Text and Photos by Juan C. Ayllon SCHAUMBURG, IL -- Boasting an ultramodern wraparound stainless steel fireplace ensconced in an expansive, white atrium, overlooking hallways and sequoian columns reaching to the heavens, the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center is surely a far cry from Chicago’s historic Maxwell Street Market. In his book, Full Swing: Hits, Runs and Errors in a Writer's Life, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and sports writer, Ira Berkow, recounts the excitement, hussle and the people at the popular flea market while selling belts and women’s nylons to support his family in his youth. “Maxwell Street was packed on Sundays -- no cars were allowed -- with vendors and buyers, blues musicians, characters like the self-styled King of the Hobos,” he wrote, “and the man who walked around with a dancing chicken on his head and sold one egg for a dime and two eggs for a quarter.” (Berkow, p. 24) Fast forward to 2019: coming off an escalator, I spot Michael Fremer, a silver fox keynoter, traipsing through the crowded Renaissance lobby in a salon fresh coiffure and a Royal Blue suit. Credited in movies for his work in TRON (1982), Felix the Cat: The Movie (1988) and Animalympics (1980), he’s here for his turntable expertise, scribe and editing work for Stereophile and other journals. (“Michael Fremer -- Biography”, “Tron Wiki”) Elsewhere, I spy CNET’s jovial Audiophiliac blogger and lecturer, Steve Guttenberg, yukking it up with fans and popping into rooms for quick listens. Funny, I note, they both look a lot smaller in person. With the latest audio gear like speakers, headphones, amps, turntables and vinyl from some 500 manufacturers in 190-plus rooms, there’s plenty to see, hear and, yes, bargain over -- especially towards closing time on Sundays. Already priced for the show, many vendors would prefer to discount rather than pay shipping for the return home. Bottom line, times change, but people really don’t. Despite the upscale setting, wares and merchants, this year’s AXPONA (Audio Expo North America), held the weekend of April 12-14, conjured a polished version of Chicago’s Near West Side bazaar -- from bombastic experts to deals, live music and this year’s burrito bar in the atrium evoking street taco vendors. And with my focus more on networking and personal connections this year than past, the similarities were more apparent. Straight Talk I miss Friday night’s Seth Walker concert, choosing instead to party at home with my wife, Belle, so I roll in coffeed-up around 11:00 AM Saturday, draft a tentative itinerary in the press room and meet with my cigar chomping friend, Steven Hill. The president of Straight Wire, Inc. and a former CPA and graduate of University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business (he took courses in Electrical Engineering “just for fun,”), as a 35 year veteran of the industry, he considers himself “The Godfather” of audio. In addition to making its own lines of premium cables, Straight Wire does a lot of Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) for companies like Harman International, JBL and Mark Levinson, as well as headphone cables and external wires for other unnamed companies. (And, on a more personal note, I use his cabling throughout my system to great effect.) When I arrive, he’s standing outside Room 1-Schaumburg D, where his cables support KEF speakers on display. He’s lost over 40 pounds the last couple years, as he shows me, opening his brown tweed jacket and revealing a taut abdomen under his gold Polo shirt. “I’m going to have to pass on going out for pizza later,” he says, admitting his struggles with restraint. “By the way, you really need to see the KEF display.” Over the Muon Walking in, I am astounded with a pair of stainless steel monoliths resembling giant Coca Cola swooshes standing on end, studded with five 12” woofers, a 4 ½ “ KEF Uni-Q coaxial driver in between, with two 12” woofers in back, pouring effervescent jazz into the room. They’re the $225,000 KEF Muon speakers developed by industrial designer Ross Lovegrove (whose works can be viewed at London’s Design Museum and NYC’s Museum of Modern Art (Taraszka)) linked up to a pair of Hegel monoblocks with thick black Straight Wire serpents, a Hegel preamp and a computer serving digital files via Roon music player software. Currently playing is Buddy Tate’s When I’m Blue. The imaging and soundstage conjures the sheer size and hyperrealism of another work of art -- Chuck Close’s 1968 Big Self Portrait (107.5” x 83.5” x 2”) -- filling the voluminous space with sonorous tenor sax, lilting organ and swinging drums. It’s very full bodied and vivid, extremely natural and so intimate that I hear every blown breath, nuance and inflection. Frankly, I can almost see the pores on Tate’s face and a bead of sweat coursing down his cheek. I am enamored. The emcee