To say Leif and I are competitive is an understatement. Since we took the helm at my family's business, we sensed the need to demonstrate to the majority of audiophiles the performance our speakers were capable of.
You see, before this it was quite common for show goers to tell us how they've heard of the Von Schweikert company before but never heard the speakers for themselves. That's an awkward achievement considering we've been making loudspeakers for over 40 years. I propose the fact that we're still making speakers demonstrates we've really connected with at least some audiophiles.
When Leif and I released our new flagship the ULTRA 11, we decided to do something our competitors would not do... take them into the most trying of sonic environments, have only hours to set them up and present them to the world for critical analysis.
You see, the smart money has always been to setup flagships in a dedicated room, spend months tweaking the performance, then fly a few "influencers" into town, wine and dine them while presenting the speakers so they in turn can share with the world how amazing they are. Then let the sales orders flow in until it's time to do it again, rinse & repeat.
Instead of doing the smart thing and "bring Mohammed to the Mountain," we decided to bring the system to the masses in the worst listening environments with very little setup time so people could hear what our speakers actually did.
And I would say it's been very successful. We've carved out the show space for flagship loudspeakers. Frankly, the response has been unprecedented. Since Leif and I introduced the first ULTRA loudspeaker (the ULTRA 11) in Singapore at the end of 2017, we've won sixty-six "Best of Show" awards, from more than a dozen sources, and over one hundred ten other awarded accolades. If there is another high-end audio loudspeaker manufacturer that has come anywhere close to this achievement in the last five years, I'm not aware of them.
Am I bragging? Hell yes and why wouldn't I? We took the risks and as such, we EARNED the rewards. And we will continue to demonstrate our technology, our performance, our life's work for as long as it makes sense. We've done the heavy lifting (literally, these speakers aren't light) so more audiophiles and members of the press (who might not be selected for the get-away weekend to hear the competition) could experience first-hand what our products do.
Now they aren't for everybody, as demonstrated by a few posts in this very forum. But I would encourage you to take all that with a grain of salt. Clearly the appreciation of audio gear is subjective as demonstrated by all the products that are so different and yet successful year after year. And I don't care how great someone writes, forum poster or audio critic. Until you hear their system, you have no idea what their reference is, what their subjective taste are, and if they align with yours. Frankly, I know a few reviewers who are highly regarded but if the majority of you ever heard their reference system, you would stop reading their reviews immediately.
So as I always say, take everyone's opinions with a grain of salt (including the awards we've won). Hear the product for yourself, form your own opinions. And we'll do our part to make our products as accessible as possible for your audition.
That said, here's the awards we've won thus far from AXPONA 2022. I've included links to the publications. If you missed the show, there are some great reads there. Enjoy!
BEST OF SHOW (COST NO OBECT) at AXPONA 2022
ULTRA 7 by Andrew Quint - The Absolute Sound
BEST OF SHOW at AXPONA 2022
ULTRA 7 by Greg Weaver - The Audio Analyst
BEST OF SHOW at AXPONA 2022
ULTRA 7 by Marc Phillips - Part-Time Audiophile
FINEST SOUND OF THE SHOW at AXPONA 2022
ULTRA 7 by Dr. Michael Bump - Enjoy the Music
BEST OF SHOW at AXPONA 2022
ULTRA 7 by Greg Weaver - Enjoy the Music
BEST OF SHOW at AXPONA 2022
ULTRA 7 by Greg Neville - The Occasional Podcast
BEST OF SHOW at AXPONA 2022
ULTRA 7 by Marc Phillips - Audio Head
You see, before this it was quite common for show goers to tell us how they've heard of the Von Schweikert company before but never heard the speakers for themselves. That's an awkward achievement considering we've been making loudspeakers for over 40 years. I propose the fact that we're still making speakers demonstrates we've really connected with at least some audiophiles.
When Leif and I released our new flagship the ULTRA 11, we decided to do something our competitors would not do... take them into the most trying of sonic environments, have only hours to set them up and present them to the world for critical analysis.
You see, the smart money has always been to setup flagships in a dedicated room, spend months tweaking the performance, then fly a few "influencers" into town, wine and dine them while presenting the speakers so they in turn can share with the world how amazing they are. Then let the sales orders flow in until it's time to do it again, rinse & repeat.
Instead of doing the smart thing and "bring Mohammed to the Mountain," we decided to bring the system to the masses in the worst listening environments with very little setup time so people could hear what our speakers actually did.
And I would say it's been very successful. We've carved out the show space for flagship loudspeakers. Frankly, the response has been unprecedented. Since Leif and I introduced the first ULTRA loudspeaker (the ULTRA 11) in Singapore at the end of 2017, we've won sixty-six "Best of Show" awards, from more than a dozen sources, and over one hundred ten other awarded accolades. If there is another high-end audio loudspeaker manufacturer that has come anywhere close to this achievement in the last five years, I'm not aware of them.
Am I bragging? Hell yes and why wouldn't I? We took the risks and as such, we EARNED the rewards. And we will continue to demonstrate our technology, our performance, our life's work for as long as it makes sense. We've done the heavy lifting (literally, these speakers aren't light) so more audiophiles and members of the press (who might not be selected for the get-away weekend to hear the competition) could experience first-hand what our products do.
Now they aren't for everybody, as demonstrated by a few posts in this very forum. But I would encourage you to take all that with a grain of salt. Clearly the appreciation of audio gear is subjective as demonstrated by all the products that are so different and yet successful year after year. And I don't care how great someone writes, forum poster or audio critic. Until you hear their system, you have no idea what their reference is, what their subjective taste are, and if they align with yours. Frankly, I know a few reviewers who are highly regarded but if the majority of you ever heard their reference system, you would stop reading their reviews immediately.
So as I always say, take everyone's opinions with a grain of salt (including the awards we've won). Hear the product for yourself, form your own opinions. And we'll do our part to make our products as accessible as possible for your audition.
That said, here's the awards we've won thus far from AXPONA 2022. I've included links to the publications. If you missed the show, there are some great reads there. Enjoy!
BEST OF SHOW (COST NO OBECT) at AXPONA 2022
ULTRA 7 by Andrew Quint - The Absolute Sound
BEST OF SHOW at AXPONA 2022
ULTRA 7 by Greg Weaver - The Audio Analyst
BEST OF SHOW at AXPONA 2022
ULTRA 7 by Marc Phillips - Part-Time Audiophile
FINEST SOUND OF THE SHOW at AXPONA 2022
ULTRA 7 by Dr. Michael Bump - Enjoy the Music
BEST OF SHOW at AXPONA 2022
ULTRA 7 by Greg Weaver - Enjoy the Music
BEST OF SHOW at AXPONA 2022
ULTRA 7 by Greg Neville - The Occasional Podcast
BEST OF SHOW at AXPONA 2022
ULTRA 7 by Marc Phillips - Audio Head
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