[Updated] AXPONA 2018 New Releases at the Chicago Audio Show

Have you heard of AXPONA? If you haven’t, it’s about time you did. It is the premiere audio show in Chicago, Illinois and it draws all of the biggest names in the industry. If you missed CanJam NYC or CES, this is where you’ll want to be this Spring. Here are all the details on AXPONA 2018 new releases and more.

AXPONA 2018 New Releases at the Chicago Audio Show

AXPONA is the Audio Expo North America. The three-day audio extravaganza runs from April 13-15th and features a number of exhibitors. Last year’s event welcomed over 400 exhibitors and 7,000 guests. This year, the expo is being moved to a new venue, the Schaumburg Convention Center and Hotel, to accommodate their growing number of guests as well as the 60 new exhibitors that’ll be hitting the floor this year.

The new exhibitors are the following: Accent Speaker Technology, ACE Computers, Acoustic Research, ADVANCED, Asona, Audio Physic, Bandwidth Audio, Bending Wave USA, Bluewave, Boenicke, Caprice Audio, Cayin, Clarus Cable, Clear Tune Monitors, Creative Sound Solutions, Dekoni Audio, Dynamique Audio, Earsonics, EarzAudio, Effect Audio, EINSTEIN Audio Systems, Eikon by Gayle Martin Sanders, Elite Audio Systems, Elite AV Distribution, EMU Systems, European Audio Team, Fern & Roby, Gobel High End, HighEnd by Oz, iFi Audio, Kanto Audio, KirmussAudio, Kole Digital Systems, KRC Professional Audio, Lenbrook, Lindemann Audio, M&Co Electronics, Merging Technology, Okki Nokki, Orinda Acoustics, Parasound Products, Perfect Seal, Perfect Vinyl Forever, pNeuance Audio, Prana Distribution, PranaFidelity, Pro-Ject, Rainbow Audio, Reckless Records, Refined Audio, Rubert Neve Designs, SOtM, Stereo Haven, Studio Electric, Swan Song Audio, The Sound Environment, Timbre & Luces USA, TRIANGLE Speakers, Western Electric and Zavfino 1877Phono.

Exciting right? Be prepared to be awed by the slew of new headphones and in-ear monitors that’ll hit the exhibition floor. Here are the AXPONA 2018 new releases and products you’ll see.

[Update] Audeze is fresh off of their Audeze LCD-4Z release at CanJam SoCal that took place April 7-8. They’ll be in attendance so it’s only safe to assume attendees will have the exciting opportunity to sample the super new over-ear planar magnetic headphone. It is described as the easier to driver version of the LCD-4. The unit is available in a magnesium frame at an impedance of 15 ohms. It is also offered at the same price in a 200 ohm version. It retails for $3995 and is already available for pre-order at Audio46. In SoCal, Audeze also showcased their new immersive gaming headset, Mobius. I’m just going to go ahead and say you’ll be able to try those out as well. Prior to these releases, Audeze launched the LCD-2C (aka LCD-2 Classic) which is a new rendition of their LCD-2. This unit was showcased at CanJam SoCal, and yeah I’m assuming a lot, but these will probably be showcased again in Chicago.

[Updated] Campfire Audio will also make their way up to Chicago and are probably bring the newly announced Audeze Comet ($199) and Atlas ($1299). Comet will be their new starter pair of IEMs while Atlas is the new flagship intended to usurp Vega. Comet holds a single balanced armature driver and Atlas holds a 10mm A.D.L.C. diaphragm dynamic driver. Both in-ear monitors are designed with solid stainless steel enclosures and CNC processed shells. Comet will also include an in-line mic and controller on the cable. It will be made available at the end of April. Atlas will be available at the end of May.

[Updated] FiiO is also bringing their high-end products to Chicago. Their latest releases include a new quad driver called the FiiO FH5. It features 3 knowles balanced armatures and 1 dynamic driver. They’ve also launched a super exciting lossless audio player which uses ESS Saber DAC and DSD and operates using Samsung’s Exynos 7270 processor. It’s the FiiO M7 and it also  supports aptX and LDAC wireless codec along with Bluetooth 4.2 to support high quality wireless streaming.

64 Audio will be present showcasing the tia Trió, a $2300 IEM consisting of the tia single-bore, tia acoustic chambers, and the proprietary open balanced armature tia drivers. They’ll also demo the U12Tt IEM ($1999) which incorporates the tia single-bore with 4 low drivers, 6 mid drivers, and the incredibly smooth tia high and high-mid drivers.

Audio Technica will be on hand to demo their new wireless Bluetooth and noise cancelling headphone that’s only $200, the ATH-ANC700BT QuietPoint Wireless Active Noise-Cancelling Headphones. They’ll also display their new first in-ear wireless headphones that’ll incorporate Pure Digital Drive technology which keeps the audio signal completely digital from source to driver. These buds will retail for $399. A third product that’s got us truly excited is the company’s new ATH-ADX5000 Audiophile Open-Air Dynamic Headphones that’ll burn a $2000 hole in your pocket. The new unit features patent-pending Core Mount Technology and additional innovations to deliver extraordinary sound.

Clear Tune Monitors, who we were introduced to at CanJam NYC 2017, will also be at AXPONA demoing their super premium IEMs from their DaVinci Series containing 9 and 10 drivers that are built with an aluminum enclosure, Wave Integrating Sonic Element (W.I.S.E) and high end 19AWG pure copper cable. These IEMs range in price from $2000-4000.

If interested in attending, tickets can be purchased at AXPONA.com. One day passes are $25, two-day passes are $40, and three-day passes are $50. All general admission tickets include access to the exhibits including listening rooms, the exhibition hall, as well as educational seminars, live music in the lounge, and special events.

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