swaps in their more diminutive $5,000 R11 speakers that at roughly half their size sound surprisingly natural and organic, but with a reduced soundstage. Feeding it is their cost effective Hegel H-190 integrated amplifier ($4,000). Money Talks Steven asks what I think. The Muons were marvelous (and, turns out, the speakers I liked the most at AXPONA), I report, adding that I’m surprised at the performance of the H-190 integrated amp with the R11s. “You have separates, so you wouldn’t want an integrated amp,” Steven cautions. I agree; moreover, with retirement a few years off, I mention that I am looking to spend less and invest more. Pulling out his smartphone, he opens an app and scrolls through his stocks and funds holdings, explaining growth charts, dividends, yields and buy-in costs at length. It’s all very interesting and has me thinking as we say goodbye. Hand to Mouth Not all here are as successful as Hill, an insider reminds me, “There are a lot of people in this business living hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck,” adding that a few run their business like “a Ponzi Scheme”, covering the cost of one customer’s purchase with the next buyer’s money. “You just don’t want to be the last guy in the chain,” he warns. That fact pains me, but I’ll leave it at that. Thankfully, the vast majority of my experiences have been quite positive. Who’s Your Daedalus? I enter the dark Daedalus Audio, Lampizator and WyWire display in Room 546. A floor to ceiling banner depicting a huge mountain and the Daedalus logo stretches behind a shiny rack of Lampizator and LTA components flanked by a pair of exquisite, inlaid maple Daedalus Apollo speakers ($18,500) on brass spikes (At $32 apiece, Daedalus owner, Lou Hinkley says, “They’re the best spikes in the business!”). They’re seated, in turn, on metal Daedalus Isolation Devices ($45 each). Standing 46” tall, the Apollos feature a 10” woofer, 4 ½” midrange and 1” soft dome tweeter. A shimmery Golden Atlantic 2 DAC ($9,995), sprouting three large Anniversary KR Audio KT150 vacuum tubes tops the stack, with the Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL preamplifier ($4,450) below and the Lampizator Super Komputer music server ($8,000) on the bottom. A pair of ZOTL ultralinear monoblock amps ($6,800 each) sit on plinths at both sides, connected to the speakers with tWyWires/Daedalus speaker cables ($1,995). My eyes adjust and I recognize the slender grey bearded man with bedhead wearing black longsleeves and jeans in the third row of folding chairs: it’s Lukasz Fikus, owner of Warsaw-based Lampizator. Rising, he embraces me. I own and use their Lite 7 DAC and Komputer music server, having reviewed and employed them in subsequent equipment reports, giving them plenty of exposure on my site, Facebook and Instagram. We catch up, then briefly discuss the delivery of the East Coast jazz that’s playing. “It’s full, deep, extremely defined and non fatiguing,” he pitches. Of course, he’s right; the synergy between system and speakers makes for a very clear and crisp, transparent, treble leaning sound that Lukasz favors, while packing plenty at the lower end. Rated at 96 dB and 6 Ohms, the Apollos handle three to 300 watts. Marveling, a visitor asks what veneer they use. “That’s not a veneer -- it’s solid wood all the way through,” Lukasz says. “In ten years, you could sand it down and it would look the same all the way through!” A guest examines the Lampizator Golden Gate 2 DAC in Room 496. I take the stairs down to the more expensive Daedalus Audio/Lampizator and WyWires display in Room 496, where the Diamond Series speaker cables alone cost $7,999. I am looking for Fred Ainsley, co-owner of Lampizator North America (the exclusive U.S. Distributors of Lampis), who turned me onto the Shuguang 300B-98B tubes that I use in my Lite 7 -- which brings me to an embarrassing confession. For several years, I have lusted after the Daedalus Apollo 11 speakers. They sound and look sooooo good. Normally $22,800 a pair, because it’s the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, they are now available for $19,690 (hint: that’s the year of the feat, 1969, with an added zero). Backed by the VAC Signature SE Preamp ($19,990) and Signature 200 IQ Power Amp ($14,500), the Lampizator Gloden Gate 2 DAC ($16,995) and Super Komputer ($8,000), they move me (ironically, I forget what was playing). Unfortunately, if I even thought of buying a pair, Belle would likely knock me to the moon! I can’t find Fred, and so I shove off. Other excellent rooms like Triode Wire Labs, Volti Audio and BorderPatrol Audio await. Viva for Volti Their product sheet claims a range of 32Hz – 20Khz with a 100dB/Watt sensitivity “enabling glorious, full range, tactile sound produced from as little as a handful of amplifier Watts.” Standing roughly three feet tall, the Volti Rival II speaker features a 15” woofer with