AXPONA 2011 Show Report -- Audio Expo North America

  Napa Acoustics NA-208A integrated amplifier ($399) is designed in California and built in China, offers two inputs via RCA and produces 25 wpc with tube pre and Class AB solid-state amplifier. It has a bass boost button that raises 200 Hz and below about 6dB. They also offer speakers and other products at reasonable prices.

Adam Beta large full range floorstanding speaker ($31,000 a pair) and comes with a 500 watt amp for the woofers (12-inch, one in front and one in back). See my review of the Adam A5 recording studio monitor by clicking here.

Seigfried Linkwitz of loudspeaker crossover fame is standing here with the Orion 4 speakers ($14,750 per pair including analog signal processor). The processor handles the crossover, EQ and some filtering to take the source signal to the woofer, midrange and tweeter tri-amplification. Of course all seasoned audiophiles know who Mr. Linkwitz is, so now you can put a face to the name and make the connection.

Full range single driver lovers can hear the Supravox model Carla ($1999 per pair). They have an outstanding 95dB/W/m at 8 Ohm and frequency response from 50 Hz to 18 kHz. Within their bandwidth they do have an attractive, cohesive sound that drew me into the music. Call it all-day listenability.

From singe driver speakers to Quad panels ($12,500), the AXPONA show really gives attendees the chance to hear wide variety of high-end audio goodies. Of course the speakers were driven by Quad amps. Do i really need to comment on the sound of Quad panels? If you've never heard Quads, you owe it to yourself to get out there and listen.

Soundsmith has so many great analog products that this time i felt it was best to cover their MMP series of phonostages. Prices start at $299 on up. Enjoy the Music.com has reviewed the Soundsmith System consisting of: Denon DL-103 and DL-103 Gold Cartridge Plus The MCP- 2 Moving Coil Phono Preamplifier as seen here.

Gainesville dealer Sound Ideas was at AXPONA with a wide variety of gear. For about 10 years I lived in Gainesville and have purchased a lot of my gear from them during that time. They are a great store, knowledgeable and helpful, so if you are in the area or need a great great retailer in the north central Florida area, Sound Ideas gets my highest recommendation. Ask for Paul and tell ‘em Steve sent you.

Canadian speaker manufacturer PSB was at AXPONA with a variety of products. Enjoy the Music.com has reviewed the PSB Imagine B speakers as seen here and the PSB SubSonic 5i powered subwoofer here.

Karl Alalla from Goldmine magazine, a key show sponsor, was here giving away their most recent issues.

Another single driver full-range speaker, this time the Voxativ by Shimmel Pianos. While the driver may look like a Lowther driver, they say it is a proprietary in-house built unit called the AC-3X. The magnet is neodymium and not AlNiCo and has a 101dB/W/m sensitivity. The cabinet is offered in piano white or black and overall frequency response is from 38 Hz to 20 kHz.

Light Harmonic has their new DaVinci 384K DAC that handles 32-bit, has USB and S/PDIF and costs $11999 (pre-orders right now for $8999). Whilst they proclaim world first 384 DAC, others have been doing it for many months. i dunno, something about these guys make me quite a bit uneasy and, thus, puts me on a holding pattern of wait and see.

Click here for Saturday's AXPONA 2011 report.