AXPONA 2019

"The Big Raidho Room in the EXPO Hall" . . .

John Atkinson  |  Apr 15, 2019

. . . proclaimed posters everywhere on the Renaissance Convention Center's ground floor. It turned out that the show had run out of exhibit rooms, so a purpose-built listening room had been built for Chicago dealer Kyomi Audio at the back of the big hall that housed the LP fair, the Master Class space, and the Ear Gear exhibits. Inside—forgive the grainy photo; it was quite dark inside this room—were a pair of Raidho TD1.2 stand-mounted speakers ($27,000/pair) connected with Gamut Reference cables to a pair of Jadis NEC 845 push-pull monoblocks ($29,990, the first pair in North America), a Jadis JPS2 preamp ($15,500), and a Jadis JPS3 phono preamplifier ($14,900).

The Danish company Raidho has been bought out by another Danish company, Gamut, and the TD.12 is the first fruit of the relationship. [Technically (as commenter "chronoglide" has pointed out, Gamut is a brand of the company Dantax A/S, which now owns Raidho as well. - ed.] Re-engineered by Gamut head of design Benno Meldgaard, the new version of the Raidho speaker has a woofer with an underhung, 1.2 Tesla magnet system and a revised ribbon tweeter with, I was told, distortion 35dB lower in level. The sound on an Analogue Productions reissue of a Norah Jones album played on a Pear Audio Blue Kid Thomas turntable with Comet 2 tonearm ($7995) fitted with an Ortofon Cadenza Black cartridge ($1995) gave no clue that this was a temporary room. The system sounded rich and detailed, with superbly transparent high frequencies. However, I had to leave after two tracks because the tubed Jadis amps were heating the room up too much for this fragile New Yorker.

COMMENTS
tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on April 15, 2019 - 3:58pm

... a contradictional paradox.

"this fragile New Yorker" is one of the best closing summaries I've ever read.

Stereophile's AXPONA reporting is a rather large bundle of the Finest Show Reporting in my 50+ years of memory. Phew!!

Bravo!!

Encors please

Tony in Michigan

ps. is Stereophile a fun place to work, like it seems ? ( and reads )

Jim Austin's picture
Submitted by Jim Austin on April 16, 2019 - 7:06am
Tony, thanks for the kind words, which are very much appreciated. Of course this is fun--how could it not be?--but covering a show this comprehensively is also hard work! Jim Austin, Editor Stereophile
tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on April 16, 2019 - 10:00am

I've worked Shows, I agree: no sleeping, meeting wonderful people, getting weather stuck at the AirPort, missing something important, taking pictures, meeting great new customers and suppliers.

Phew, excited to go and more than glad it's over. ( usually overspending and probably overcommitting ).

This particular SCES Axpona Show seems better reported than any Show from any Industry I've been involved in. Even Steve G. was there replacing Jana with fascinating insights. ( I'm a Patreon subscriber of Steve G )

It feels strange that I've been out of the Audio Business for almost 4 Decades yet this Industry is still fascinating. It has legs. Conversely, I spent nearly 2 decades in the Diesel Engine Business and don't pay attention to any part of it. ( although I have a Printing Business that Prints for Mercedes Diesel people )

I'm reading a wide range of Industrial Reports, Stereophile Industrial reporting is done by exciting participants who seem to have a keen interest in their work and don't seem like "paid" advocates. ( for the most part )

Tony in Michigan

ps. thanks to Stereophile reviewers, I ( 4 Days ago ) bought a Audioquest Dragonfly RED for one of my Audiophile Grandsons and gave him one of my Sennheiser HD Headphones !
If I give him my Stereophile Print Mags. will he ask for some Schiit or PS Audio Gear??? ( or Wilsons & VTL )

ok's picture
Submitted by ok on April 15, 2019 - 5:11pm

and the law won.

chronoglide's picture
Submitted by chronoglide on April 15, 2019 - 5:13pm

Just a point of correction: Dantax A/S owns BOTH Raidho and Gamut. What was stated above is not correct: Gamut did not buy Raidho at all, Gamut was bought by Dantax last year - so Gamut and Raidho fall under the bigger Dantax umbrella.

Jim Austin's picture
Submitted by Jim Austin on April 16, 2019 - 7:04am
I've added a note of clarification to the text. Jim Austin, Editor Stereophile
Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on April 15, 2019 - 5:53pm

........ as long as they obey the orders of 'commanders-in-chief' :-) .........

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