AXPONA 2025 Highlights
Highlights From AXPONA 2025
The big Chicago Audio show AXPONA 2025 took place the second weekend of April, and it was just as impressive as the previous years. Expectations were as high for big product releases as they were for big sounds from the listening rooms, and both seemed to deliver on that promise by Sunday morning.
It has been said before, but it bares repeating – if you go to an audio show, the best day to listen is the last day. Systems theoretically have had the advantage of taking time to “warm up”, and room organizers have had more time to tweak the systems into a better place. The sounds of the AXPONA 2025 event were very good overall, and offered some really high end sounds on the main floor and in the big rooms.
That is not to say that any “regular” room didn’t hold a few surprises, but rather that even an average person off the streets with no knowledge of hifi could easily find themselves entertained by simply listening. Shopping and research are undoubtedly a focus for most hard-core audiophiles, but the higher profile of the show plus more friends and families that helped make up the attendance was very promising as well. In pt.AUDIO’s wrap up show The Occasional Podcast, editor Marc Phillips comments that he noticed a higher density of new (and/or possibly younger) attendees that showed up with a deeper knowledge of the hobby. Having some of the education of HiFi out of the way by new attendees is a very good signal for the industry (that is in many ways hungry for refreshment).
If you would like the full breakdown from pt.AUDIO’s Marc and Graig (straight from the show) check out The Occasional Podcast’s recap in the embed below. It contains a room-by-room analysis and all the new product announcements and highlights from the Schaumburg, IL event. You can also listen and subscribe on any of your favorite podcast playback platforms including iTunes, Android, Google, Deezer, Spotify, iHeartRadio and more.
Manley Labs New Phono Pre
Eveanna Manley was showing off a new prototype of her upcoming Precision phono and line stage preamplifier. The Precision has all the bells and whistles for fine tuning the inputs, and can also be controlled via a companion app (according to the demo at the show). This is a more complex machine than the Manley Oasis that debuted last year (~$4k) but reviews for that piece were very positive. Both were available to demo in the Ear Gear Experience section of the AXPONA show.
New VAC Ampfliers
One of the “Big Rooms” housed an interesting multi-speaker demo for VAC and the outstanding Acora Acoustics speakers. Located just on the outskirts of this room in the hallway was the slightly more affordable rig comprised of the Acora Acoustics MRB-1 standmounts ($7.9k) and the new VAC Essence 90 mono blocks plus the VAC Essence line stage. The 90s do indeed pack approximately 90 watts of KT88 tube power per block, and drove the MRBs to surprisingly loud levels in the large hallway. A real highlight of AXPONA 2025 for those who are looking for items in the $10k range.
Focal Surround & Bathys MG Wireless
Focal always brings the thunder at audio shows. This year at AXPONA 2025, this took the form of a large room housing a massive multichannel experience from the new Utopia Cinema line and the lighting strike from the new Bathys MG wireless headphones. The roped off 7.4.4 theater experience was packed with a line to the door almost every time I stopped by. Inside the fidelity and slam was impressive, along with precision coming in from so many speakers. The new Bathys headphone is also raising the bar in terms of wireless, and is one of the biggest promises from the growing category in terms of HiFi+wireless options. Along with the two new product announcements, attendees were able to witness both the robust outdoor speaker options from Focal and the extensive Naim Uniti line of amplification. The remaining systems were comprised of Focal Kanta No2, Sopra, and the $3k Theva speakers. It was a great showing in a very entertaining room – something for everyone.
SVS New Revolution 5000 Series
It cannot be stated enough how insane the buzz around the SVS room is all weekend. For a company initially known for subwoofers, SVS is really showing the more traditional HiFi companies how it can be done at a IRL event. Flowing out into the hallway, SVS had two rooms packing one multichannel rig with the new flagship 17 inch sub and one two-channel with the flagship Ultra Evolution towers. It was an excellent choice of demos, one that was able to really show off their wide growth of options since the old sub-only days. The latest talking points from SVS include a brand new trickle down option from the 17-inch called the 5000 series. The new 5000 R|Evolution subs (starting at $2k) feature a 15 inch driver and 2000 watt continuous amplifier. It was more than enough for the demo rooms at AXPONA 2025.
New D’Agostino Pendulum Integrated
Another great “trickle down” product from the show was the new D’Agostino Pendulum integrated at $15k. While that number might be out of reach for many (myself included) anyone who knows the Dan D’Agostino brand is aware that his products go much much higher than that on a pricetag. Regardless if the brand is feasible or aspiration for you, it did sound great at the show paired with some towers right next to the entryway of the hotel. The external design held on to many of the very upscale tendencies of the higher-end options and the included remote was heavily lauded as well during AXPONA 2025.
The New MoFi Sourcepoint V10 Speaker From Andrew Jones
For those that follow MoFi Electronics latest creations partnered with the legendary speaker designer Andrew Jones, the announcement made on the eve of AXPONA 2025 might come as no surprise. Originally launching a standmount concentric-mounted two-way called the Sourcepoint 10, the partnership then yielded an 8 inch variant, and then a much larger floorstander called the 888. While the latest at the show was not called the 101010 (doesn’t really roll off the tongue that well) the new “V10” was available for active listening in the MoFi room located on the 1st floor. We utilize this shabby iPhone photo to highlight perhaps one of the most interesting facets of the Sourcepoint V10 – the speakers are getting really big. Speaking with Andrew at the show, the likelihood of a 121212 is pretty thin, but those looking for big sound (and robust bass) should find some solace in the new larger floorstander.
DeVore Fidelity Super 9 and Micro
John Devore was showing off two different options in his room from Devore Fidelity. On active display when I arrived was the Gibbon Super 9 floorstander attached to a Leben front end. Particularly noteworthy was the static display of his entry-level Orangutan micr/O speaker ($4k) that are designed to be placed in an actual bookshelf (imagine that!) if need be. The Orangutan line has very intriguing to me ever since I reviewed the flagship O/96 for pt.AUDIO and was excited to see John be able to put some emphasis on the littlest of the Orangutan family at AXPONA 2025. John’s affinity for unique and special things is not lost in both his preparation and execution at audio shows. From spinning very old 78 rpm records to a cart crafted from ancient swamp wood, his attention to little details tends to pay out dividends when it comes to his organic, rich and transparent sound in the room.
Overall it was once again a magnificent show with record attendance. Official numbers from the show organizers tally up 10,910 attendees and 20% more trade passes. AXPONA has really become the hub for new product releases and high-end demos for the US over the past few years. This year things were even bigger and better, a real blessing for the HiFi industry in many ways. I highly recommend a visit if you can make it over to the mid-west in April, as it is one of the major highlights of the year for audio.