AXPONA Audio Con has quickly become the 3rd largest hi-end audio show in the country, attracting more audiophiles than ever, and even more entrepreneurs, artists, craftsmen, manufacturers, and visionaries who are creating the future of high quality music reproduction, playback and listening.
With an Ear Gear headphone showcase that’s doubled in size over last year, a massive marketplace for audiophile SACD and heavyweight vinyl releases, live artist showcases, sessions and workshops on turntable setup, vinyl ripping and high-resolution audio, the 2015 AXPONA Audio Con offers something for everyone that loves good music played well.
CoolCleveland’s Thomas Mulready visited a few interesting people at AXPONA Audio Con 2015: AXPONA founder Steve Davis on what’s new for 2015; handmade headphone artisan Zach Mehrbach; jazz vocal stylist Lyn Stanley on the release of her 45RPM audiophile vinyl LP; Phil Blackman of Dangerous Analog explaining how he’s releasing new music on reel-to-reel tape; and turntable & vinyl guru Michael Fremer, who gave a close listen to the CD and vinyl versions of Roxy Music’s Avalon.
View the video here.
Back in the early 1980’s, Michael Fremer heard a demonstration of a new recording and playback technology: the Compact Disc. The engineers played a CD of Roxy Music’s final LP, “Avalon.”
Fremer was not impressed. He began a campaign to tell the world why he thought vinyl LPs sounded better.
At the 2015 AXPONA Audio Con hi-end audio show, Thomas Mulready of CoolCleveland asked Fremer to recreate this comparison between the vinyl and CD versions of Roxy Music’s “Avalon,” and talk on camera about the differences.
You might be surprised by what they heard. View the video here.
http://www.AnalogPlanet.com
http://www.Stereophile.com
https://www.facebook.com/paragonsns
Lyn Stanley was a national champion ballroom dancer before she started singing seriously, taking vocal lessons and recording with some of the top names in the business. Her first release, “Lost in Romance,” made an immediate national impact.
Her popular follow-up, “Potions from the 50’s” was recorded by the legendary engineer Al Schmitt and pianist Kenny Werner and features some of the top jazz talent of modern times. Her recordings are released as audiophile 180-gram double-vinyl 45RPM LPs, and SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc). She is the top downloaded independent jazz vocal album on CDBaby.com.
At AXPONA 2015, she performed in the Care Audio showcase and spoke with CoolCleveland about her unique career path and audiophile leanings.
View the video here.
http://lynstanley.com
http://care-audio.com
Zach Mehrbach was a budding filmmaker, but he was obsessed with music and knew he could make a better headphone. If you strap on a pair of his new ZMF Headphones, you might agree that he’s nailed it.
Now Zach hand-crafts and tunes each of his headphones, something the large manufacturers are unable to do. He also sells direct to the public, reducing his selling price by up to 50%. CoolCleveland spoke directly to the guy who built the ‘phones at AXPONA Audio Con 2015.
View the video here.
Phil Blackman was a successful attorney, but he thought the time was right to launch a crazy idea for how to capture and release music. He is now a Grammy-nominated engineer who has worked with everyone from Aaron Neville to Stevie Wonder. He and his partner Ted Greenberg have earned nearly 20 gold & platinum records between them.
With the recent resurgence in appreciation for analog music rather than CDs, Blackman’s boutique record label Dangerous Analog records in world-class recording studios onto multi-track analog tape, then prints every master mix directly to 1/2″ reel-to-reel tape and vinyl LPs.
View the video here.
http://www.DangerousAnalog.com
Steve Davis can rattle off the growth numbers like the CEO on Wall Street: Eight years after he created the AXPONA high-end audio show, exhibit space has grown 30%, overall attendance is up almost 40%, and the EarGear headphone showcase has doubled in size.
AXPONA is now the 3rd largest high-end audio show in the country and shows no signs of slowing down.
View the video here.