AXPONA 2017 – April 21, 22, 23
This year, Glenn Poor’s Audio Video exhibited at
AXPONA for the first time, partnering with Technics.
AXPONA is this country’s premiere hi-end audio show,
and, fortunately for us, is held every spring in Chicago.
Unlike the giant Consumer Electronics Show, held
annually in Las Vegas, AXPONA is a consumer show so
you don’t have to be a manufacturer or a retailer to
attend. AXPONA is a funfest – with live music events
and demonstrations of some of the finest gear in the
world.
The Technics/Glenn Poor’s Audio Video room featured
three different systems - two of which featured
Technics turntables. Both turntable models employed
Ortofon’s brilliant 2M Black cartridges. The referenceclass SL-1200G was the prime source for one of the
systems, while the (soon-to-be released) SL-1200GR
sourced the new “Grand Class” amp and speakers.
Originally slated to sell for between $2000 and $2500,
the “GR” was announced at AXPONA to sell for $1,699!
Based on the extraordinary SL-1200G, the new “GR” is
destined to be the best selling turntable/arm
combination in the history of Glenn Poor’s! Its motor,
like that of the “G”, is a cogging-free, coreless directdrive design that sets a new standard in its price class.
The resulting sound achieved feeding the also soon-tobe-released SU-G700 integrated amp ($2500) and SBG90 loudspeakers ($5000/pair) was beautiful, and, like
what we’ve heard with the more expensive “G” system,
performed way beyond its price class.
Without getting into too many boring technical details,
suffice to say these new Technics components are
working examples of what can be achieved if a large
company decides to commit its considerable resources
to the execution of high quality designs. So far, Technics
is batting 1000!
Ron, Craig and I had a great time at AXPONA, and were
happy so many of you came by to say “hi” and listen.
We recommend the experience, and expect we’ll all be
back next year.
Geoff