Are you off to the AXPONA show? Here’s the top 10 reasons that you should be. Now in its 9th year, AXPONA (Audio Expo North America) continues to grow in popularity with audiophiles, music lovers, musicians and seasoned audio experts looking to enhance their Listening Room, Media Room or Home Office with the latest technology from stereo systems, home audio speakers, headphones, turntables, amplifiers, and much more.

The show, which has a new home at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Centre and Hotel, from April the13th -15th, will feature 400 exhibitors and offers attendees the opportunity to touch, test, and shop the newest gadgets in high-end consumer audio products. Featuring 150+ interactive listening rooms, an expanded Exhibit Hall, Master Class Theatre, Live Concerts, Seminars etc, AXPONA 2018 takes over nine floors of the hotel. Add these 10 “must-do’s” to your agenda to experience the best of AXPONA 2018:

1.AXPONA’s new home in Schaumburg

AXPONA’s new venue at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Centre and Hotel offers free onsite parking, multiple dining options, more than 30 meeting rooms and suites, nearly 500 sleeping rooms, function spaces and an exhibition hall – all under one roof.

2. Live Evening Concerts

Ticketholders are treated to entertainment on Friday and Saturday evenings, the weekend live concert series includes “An Evening With(Out) David Bowie” on Friday night featuring a presentation by Thomas Mulready and live music by Vanity Crash. Blues fans will enjoy the Blues Revue with Corey Dennison Band and special guests Demetria Taylor and Jimmy Johnson.

3. Industry Expert Talks and Seminars

Take part in interesting seminars all weekend, including a new session aimed at “Designing a Listening Room”. Whether you just purchased your dream hifi or are building a room around existing equipment, designing a Listening Room or space dedicated to enjoying music is key. Learn the Do’s and Don’ts from design experts Chad Esslinger, Frank Fontana, Scott Dresner, Kenneth Walter, and Glen Kuras (GIK Acoustics). (Saturday, April 14, 3pm)

4. Shop Till you Drop

The expanded Exhibit Hall, which is home to the Marketplace and Ear Gear Expo, is a whopping 30,000 square feet and will showcase a vast array of turntables, cables, accessories, racks and stands, tonearms, cartridges and the latest headphones and associated equipment in the growing world of mobile and high-end personal listening. Some of the manufacturers exhibiting this year will be AudioQuest, Astell & Kern, Kimber Kable, Morrow Audio, Pro-Ject, Perfect Vinyl Forever, Sennheiser, and U-Turn Audio.

5. Record Fair for Vinyl Collectors

The new Record Fair is a pavilion within the Exhibit Hall where visitors can shop for new and vintage vinyl, CDs, SACDs and downloads and discover new artists.

6. Listening Rooms

There will be high-performance systems in over 150 dedicated listening rooms including  American Sound, AXISS Audio, Cambridge Audio, Convergent Audio Technology, Dynaudio, Eikon by Gayle Martin Sanders, Emotiva, High End by Oz, High Water Sound, JTR Speakers, Pass Labs, Schiit Audio, and The Sound Organisation.

7. Product Debuts from Manufacturers

There will be the latest product debuts from many brands who will be introducing headphones, speakers, cables, turntables and amplifiers at AXPONA.

8. Master Class Theatre

The new intimate theatre located in the Exhibit Hall will feature curated content presented by industry experts. Attendees will use headphones to listen to top pro’s in the audio world including Steve Evans, founder of Perfect Vinyl Forever, Frank Urban of US Soundlabs, Bob Schulein with ImmersAV, Lyn Stanley, Recording Artist, and Tim Schroeder, Schroeder Amplification Inc.

9. Record-Breaking New Exhibitors

AXPONA is known for showcasing many new and innovative manufacturers, in the high-end audio industry. A record breaking 60+ new to the show exhibitors will gather at AXPONA 2018 to introduce their latest products including Fern & Roby, SOtM Stereo Haven, TRIANGLE Speakers, Pro-Ject, Elkon by Gayle Martin Sanders, among others.

10. Classic Album Sundays

Classic Album Sundays will be paying homage to the long-lasting influence of Chicago House music during a seminar on Sunday, April 14th, 2-4pm. They will be joined by Chi-Town native, Terry Hunter to discuss the impact of Chicago House on the world leading to Grammy Award Winners Daft Punk and their iconic second album Discovery.

Paying homage to Chicago House, Disco, Soul and much more, Daft Punk has long been influencers on the dance music scene. Discovery builds on the Chicago influenced house sound found on their early releases into ‘song’ led productions that were in Thomas Bangalter’s own words a way of “saying to the electronic kids, ‘Rock is cool, you know? You can like that.’” Following an interview with Terry Hunter, they will feature a full album playback on a world class audiophile sound system.

AXPONA will be open Friday and Saturday 10 am – 6 pm; Sunday 10 am – 4 pm. The Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Centre and Hotel is located at 1551 N. Thoreau Drive, Schaumburg, IL 60173