Shows

The 2024 edition of the Audio Expo North America, more commonly known by the acronym AXPONA, opens on Friday (April 12) at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, IL.

Billed as the largest annual gathering of audio enthusiasts, music lovers, audio dealers, manufacturers, and distributors in North America, the three-day event is expected to attract more than 9,000 attendees and will host more than 600 brands, including many of the most popular names in audio, all showcasing their latest wares in nearly 300 exhibits, which include 200 listening rooms.

This year’s lineup includes showings from Anthem, Arcam, AudioQuest, Audio-Technica, Bluesound, Bob Carver Company, Cambridge Audio, DALI, ELAC, Focal Naim, GoldenEar, Harman International, Harman Luxury Audio Group, Hsu Research, iFi Audio, Klipsch, Lenbrook, Luxman, Magnepan, MartinLogan, McIntosh, Monitor Audio, NAD, Paradigm, Perlisten, PSB Speakers, Q Acoustics, Qobuz, Sennheiser, Starke Sound, SVS, Teac, Technics, Tidal Audio, VPI, Yamaha, and a multitude of high-end audio brands. Click here for the full list of exhibitors.

In addition for the chance to meet audio innovators and product designers while kicking back and listening to some of the finest examples of home audio reproduction, AXPONA 2024 will again host its popular Record Fair with dozens of vendors featuring turntables, tonearms and cartridges, cables and accessories, racks and stands, and new and vintage vinyl. Exhibitors new to the 2024 Expo include Gus Fugazi Records, Jonny G C Collectibles, Record Wonderland, Picturesleeve45s, and Metaxis & Sins.

As with past shows, headphones and personal audio gear will receive their own spotlight with an entire ballroom dedicated to the Ear Gear Experience where all types of headphones, in-ear monitors/earphones, portable DACs, and related accessories will be on available to sample. Audeze, Austin AudioWorks, Campfire Audio, Meze Audio, Sennheiser, and other top brands will have dedicated booths in this area.

AXPONA 2024 will also host a compelling lineup of seminars throughout the long weekend.

Friday (April 12) sessions include Theoretica Applied Physics: The Future of Spatial Audio, Case Study: Design and Construction of a Dedicated Audiophile Listening Room, Limiting Factors of Modern True-to-Life Audio Reproduction (also on Saturday), Michael Fremer's World-Famous Turntable Set-up Seminar, Tape: The Once and Future Medium?, 10 Ways to Optimize Music Streaming, and Reducing Resonance in Turntable and Vinyl (also on Saturday).

Saturday (April 13) will feature sessions on starting out in audio, record groove restoration, and how to rate the performance of an audio system (also on Sunday) in addition to Second Time Around: The World of Reissuing and Remastering, Discoveries and Advances in Vinyl Optimization (also on Sunday), The Steve and Herb Show, featuring The Audiophiliac Steve Guttenberg and Stereophile contributing editor Herb Reichert, and Speaker Design: Inside and Outside the Box, featuring four long-respected designers, including Paul Barton, founder of PSB Speakers, and Andrew Jones, chief designer at MoFi Electronics.

Sunday (April 14) sessions include Qobuz: Ask me Anything! with David Solomon and The Perception and Measurement of Loudspeakers and Headphones: What Do Listeners Prefer, a presentation on the importance of objective measurements by Sean Olive, Harman International’s senior fellow of acoustic research.

Click here for the complete lineup of sessions.

As in past years, AXPONA 2024 will feature live music every evening after the show closes. This year’s featured artists are jazz guitarist Bobby Broom on Friday, April 12 and The Secret Sisters on Saturday, April 13.

Show hours are 10 a.m.- 6p.m. on Friday (April 12) and Saturday (April 13) and 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. on Sunday (April 14). Tickets can be purchased online at a substantial discount through Thursday, April 11. Pricing with the online discount is $28 for one-day pass ($35 on-site), $47 for a two-day pass ($65 on-site), and $55 for a three-day pass ($95 on-site). A one-day Gen Z pass for attendees aged 15-26 (ID required) is also available for $10 in advance or $15 at the door.

Click here to register for the Expo and buy tickets. For more on AXPONA 2024, visit axpona.com.

Be sure to check the homepage of SoundandVision.com and the S&V YouTube Channel for our exclusive coverage of AXPONA 2024.