Hey everyone, Axpona was the best show in a decade hands down! It's a convention, not a hifi show and a mini Munich. The facilities are great, there were 200 rooms + a zillion other audio and live music things to do. Multiple bars, a decent restaurant, and bathrooms on every floor (great idea) made for a well-oiled machine.
In many ways, it was old school vs new school as well- one day I was hanging with my friend Jay from YouTube, seeing him and OCD Mikey take celeb type photos with followers. On another one, Mikey Fremer was playing a lacquer in the Clarisys Audio room (by my dealer and friend Mike Bovaird) that was an intimate wonderful experience.
Can't tell you how many reviewers, audio industry folks just chatted me up in a room after a song. How many times I got to chat for a few minutes with a designer or importer. So much fun - impossible to see everything and in fact I missed 3-4 *entire floors*. That's a convention, folks.
Finally, ANALOG EVERYWHERE! Usually shows are more digital these days but I would say 75% of the rooms were playing records. Whether this was because of the wifi quality I'm not sure but when in doubt, a record usually sounds better in these environments.
With RMAF gone and the rest of shows as more local, smaller affairs - this is what a big US hifi convention is about! Bravo. Anyways, on to the speakers of Axpona!