bass reflex, a proprietary wooden midrange horn with a two inch throat and a 1” compression tweeter driver. They start at $9,400 a pair, but with add-ons like special walnut veneer ($3,500), full-veneered external crossovers ($2,000), Triode Wire Lab internal wiring upgrades ($700), a reusable crate and cloth cover ($600), the price now is $16,200 (the demo pair was sold, their flyer reads, but another pair just like them can be built). Supporting them are the BorderPatrol DAC SE USB, a hybrid tube resistor ladder (R2R) DAC ($1,350), BorderPatrol Control Unit EXD triode line stage preamplifier ($9,750) seated together on a simple, wooden bench and the BorderPatrol P20 EXS 20 watts/channel 300B tube amplifier ($31,400) beneath. The Triode Wire Labs speaker cables start at $1,099. Sourced by a computer server, the Volti’s deliver resplendent, deep acoustic guitar, bass and percussion, packing plenty of slam. Mino Cinelu’s vocals are rich, lush and lifelike, leaving me once again quite impressed with these horns! No Chubby with the Nubbies On the other end of the spectrum, commercial looking speakers in black nubby resin enclosures with aluminum drivers of various sizes are stacked about a hotel room. One pair is apparently playing, but sounds a little sharp and sibilant. I think my old carpeted Bag End TA-15 speakers that I used in my mobile DJing days sounded better. A 40-something Asian sales lady in glasses, floral blouse and black slacks touts their strengths, announcing that they measure very flat and, after her speil asks, “What are you interested in?” Hearing that I’m simply a member of the press, she moves on to other prospects while a Caucasian man in his fifties wearing a Polo and khakis (apparently a principal) surveys the room with a nervous smile. F-1’ed I am supposed to meet with Mat Weisfeld, president of VPI Industries to collect their Prime Scout turntable for an upcoming review, so I head to Room 2-Nirvana B that they share with EMM Labs on the northern periphery of the Convention Center, which is separate from the hotel. Along the way, I admire several large, wispy soft sculptures hanging in the atrium resembling inverted tan cheesecloth parachutes and paintings of golden fields against Cerulean blue skies. Looking down through the glass barriers of the raised walkway, I observe attendees milling below on the first floor. Minutes later, I enter the Convention center through tall glass doors and spot the booming F1 display off to the left at the far end. Sitting in an expanse with glass walls all around, it’s not the best acoustics (no doubt accounting for Lukasz’s dismissive appraisal on Facebook), but with large wooden crates sporting the F-1 logo as makeshift diffusers behind them, the large $90,000 Magico M-2 speakers do an admirable job. Streaming jazz via the Chord Dave and Hugo M Scaler ($4,995), the D’Agostino Momentum HD preamplifier ($40,000) and Momentum monoblock amps ($65,000 a pair), with a pair of Magico Q-18 subwoofers ($36,000 each) holding down the low end, it presents a very big, robust sound, calling to mind an outdoor jazz and blues concert done in hi-fi. Taking into account all the glass and volume, it’s actually quite impressive. Turn Baby, Turn Entering into Room 2-Nirvana B, I spot Mat’s dad, Harry Weisfeld, co-founder of VPI with his wife, Sheila, in 1978, schmoozing with guests. He informs me that Mat is out, that it would be best for me to pick up the Prime Scout on Sunday, and proceeds to tell me about their new HW-40 direct drive turntable. “It doesn’t use a turntable motor,” he informs, but a space age robotic motor surgeons use in open heart and other delicate surgeries. Hence, it is extremely precise and quiet. At $15,000, it doesn’t simply convey music from the vinyl, but makes love to it, resulting in enchanting jazz flowing forth from the Credo Cinema LTM loudspeakers ($170,000 a pair) they front. Texting the Muppet Close friends call Michael Lawrance, 50, “Muppet” for his mid-back length mop, greying bushy beard, spectacle-magnified eyes and big toothy grin that conjure the famous TV puppet/rockstar, Animal (or is that Dr. Teeth?). His Facebook credo reads, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Then add vodka. Lots and lots of vodka.” In IT consulting by day, he unwinds playing guitar for the rock band, Project X, listening to vinyl, blogging on Theshoestringaudiophile.com or partying with his new bride, Amy, who serves as his editor. Basking in the afterglow of listening to the Avant-Gardes (his favorite horn speakers by far), he texts me, “Where are you now?” “VPI at Nirvana Room,” I respond. “Where are you?” “14th floor. Thinking about lunch or a beer or something.” A DIY Gathering On the way to meet Michael at the burrito bar, my friend, John Lumley hollers, “Hey, famous guy!” -- from the Gather Bar, where he’s laughing and having drinks with John Brunner and Eric