Best System Poll

[NorthStar]

Apparently, THE best systems are never at HIFI shows. I think there's an interesting question to ask. Why?

No, not according to your poll Michael. ...100%

 

[asiufy]

Apparently, THE best systems are never at HIFI shows. I think there's an interesting question to ask. Why?

First, there is no single THE BEST. Then, you haven't answered my question. Why do you expect people to find their best experience at a hi-fi show?

 

[still-one]

First, there is no single THE BEST. Then, you haven't answered my question. Why do you expect people to find their best experience at a hi-fi show?

I don't think he expected anyone to say their best experience was at an audio show. It is possible that some individuals who only have access to higher end products (however one defines that) at audio shows could answer yes. Fortunately most of the individuals who spend time on this forum have access to great set-ups elsewhere.

 

[sbo6]

2 main reason why the best system(s) are not found at shows (although I've heard some pretty stellar ones). 1) Room dimensions and overall size 2) Acoustic treatment (or lack thereof). You could probably put power at a more distance 3rd.

 

[Diapason]

I personally think the biggest problem at shows is sound bleed from other rooms, not to mention the general raised noise floor of hundreds of people gathered in a small space. Yes, I completely agree that hotel rooms are not always ideal, yes there may be other problems, but ultimately shows are inclined to be noisy places. Even a "quiet" room isn't nearly as quiet as you'd experience in a domestic environment. What hope have we got of hearing a system at it's best when competing with explosions down the hall?

The best show sounds I've heard have been when there's hardly anybody else there and the layout is sparse enough to allow some distance between rooms. Obviously, this is easier at a smaller-scale show in the likes of Dublin than at a massive industry even in Vegas, but it shows me that it can be done.

Well, actually the best show dem I ever heard was the PMC BB5/XBD speakers with a stack of Bryston electronics up the ying-yang, and none of the above applied to that. Not the last word in subtlety though...

 

[DaveC]

2 main reason why the best system(s) are not found at shows (although I've heard some pretty stellar ones). 1) Room dimensions and overall size 2) Acoustic treatment (or lack thereof). You could probably put power at a more distance 3rd.

I agree. Also the fact that the there isn't much time for setup, if you need acoustic treatments or power conditioning that you didn't bring you're SOL.

Power isn't a distant 3rd though, it can be exceptionally bad at shows. At last years RMAF there was an unbelievable difference between filtered and unfiltered power... one of my modded SurgeX power conditioners was used in the room that won TAS best sound of show in the cost no object category and the difference with and without the SurgeX was amazing.

Despite that, I have heard great sound at shows, it's just the exception rather than the norm. The Wilson demo at RMAF 2013 ranks up there, as did the TAD demo Andrew Jones set up.

 

[slcaudiophile]

This is a simple one. The question is whether the best system you've heard was at a HIFI show. Of course, that means the shows held at convention centers inside ballrooms and hotel rooms. There is deep disagreement over this and I think it led to Peter Breuninger's WBF Harakiri. On his way out arose a debate which wasn't fully completed due to the rancorous nature of his departure.

Michael.

this is pointless. the conditions are poor, people forget to shower so many smell (you all know I am right), manufactures are often rushed to get the newest out and someone somewhere forgot to do something so lots of excuses and "conditions", manufactures rarely use the same supporting components. all these trade shows are anymore is method to sell products outside of the brick and mortar stores. i always thought having one show (CES) is all that is needed and then this would open up the market for more retail environments where they actually can squeeze the best performance out of these products and have the traditional "open house" when x dealer gets a new product. this is how it use to be done until the early 2000's and you see more shows and less retailers. it really is a shitty way to do things. if you are into high-end sports cars it would be like one spot to buy and show off all the Ferrari's, lambos and Porsche GT3 variants. its bull ****.

having said that, most of the wilson audio rooms i have heard sound fairly good. other manufactures sound ok others sound like garbage and i wish i had my 10 minutes back i sat there listening.