US: SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS
Jason Victor Serinus
Exciting. Engrossing. Exhausting. Enjoyable. Nothing but e-words from me. I could go on, but not without breaking out the thesaurus.
—ROGIER VAN BAKEL, Stereophile’s newest Contributing Editor
Numbers are one thing. According to statistics provided by the show, AXPONA 2022 attracted 7498 unique visitors plus 98 incontrovertibly unique members of the press. The show hosted 138 active demo rooms plus many Ear Gear and marketplace exhibits representing a total of more than 500 companies. Approximately 220 showgoers attended Friday’s 8pm “Blues Night with Toronzo Cannon,” and 300 defied Expo burnout to enjoy Lori Lieberman’s performance Saturday at 8pm.
But numbers mean only so much. This AXPONA was all about emotion.
“I’m no writer, but it was as if we all rose up out of hibernation,” Stereophile General Manager Keith Pray—eloquent despite his modesty—wrote in an email. “Vibrant, alive, and fun. … It felt like we all needed to see and talk to each other.”
“I recently came across a word that I can’t say I’ve ever heard in casual conversation, but that perfectly encapsulates how I would describe the overall feeling at AX-PONA,” wrote Emron Mangelson, dCS Audio’s head of sales for North America. “That word is ‘propinquity.’ Propinquity is defined as ‘the state of being close to someone or something.’ Our industry is small and close-knit. I got a sense of the joy that permeated AXPONA—the sense of being able to gather with friends and colleagues over this unique passion for excellence in reproduced music performance. The Propinquity Effect was palpable.”
These few sentiments captured feedback I’ve received from dozens of people. Another of my colleagues, Julie Mullins, wrote, “It felt wonderful, even a little weird, to be back, foreign yet familiar. The energy was palpable. People—exhibitors, attendees, press—were clearly happy to be there. Only regret: There were too many exhibits and people to see in under three days, as time flew by. It’s good to be back.”
Not everything