Krupp (Lumley makes custom motorcycle parts and builds his own audio line under the name, Lumley Reference, while the latter two own Gudebrod Audio, makers of preamps, amps, and power treatments). Inseparable avid Do-It-Yourselfers, all three plan on exhibiting at AXPONA next year. We talk about the show, then shift to personal projects. “One of these days, he’s going to build his own preamp!” John tells Lumley and Krupp (actually, he’s going to help me with a mod in several weeks). Chuckling, I head off for lunch. Wasting Away in Burritoville Muppet and I order burrito bowls, toppings and drinks from attendants behind stainless steel counters and sit in the grey carpeted stands nearby. Sipping his beer, he is giddy and effusive recounting listening sessions and several offers from vendors to ship him gear to review. And those Avant-Garde horn loudspeakers were simply amazing, he gushes. I savor my merlot in a clear plastic cup (With the carnitas burrito bowl, it’s $25, after all) as we talk about the show and share stories from our reviewing experiences. Michael tells me about his listening session at the Odyssey Audio room. Hosted by owner Klaus Bunge, a mountain of a man whose rooms are always among the best sounding, dollar for dollar, at AXPONA; his budget system, minus the source, runs around $5,000. The thing is his rooms are nearly pitch black, packed with foliage to diffuse sound reflections and highlighted with several mini accent lamps that serve as night lights (in 2014, Klaus presented a psychedelic light show while playing Pink Floyd for me). After listening in the dark for a spell, Michael turned to his neighbor and asked, “Should we be lighting up a doobie?” We laugh and head off for another round of visits. Shortly afterwards, we both run into Jeff Dorgay, the affable and successful owner of TONEAudio Magazine. It turns out that both of us will be writing for TONE and to my pleasant surprise, Michael is effusive in his praise of my work. I’m just taken by the moment and don’t say much, but agree to meet Jeff later as the two head over to the Gather Bar. Boarding another packed elevator, I spot my friend, Bob, a professional photographer, who’s checking out the latest gear with his friend, John. I tag along with them for several rooms before parting. However, Bob texts me periodic updates, including the following: “Check out rm. 506”, “Triangle Audio speakers in 582,” and “Elac 342,” adding, “Their high end line is amazing.” I take the elevator to the 16th floor, where I meet with Fred Kat, owner of Chino Hills, CA-based Katli Audio (the name is an amalgam of his wife's maiden name, Li, and his). He sent me a pair of Usher Mini Dancer Two DMD towers ($5,300) last summer that I reviewed and subsequently bought (Katli is the U.S. distributor for Usher). Wearing a suit and tie, he is helping another dealer demo a high end line he’s considering repping at Katli Audio. He introduces me to his friend ( whose name escapes me) and I listen to vinyl playing over a pair of piano black, futuristic speakers that have heat sink-like fins in the rear. We talk about several Chicago area dealers he’s planning on meeting and the pair of monitors he’ll be sending me to review in several days. I see Fred in the lobby a little while later. He’s chatting with Tom Vu of Triangle Art. Hearing that I’ll be reviewing the VPI Prime Scout turntable, Mr. Vu asks me to contact him two weeks before I return it, promising to send me a sleek Triangle Art Hathor for review. “That way, you’ll continue to have a nice turntable to listen to,” he entices. A Rose and Two Thorns Belle meets me near the main entrance promptly at 2:00 PM. I introduce Lukasz and a friend of his who are standing nearby. “I feel that I know you,” Belle says, “Juan always talks about you.” We pose for a photo, ride the escalator, look at a few rooms and bump into Jeff Dorgay, who wants to meet now over a few beers. He invites Belle to join us, but she passes, electing to do some shopping nearby. Wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, Dorgay is a man who is comfortable with himself. Roughly 5’ 10” with greying shoulder length hair, early in our conversation, he mentions that as a kid, he was like a brainy version of Bart Simpson in the classroom. I could see that. A commercial photographer for 15 years, he wrote on digital photography for magazines like Macworld, and CNet and served a consultant to the likes of Adobe, Olympus Cameras and other concerns. Nowadays, he produces most of the images used in TONEAudio and does some writing, but is more focused on the business side of the Magazine, which puts out six digital issues a year and newsletters every other week. We knock back several rounds of Blue Moon as we get acquainted. I find out, like me, he’s thriving in his second marriage (his wife, Pam, is a flight attendant). He loves cars and runs a blog, MyBMWHabbit.com. “You