AXPONA 2025 Video Coverage Part 1

many new products introduced much fun was had

With Sonic Presence microphones around my ears I dove into AXPONA 2025 expecting to capture binaural sound in every room. Unfortunately, Shure's Motiv app that worked beautifully at FLAX didn't work at all at AXPONA. Could have been an iPhone upgrade but with so many rooms to visit there was no time to find out!

AXPONA 2025 was an extremely well-attended show. It was crowded all three days from morning through closing. The demographic skewed younger and there were many families with children almost like at a Warsaw show. It was very encouraging!

Trends? There was a move towards miniaturization from CH Precision, which purchased a company called Watson and Chord had a fantastic new mini-modular system that was almost like a Transformer as in the toy not as in toroidal! Another interesting trend is the emergence of a few powerful distributors including Fidelity Imports and Distribution, Axiss Audio, Rhythm Distribution, Playback Distribution and AudioShield Distribution. They join other veteran conglam distributors like MIBS Distro, Rutherford Audio and Mo-Fi Distribution.

Tracking Angle and Groovy Collectibles (our web developer and advertising arm) threw another writer/advertiser dinner at The Capital Grille and it was an evening of great food, wine and conversation.

If you can identify everyone in the room you will not win a prize (not every table is in the photo).

Rather than linear coverage by day, Tracking Angle's AXPONA 2025's coverage Part 1 includes footage shot during all three days. This is a 1/2 hour video, which is about as long a show video as most viewers can take in a single pass.

I mic'd up many exhibitors to get their takes on what they were showing at AXPONA rather than passively shooting video. In this 1/2 hour montage you'll see EveAnna Manley's not yet released high-tech line/phono preamp, a new low cost Aspire turntable from J. Sikora, Clearaudio's Al Di Meola guitar shaped turntable, a new $29,00 Clearaudio cartridge and the company's new compact record cleaning machine.

JA Michell debuted a new $4000 MM/MC phono preamp, SOTA introduced a new Onyx turntable, prices start at $28,000, and Fern & Roby showed a Technics SP-10R built into a custom plinth. F&R is now a Technics dealer. F&R's Christopher Hildebrand told me he took on the Technics line to reach a new, younger audience plus he likes the sound especially of the new one in his custom plinth. It looks great as you'll see.

The thumbnail shows one of the AXXISS distribution rooms this one featuring Gauder Akustik speakers, Soulution electronics, and the big Transrotor turntable. The sound in this room was among the best I heard. It excelled at producing a natural, relaxing, easy musical vibe. I could have sat there for an hour but had to keep moving. There's so much more to see in this and the next video, which includes an interview with Arturo Manzano who has brought back the Koetsu cartridge line. Last time we spoke he was only doing Koetsu rebuilds. Now he's got the original team building new cartridges up and down the Koetsu line and they were stunning looking. But that's for next time. Meanwhile there's this 1/2 hour coverage.

And then there was this: