On display: speakers from Børresen, electronics from Aavik, electronics from Axxess, and cables from Ansuz.

Reporting by Eric Franklin Shook

Definitely one of the most hyped and buzzworthy exhibits at Axpona 2023, our sneak peek the new flagship Børresen M3 ($280,000 pr USD) loudspeaker. This is the larger brother and floorstander to accompany the smaller Børresen M1 ($100,000 pr USD) that we covered in Florida back in February.

The new M3 speakers were supported by an Aavik D-580 ($40,000 USD) digital-to-analog converter, new C-880 ($70,000 USD) preamplifier, and new P-880 ($70,000 USD) power amplifier. Tethered with Ansuz‘ flagship Gold Signature series cables throughout the system.

In a smaller exhibit space, the world premiere of the new Axxess Forté 1 ($5,500 USD) all-in-one. The new Axxess Forté is a streaming amplifier series consisting of three levels, Axxess Forté 1, 2 ($8k) and 3 ($11k). They all feature both a streamer and a DAC section, as well as being an integrated amplifier and a headphone amplifier.

Axxess is the fourth brand in the Audio Group Denmark family, side by side with Ansuz, Aavik, and Børresen.

The new entry-level Børresen X3 ($11,000 pr USD) rounded out the high-value system, while exhibiting nothing less than we expect sonically from the now quartet of brands under the Audio Group Denmark name.

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AXPONA (Audio Expo North America), the largest consumer audio show in North America, returns to the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center and Hotel April 14-16. Longtime exhibitors and partners will be joined by more than 25 new manufacturers and dealers making their debut at the 2023 show, offering music lovers and audiophiles the very latest products in the industry.

AXPONA is known for featuring world-renowned brands and manufacturers, showcasing the most innovative products and services in the high-end audio industry. It is the place where manufacturers and dealers unveil their latest offerings, in a wide variety of price points and mediums.

AXPONA Schedule
Friday, April 14 10am-6pm
Saturday, April 15 10am-6pm
Sunday, April 16 10am-4pm

Open to the public, AXPONA offers a variety of ticket options for attendees.

TICKETS

1 Day – $25 online, $30 onsite
2 Day – $40 online, $60 onsite
3 Day – $50 online, $90 onsite
Student Pass – $10

First Time Exhibitors

The following is a summary of first-time exhibitors that will be at AXPONA 2023, representing a number of product categories including Electronics, Speakers, Turntables, Headphones, and more: Michell Audio, Alex Sound Technology, Alma Audio, AM Belgium, ampsandsound, Audio Craftsmen, Audio-Ultra, Dieses Audio, Grimm Audio, Gestalt Audio Design, American Audio and Video, Just Audio, LCH Audio, Linn, Monarch Systems, Nexus Audio Technologies, Phillips Design, Phonia, Plinius Audio, Sea Wave Acoustic, Serhan Swift, RAAL-requisite, Theoretica Applied Physics, Tom Christiansen Audio, Treehause Audiolab, Volumio, Wathen Audiophile.

New Product Debuts!

The following is a summary of cornerstone exhibitors that will be at AXPONA 2023, showing NEW and never-before-seen products at AXPONA 2023, so take note. These high-end audio brands represent just a portion — and the backbone — of the high-end audio industry that will be in attendance. Product categories including Electronics, Speakers, Turntables, Headphones, and more: Acora Acoustics, Alta Audio, Infigo Audio, Primare, Stenheim, ATC, Luxman, Ikigai Audio, Focal, Ansuz, Aavik, Børresen, Axxess, Zesto Audio, Harmonic Resolution Systems, Qualiton, Merason, QLN, Vinnie Rossi, Synergistic Research, AudioShield, Credo Audio Switzerland, EMM Labs, Van den Hul, YG Acoustics, Triangle Speakers, Electrocompaniet, Ferrum, Gryphon Audio, Avantgarde Acoustic, Axiss Audio, Studio Electric, Iconoclast Cables, Estelon, JansZen Audio, Magico, Soul Note, Westminster Lab, Nordost, Sonner Audio, Rethm Speakers… and that’s just to name a few.

In addition to incredible new products debuting at AXPONA, the show also features three jam-packed days of incredible sounds, technology, and presentations.

AXPONA’s state-of-the-art venue will feature

• 190+ Listening Rooms
• Expo Hall featuring the ever-popular Record Fair and Master Class Theater
• Ear Gear Experience featuring the best-of-the-best Headphone Gear
• A robust Seminar Schedule
• Live Music nightly

All general admission tickets grant access to the exhibits including Listening Rooms and Exhibit Hall, as well as educational seminars, live music, and special events. For more information on ticketing and ticketing options, please visit the link here.

About our show coverage sponsor

ModWright Instruments

“ModWright was founded in 2000 as a company producing modifications to digital products. The mods were cost-effective, yet a high quality alternative for the audio enthusiast. Born from this, our Truth series of modifications, utilizing tube analog stages, won ModWright Instruments worldwide acclaim and led us to the next step: building our own equipment.

The ModWright 9.0 series of preamplifiers was introduced in 2003, continuing the trend of high performance audio with an emphasis on quality and value. This included a phono preamplifier and later a balanced tube linestage in the LS 36.5. In 2009 we proudly released the KWA 150 amplifier to round out a complete ModWright electronics system.

We have continued on this path of building high quality and high value audio equipment, designed to provide the most natural and satisfying musical experience. We pride ourselves as much on the quality of our work as on our level of service and customer satisfaction. As founder of ModWright Instruments, I strive to maintain the message within our mission statement: Elegance. Simplicity. Truth.”

—Dan Wright, President, ModWright Instruments, Inc.

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The kick-off event to every hi-fi calendar, Florida Audio Expo 2023 returns to its full glory. Attendance and brand participation were at their highest levels in years. The overall mood and vibe of the show was that of celebration, and less of the worry and fear you might still find elsewhere in the country.

Reporting by Eric Franklin Shook and Jameson Mourafetis

And yes, one can’t help but find the sunny, but surprisingly mild, Florida weather a great escape from the doldrums of February’s typical frosty state-of-being. But before we get on to our show highlights and best-of-show selection, it’s only proper that we give thanks to Doug White of The Voice That Is! who powered this year’s Florida show coverage.

Up First, The Show Highlights

Before we get on to our consensus winner for best-of-show, let’s recap the high-end exhibits that got our juices flowing and pockets tingling.

For our complete coverage of the Florida Audio Expo 2023 <— click here.

House of Stereo, Phasemation, Avantgarde, VPI Industries, Wolf Audio Systems, DS Audio, Synergistic Research

House of Stereo a Jacksonville, Florida High-End Audio dealer specializes in creating experiences in audio that rival the live-in-concert experiences. Here at the Florida Audio Expo, we have nothing less. Big glossy horn loudspeakers, tube amplifiers, vinyl on call. What more does one need to have oneself transported to both the time and location …

Tobian Sound Systems, LampizatOr, Westminster Lab, Critical Mass Systems, Final Touch Audio, DSG

Destination Sound Group was upping the ante for the Florida Audio Expo 2023. A year earlier in 2022 Destination Sound Group was making waves with their VAC Integrated, LampizatOr DAC, Tobian Sound Systems 12FH loudspeakers, and Final Touch Audio cables. A considerably sized consensus was formed among press writers that the system was one of …

Next Level HiFi, Børresen, Aavik, Anzus, Audio Group Denmark

Next Level HiFi is a high-end audio dealer serving the Chicagoland area from their showroom in Wayne, Illinois. At the head of their hi-fi activities is Tyler and Dana Mueller, who have become quite renowned for their audio show exhibits. Somehow, always finding a clear path to consistent and honest sound no matter the …

TAD, Wolf Audio Systems, Synergistic Research, Jocavi, Pro Audio Design

Pro Audio Design is the exclusive distributor for TAD HiFI and their professional products in the USA and Canada. How this came to be is quite the story. Pro Audio Design (PAD) founder and president, David Malekpour, has had a long standing relationship with TAD that traces his nearly four decade career in …

Ampsandsound, Acora Acoustics, VPI Industries, Auralic, Cardas

Justin Weber, founder of Ampsandsound, had an incredible dance partner in Acora Acoustics at this year’s Florida Audio Expo. While Acora was downstairs on the main floor stealing all the Florida sunshine with their new VRC, newly minted Acora fans were now roaming the halls of the upper floors looking for Acora’s other listed …

Scott Walker Audio, Synergistic Research, Berkeley Audio Design, VPI Industries, VAC, Von Schweikert

Scott Walker Audio, an Anaheim, California dealer teamed up with Synergistic Research of Fountain Valley, California to put on one of their famous tweak-fest demonstrations that covers every conceivable avenue of audiophile tweakdom. From power conditioning, acoustic room treatments, racks, shelves, grounding, cables — with nearly all categories toiling in both active and inactive …

Aperio Black by Warwick Acoustics

Warwick Acoustics is a UK based manufacturer of ultra-high-end headphone and automotive audio systems. Their unique, single stator, electrostatic drivers carry a bevy of world-first technologies that come together to form all-in-one headphone and amplifier systems — like the Aperio Black — that offer world class resolution …

MSB, Magico, Aurender, Stromtank

US-based digital audio technology company MSB Technology has been at the forefront and arguably at the top of ultra-high-end digital audio reproduction world for more than 25 years. Without fail, at every audio expo they attend, they always put forth class-leading performance at or near a level deserving of the title: best-of-show. …

MBL Akustikgeräte, United Home Audio

MBL is arguably the most well-known ultra-high-end audio brand in the world. MBL is often seen in the homes and apartments of ultra-high-net-worth individuals. MBL is the premiere one-stop-shop for complete, gorgeous, preconfigured systems, not unlike Warwick Acoustics, albeit at a larger scale with a more posh, bespoke touch, that wouldn’t …

Drumroll please!

BEST OF SHOW – Florida Audio Expo 2023

Acora Acoustics, VAC, Oracle, Lampizator, Aurender, Cardas

“The new Acora Acoustics VRC does something almost unmatched elsewhere in audiophile history. It takes the goalpost and moves it so far down the road, that what was once considered true high-end, is in real danger of being demoted to bespoke mid-fi.” —Eric Franklin Shook

Jameson’s words:

For the audiophiles reading, you all have a memory of a system that flipped your perception of music listening into so much more than what you thought it could be. It’s so ingrained in your mind that you’ll never forget it. There’s one for all of us. For me, it was a pair of original Abyss AB-1266 headphones driven by a Cavalli Liquid Gold, all things I had never heard of before until that day.

Hitting play on a needle drop of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love changed music listening from something passive, something everyone did, into an obsession. If you haven’t had that moment yet, yes, it’s every bit as meaningful as I’m making it out to be, and I highly suggest you get to a dealer and give this whole audiophile thing a try. Why am I talking about this paradigm shift all of us experience at one point or another? Well. I’m here to tell you it can happen again.

There’s another level. Diminishing marginal returns have been reset. Meet the new benchmark. This is the Acora VRC.

Electrostatic speed and midrange purity? Check. Thunderous, tight, deep, linear bass that could pressurize an auditorium? Check. Staging that’s somehow blows well past the far away walls of the gigantic listening room Val occupied this year while managing to hold a life-sized, rock solid, dense-as-reality center image? Check.

I know this all sounds too good to be true, but you’ll just have to hear it for yourself. And believe me, you’re going to want a pair.

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Reporting by Eric Franklin Shook

On display: speakers from Børresen, electronics from Aavik, and cables from Ansuz.

Making our way around the Florida show, we felt that it only made sense to visit each of the Next Level/AGD rooms as a back-to-back trio of exhibits. Doing so to better ascertain the similarities and differences of each level of system. As you’ll see below, some of the impressions we had were outright astonishing.

First on our list, the entry level room which featured the new Axxess Forte, which debuts as an entry level brand. The Forte is an all-in-one device that includes DAC, Preamp, and Amplifier all in one chassis. Smart for beginners who want the baby without the labor pains of selecting and connecting multiple components, or are more interested in set-and-forget portability. Nomads rejoice!

On the flanks of the new Axxess Forte, an entry level Børresen X3 floorstanding loudspeaker from the new — you guessed it — X Series. During our listening sessions we had to remind ourselves that simple system was just under a $20K asking price and at no time felt like a departure from the sonic excellence we expect from AGD branded products. So in short, we’re off to a great start.

The second room we entered featured Børresen Z1 Cryo monitors and with Aavik electronic components included pushed the system cost upward of $45K. Immediately we were enlightened of what the extra refinement (and cash) brings to the table this system. Had you told me the system was $100K, I would have not scoffed at the idea. It was really, really, really clean and dynamic.

Keep scrolling for the third, and final room of the exhibits — it’s a doozy.

Holy schnikes! The sound of this room was, in the most unexpected way, otherworldly. Two components at the heart of this system: the Aavik I-880 Integrated at $70K is a class-A performer both literally and figuratively, while the Børresen M1 Monitors at $100K at first reporting soured a few audiophile with their price tag, but sour-no-more. Once you hear the M1’s you’ll be forced to admit that it all makes sense. The M1’s are deserving of their asking price, and those with the means will surely enjoy the spoils of their sonic character for many years to come.

A trio of exhibits worthy of a standing ovation.

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