know, nobody gets rich in this business except those who make cable,” he says. “They might make a good living, but…” He mentions a well-known A/V cable company that has a warehouse full of cabling the size of COSTCO that turns over its entire inventory roughly every 30 days. Hunkering down, he tells me about the pitfalls of working with some companies that don’t have advertising budgets -- how some will have you writing tons of free copy for them, that companies with shoestring budgets can be very difficult to work with, versus more established companies that will ship a customer a replacement part quickly and without the heartaches or get a review sample to you with ease and efficiency. With their bankrolls, they don’t sweat the small stuff that hand to mouth businesses do. He talks about the headaches of running a profitable audio magazine, warehousing loads of review equipment for months in ones living spaces (it played a part in the demise of his first marriage, he says), then pitches me on the benefits of getting paid to write for him versus running my own site, not having to worry about marketing, collections and all the clutter that drives wives crazy. We discuss the price range of equipment I’d like to review and how often. Winding down, he picks up the tab and promises to be in touch. A Primo Preamp Later, we run into each other outside the PrimaLuna room, where he introduces me to a writer from Chicago who’ll also be writing for him, then turning, he presents me to Kevin Deal, founder of Upscale Audio and PrimaLuna’s U.S. importer, who’s clad in a blue green paisley patterned suit. As we chat, I mention that I own the PrimaLuna Prologue 3 preamplifier (I bought it used for $900) and am thinking of selling it, as I am supposed to be receiving a much more expensive preamplifier as part of a business deal (which, it turns out, falls through several days later). “The Prologue 3 is a hell of a preamp,” he says, encouraging me to do a blind A-B test, adding that it will compete with preamplifiers costing $15 K or more. He may be right. Chicagoland’s springtime weather is unpredictable. Saturday was sunny and maybe 50 degrees outside. Then, on Sunday afternoon, Belle, and I brave sloshy, heavy snow-packed roads to AXPONA (which puts a dent in attendance) for a few more rounds and the pickup. We meet Jeff Dorgay -- who like everyone else, enjoys Belle’s warmth and cheeky Irish humor -- and share some laughs in the lobby. Saying goodbye, we grab drinks and our favorite, the Black Angus burger, at the Gather Bar, where Belle waits as I make one last pass, then borrow a bellman’s trolley to collect the turntable. I stop by the Triangle Art room where a resplendent turntable in Chrome and gold appears the crowning jewel in an uber expensive collection of Sterling silver and gold Star Wars audio gear. It sounds amazing, but I need to run. Visit with a VIP at VPI Back in the Convention Center, I catch Mat Weisfeld as his father, Harry, announces he’s taking a restroom break. “Good luck with that!” Mat teases, then fills me in on the latest developments in his company. He mentions that as a former math teacher who ran a successful robotics program before taking over VPI, he’s wanted back at his old job (he shares this with me as I am a middle school teacher). Robotics and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) are hot commodities in education and the workplace these days. While a staffer boxes the Prime Scout for me, Mat informs me that they are planning on making their new direct drive motors commercially available for Do-It-Yourselfers in the near future. The two Johns and Eric would love this, I think to myself. The turntable secured on a bellman’s trolley, I head off to meet Belle and drive home. Towing my load down a long hallway, I flash back to the early Saturday night at the PrimaLuna room when the diminutive Audiophiliac, himself, Steve Guttenberg strolled in, waving his arms in mock surprise, and asked in a loud theatrical voice to no one in particular, “What have we here?” Seated alone, front and center with a smug smile, he listened to the music for a minute and left for the next room. Geez, I muse, sounds a bit like one of the barkers at Berkow’s Maxwell Street if you ask me. Work Cited
Berkow, Ira. Full Swing; Hits, Runs and Errors in a Writer’s Life. Ivan R. Dee, Chicago 2006. McGowan, Paul. “Life’s Not Fair.” Paul’s Posts. PS Audio.com. PS Audio, 8 May 2019. Web. 9 May 2019. “Michael Fremer -- Biography.” IMDb.com. IMDb.com, Inc. N.d. Web, 9 May 2019. Taraszka, Ken. “KEF Muon Foorstanding Loudspeaker Reviewed. Home Theater Review.com. Luxury Publsihing Goods, Inc. 31 December 2009. Web. 4 May 2019. “Tron Wiki”. Tron.fandom.com. Fandom. N.d. Web. 8 May 2019.
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O_o scar Johnson
5/11/2019 07:38:18 am
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