AXPONA 2025 Wrap: Twelve Floors, 10,910 Visitors, Two Silent Critics
Days after AXPONA 2025 wrapped, organizers announced a record 10,910 attendees—a 5% increase over 2024. Trade passes grew by 20%, which either points to a surge in legitimate press coverage or an uptick in blog-based glamor shots (aka audio porn) aimed at securing free entry.
AXPONA Moon Shot: Dynaudio’s Confidence 20 Speaker Plants Its Flag
Familiar faces, new form.
Before me stood a pair of stand-mounted Dynaudio Confidence 20 active loudspeakers, complete with DSP ($24,000/pair). Larger, higher-quality cousins to the Dynaudio Focus 10 active loudspeakers I reviewed a little over two years ago, the Confidence 20s sounded notably more refined and more convincing. That tracks: Each driver is powered by its own dedicated amplifier. While both models share the same DSP room correction protocol, nearly everything else is an upgrade.
AXPONA Prepares to Open
The largest and most important audio show in the United States, AXPONA, is poised to open in the greater Chicago area’s sprawling Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel & Convention Center. Well before the three-day show opens on Friday, April 11 at 10am, you can expect scores of eager attendees lining up at the long registration desk in the Convention Center lobby.
Back in the Groove: Koetsu Returns to Vinyl’s Front Lines
Arturo Manzano, long a fan of Koetsu phono cartridges, has reassembled Koetsu’s original team of artisans to return the legendary brand to the international market.
Bandwidth Audio, Tannoy, VPI: Rugged Tubes from the Lone Star State
Texas-based Bandwidth Audio brought a suite of handsome, industrial-style, tube-based amplifiers to AXPONA. Consumers can buy direct from the manufacturer.
Better Sound Through Buttons: Vandersteen Launches the L5-ACC Control Center
Once again, my time in the Vandersteen room provided copious pleasure. Plus, it came in two installments: listening time in the inner sanctum, and chat time with Richard Vandersteen and Brad O’Toole in the entrance chamber. If that sounds rather exotic for a two-room hotel suite, you needed to be there.
Børresen M2s: Highs Without a Ceiling
At an early-morning breakfast, Michael Børresen, co-founder and chief designer of Audio Group Denmark, unveiled the Børresen M2 loudspeakers ($190,000/pair) and their companion Bass Modules (price to be announced). Also shown for the first time in North America was the Aavik R-880 phono preamplifier ($70,000), designed to work with DS Audio optical cartridges. The R-880 enables users to adjust high cut, low cut, and absolute phase on the fly.
Brama Drama: Vinnie Rossi and Rockport Bring the Thunder Along With Innuos, Mola Mola, Stillpoints, and AudioQuest
It had been too long since I’d heard Vinnie Rossi’s gear, so I was pleased to encounter the brand’s Brama Gen2 preamplifier ($38,995), Brama Gen2 monoblocks ($59,995/pair), and Rossi himself. The system also featured Rockport Technologies’ new Lynx loudspeakers ($78,000/pair in Satin Titanium Metallic) and the Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC ($13,500). I was curious to hear how it all came together sonically.
CAD Gets Grounded: Stenheim and Aesthetix Join the Launch
AXPONA 2025 marked the debut of Computer Audio Design’s 1543 DAC Mk.III ($19,500), presented by CAD founders Scott Berry and Isabel Whitley. Also on hand were the CAD CAT (Computer Audio Transport, ca. $15,000) and a suite of CAD noise-reduction devices.
Constellation’s Revelation 2 Lives Up to Its Name, With Assists From Magico, Esoteric, Cardas, and Transparent
For me, one of the biggest surprises at Munich High End 2024 was the performance of Constellation’s new Revelation 2 stereo amplifier ($30,000), preamplifier ($25,500), and phono stage ($29,000). I’d expected refinement, but not this level of clarity; previous Constellation gear had sometimes struck me as a little dark. In Munich, the sound was beautifully illuminated, with wonderful colors and an ideal amount of brightness in the treble.