JUST ARRIVED 1 PAIR OF DEVORE O/96's minty fresh and ready for a good home, don't delay if you've been after a pair for a while, these were ordered back in October $15,900 first come first served
a bit of the Axpona journey, from start to finish.
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the Haven had a great time this year at Axpona. A great shoutout of thanks to my team of Mike, Tony, and the T.
Also to all the extremely nice folks who came to see me. I was overwhelmed so many of you made the trek, especially on Saturday, which had the biggest attendance of any US hifi show (or so they are saying); even the overflow parking lots were full and some of you had a rough time of parking. And the over loaded elevators were also a bit of a challenge. Yours truly was stuck in one for about 5 minutes, and it was enough to trigger all my anxieties at once. Luckily it opened and everyone exited quicker than if they had announced a free crab leg buffet. Yet all in all it was a hugely successful show for the Haven. Many called our room the dollar for dollar most musical, or the most simple system that yielded the most. I will say it was not a simple system at all. We worked on this for months. Size and appearance, yes, I can see the simple. Yet those pieces all working together put out music, and that wasn't the case with most. The biggest gripe from all of you was how terrible the other rooms were sounding. And overall I cannot disagree. There was a lot of mismatched gear going on. To put in that much money and have such unrewarding systems was sad, only confusing the consumer. Rooms like Rega and Linn, normally bastions of goodness, just missed the boat entirely. To launch the Rega flagship table with that system was mind numbing. I can tell you it's a great table, just not there. But before we go pointing fingers, I have to point one my way and confess that by Sunday yours truly was baked and ready to go. I was tired of talking, listening, and people in general. And for a very good customer who had come to see me, I played an Ellington 33 1/3 record at 45 for a track or two without even noticing til he was ready to leave. OY! So sorry, David. Please forgive. As we say in the biz, there's always next time. Speaking of, looks like next April 11-13 2025 will be our next chance to meet again, same room, 624, who knows what system then. Until then, please come and see me or contact me for any help needed. I'm always up for talking hifi. |
MUSIC PLAYED HERE SINCE 1910
This was indeed the 2024 Axpona system, although the Dynavector XX-2 cartridge had not arrived yet. The system was the JMR Bliss Jubilees w matching Magic stand ($3500), the Lejonklou Boazu integrated ($4195), the Lejonklou Entity mc phono stage ($2795), the WTL Amadeus Jr turntable ($3350) and the XX-2A ($2500?), oh and the NOKtable turntable stand ($999).
SPRING 2024 @the HAVEN
this clearly isn't me in drag dancing around, yet this is the feeling lately I've been having about the changes being made here, sort of a sense of renewal.
I have to admit there have been a few years, probably around the covid period, where I gave some admittedly bad demos; I had been trying various room treatments that ended up totally sucking, l was trying different pieces together that simply didn't work, no matter how much I tried to get them to. So you see, I can be a lot like you and get sidetracked by something that I have a hunch may work but doesn't. We all often dream of owning one thing and putting it with something else on our wish list of favorites, only to discover, if we really really listen, that it flat out sucks. And I did a few of those demos during that period that i still cringe when I think about. One very nice gal that came from KC, and I tried to replicate what she had at home but was a complete and utter failure. Another very nice couple where I had been doing room treatments that, egads, made everything bright and had gear on a rack that compounded the brightness. I think they couldn't get out of here fast enough, and I can't say I blame them. And still another who came down from upper Indiana which at the time I just didn't have the gear necessary to really bring out of the speakers he wanted to hear, much of anything. He stuck it out and we have become great friends.
So you see, my renewal has been in some ways to make the Haven not quite a hifi shop in the usual sense. It's very much become more of a lab in a way, my own personal hifi lab to explore how to get the most out of gear that I've chosen to use. And now you either get to reap the benefits of it or find your own path, like I'm trying to do.
I will say as a devoted vinyl listener that many turntables on the market are pretty much boring. Okay to good just doesn't cut it anymore. Same with electronics, same with speakers. You start to ask yourself why are all these products out on the market that are merely so-so, why hasn't someone come along and just said that's bad, that piece doesn't belong in a musical system. It's a question I have no answer for. As a long time audiophile, like many of you, all you have to do is look back thru past magazines and see all the companies that are no longer in business. Perhaps many of these johnny come latelys will eventually suffer the same fates.
I do see where many of you have gotten yourself in the same ruts like I had, and can't sort thru it. Many of you don't want help and it has to be your idea all along. All fine and dandy. But how can you weed out the offending piece if you have nothing else around to try? I know from experience, many rely on their mutual friends, and that simply doesn't work. Same as relying on forum kings, you have literally no idea what their systems sound like or their personal preferences, yet you would rely on them? Almost always that is a fatal mistake.
Put together a system that will make you sing out loud, or bust into a dance move you didn't think you had in you.
Life is short. There is no need for bad hifi or music making. All I can tell you is to keep trying, until you have a system that makes you happy.
I'll leave you with this from Mel Robbins that fairly well sums up my ideas of hifi after the Axpona show. edit Some people do know what they're doing as manufacturers obviously or I'd have nothing to listen to! And even some of you as well. I've been to some of your homes and heard your systems which were great. I'm merely wanting to encourage those that need it to keep trying, like I and others in my group do. Happy Listening