[A]xpona 2013 audio show in Chicago is underway. Offering a swelling 88 rooms, large array of booth displays, gear from over 400 manufacturers, and two 90-minute seminars a day, one almost feels like they are at CES and getting fair time infront of listening time in front of each system is nearly impossible. Nonetheless, a strong showing of fantastic equipment throughout the event has been playing more than just your typical show off tunes, and many of the rooms do sound very good.

Here are high lights from Day One.

Man Cave speakers

Does Arnold know these exist? If not, someone should tell him. With terminator styling, these are very interesting speakers that should speak to any rivet head out there. Unfortunately, they were not hooked up to anything.

Purity Audio Design

Purity Audio is showing off their new Series 2 preamplifier. The Series 2 uses all using new optimized circuit to run with either 6SN7 or 12AU7 tubes, and equipped with high current toroidal transformers, choke filtering and 100% polypropylene capacitor filter banks housed in 1/8″ thick aircraft aluminum. The result of high DAC processing power plus tube electronics via two 1-inch soft dome tweeter and midrange is a smooth and dynamic presentation. The dual-woofer arrangement lends credible force to the bottom-end. A room to return to.

High Fidelity proto-type interconnect cable

Unfortunately, the new High Fidelity interconnect prototype was just on static display and not yet plugged-in when we were there. However, judging from fellow Dagogoan Jack Roberts’ recent review of the High Fidelity CT-1E., we can only expect more good things to come from Rick Schultz.