, reaching out to the crowd at Axpona. They deserve to be heard. Hopefully, they will have an active rig at Capital again this year, as that is their home turf, based on the edge of the Chesapeake Bay.

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