What do we expect at the show?

[rbbert]

That's interesting. The previous show I thought he was demo'ing with AVM and the Berlina speakers.
Unfortunately, this show I thought the big MBL's and the UHA wasn't that great at all! A somewhat diffuse sound that had no real meat on the bones, IMO. Surprising considering the
source and the speakers. Again, IMHO, a small miracle given the sound- that someone would want to spend much money on a system like that...never mind $600K!
Frankly, I thought UK Paul's system was far far superior sounding at a fraction of the price ( albeit a fairly large fraction).

I enjoyed listening to both systems, but I would definitely give the nod to mbl.

 

[DaveyF]

I enjoyed listening to both systems, but I would definitely give the nod to mbl.

Not for me on Friday when I heard both. Perhaps the MBL room improved over the next couple of days. I know UK Paul said he was able to ring some more out of his system on Saturday. Unfortunately, I wasn't there over the weekend.

 

[rbbert]

I listened to each on both Fri and Sun; I thought both sounded good both days, I'm not sure I noticed a difference in the days. Only a matter of taste, in any case; FWIW, the only Sonus Faber speakers that I have heard that I might be interested in owning are the Amati Futuras, but I've only heard any of them at shows.

 

[DaveyF]

I listened to each on both Fri and Sun; I thought both sounded good both days, I'm not sure I noticed a difference in the days. Only a matter of taste, in any case; FWIW, the only Sonus Faber speakers that I have heard that I might be interested in owning are the Amati Futuras, but I've only heard any of them at shows.

Sonus Faber, like many speaker brands, seem to have an ability to shine in certain rooms and do exactly the opposite in others. This year the room at Newport, showing the Sonus Faber Elipsa SE's, was IMO somewhat forgettable. However, when asked to reproduce subterranean bass...the speakers actually rose to the occasion IMO. So much so, that I noticed several show goers covering their ears in disbelief! Not that I am saying that the ability to reproduce subterranean bass at high SPL's is that great, BUT SF's aren't really known for this, LOL.
Like you said, everything is a matter of taste, BUT I didn't speak to one a'phile on Friday who thought the MBL room sounded that great ( perhaps they were swayed by the price of the system in relation to the return of SQ). Something that I think a manufacturer might want to think about when displaying their "best". Perhaps they are setting up an 'expectation bias' in the crowd that may be simply too high to achieve.

 

[rbbert]

...Like you said, everything is a matter of taste, BUT I didn't speak to one a'phile on Friday who thought the MBL room sounded that great...

Apparently you didn't talk to BruceB

 

[KeithR]

For the manufacturers that invest tens of thousands of dollars to exhibit at these shows, no, it is not about having "fun." It is, ultimately, about attracting buyers for their products.

My article states clearly that I am not suggesting a hotel, but venues more like MOC in Germany.

Munich is the half-full part. Is has grown substantially because they are putting on a better show in a better venue. Their success speaks volumes.

I heard from a friend who went to Munich that newport and rmaf are much more fun. No queues, canned demos, etc. he said munich is more a convention, not a show. I really have no interest in our shows becoming like that. As a reviewer, you probably have a different experience.

Audio shows are about meeting new friends, seeing new gear, and hearing new music. Just my opinion.

 

[rbbert]

...Audio shows are about meeting new friends, seeing new gear, and hearing new music. Just my opinion.

Agree totally!

 

[mep]

Audio shows are about meeting new friends, seeing new gear, and hearing new music. Just my opinion.

You left off the part about drinking beer.

 

[c1ferrari]

Perhaps the MBL room improved over the next couple of days.

I do not recall which day I had listened to the MBL 101 X-treme playing Maskela's Stimela, aka Coal Train, on tape.
My limited experience reflects Davey's sentiment. It would be brilliant to hear that system with a tape whereby I had greater familiarity
and/or program material which I had recorded, myself

 

[DaveyF]

I attended the new ( can we call it that) LA Show at the Sheraton yesterday. My expectations were pretty high for this show...and perhaps too high.
The hotel was---and this is strictly IMHO, way too difficult to navigate. There were exhibits down halls and corridors that one could and--in my case did, easily miss.
I also thought that many rooms were oddly shaped and to add to that the acoustics ( or lack thereof) seemed to be more of a challenge than what most rooms displayed at the old Newport show.
Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed at this show...
which brings me to my question....for a new venue ( such as this one) should we have any expectations at all for the very first show? Or, should our expectations be inline with what the previous venue(s) had given us, and 'if' the new venue
was/is less able ( IMHO) is that just "teething" problems...or not??? Expectations and reality, LOL.

 

[c1ferrari]

Hi Davey,

How did the number of rooms showing/demoing gear compare to last year's THE Show in Irvine?
Thanks for your observations.

 

[DaveyF]

Hi Davey,

How did the number of rooms showing/demoing gear compare to last year's THE Show in Irvine?
Thanks for your observations.

Hi Sam,

I thought the number of rooms demoing was about the same...possibly a few more at LA! However, my observation was that many of the exhibitors were struggling with their rooms ( a few, whose names we shall not publish, did not even try at all...they assumed that a certain layout would work and left it at that...which IMO it certainly did not) . I felt ( and this is just my personal observation) that many of them lost the battle. IMHO, there were few rooms that had decent sound. ( of the one's that I visited, and I certainly did NOT visit all of them; partly due to time constraints and partly due to the layout of the hotel).
I also noticed fewer visitors on Friday than the same day last year. Like I said, to me...a disappointment. Hopefully today and tomorrow will fare better--although I will have no idea, as I won't be attending these days.
One room that did impress me greatly--and I think due to the great experience and willingness to experiment ( I wish I could say this about others) of the presenter, was Philip O'Hanlon's room with the new Vivid Giya Spirits. Philip always ( IME) is open to ideas and to making his room work...and I think his work pays off. The Spirits were throwing a large soundstage and with very nice bass definition---plus on the track that Philip played for me ( a difficult to reproduce Joe Pass solo LP) the mids and imaging and the overall feeling of correct timbre and tone on Joe's jazz box were just excellent.

 

[c1ferrari]

Thanks, Davey.
Sonny and I won't be visiting this year, albeit, we'd attended every THE Show in Irvine/NB for three days, since its inception.
Part of it is a new assignment which makes it difficult to arrive Friday; however, a major rationale for non-attendance was the change in venue...I just did not want to drive to/be around LAX.

 

[DaveyF]

Thanks, Davey.
Sonny and I won't be visiting this year, albeit, we'd attended every THE Show in Irvine/NB for three days, since its inception.
Part of it is a new assignment which makes it difficult to arrive Friday; however, a major rationale for non-attendance was the change in venue...I just did not want to drive to/be around LAX.

Sam, funny that you said that. Several other local a'philes had the exact same opinion about the drive as you did.
It's a bit of a pain, but it didn't --and wouldn't put me off...LA traffic being what it is. Mike L actually said something funny to me at the show, he figured it may have been easier for him to get there by flying in from Seattle than the way I arrived, LOL! I think he was probably right...

 

[c1ferrari]

Davey,

Enjoying previous THE Shows included patronizing various coffee shops, eateries, and restaurants within close venue proximity AND were easy drives.
Actually, it might have been easier to fly up to LAX from SAN, but then Sonny and I would have been without transpo.

 

[Uk Paul / Z:Axis Audio]

Thanks for the report Davey, one year I'll come back to LA but it is a shame it's not at Newport Beach anymore. Reading Mike Lavigne's and Steve's show reports, attendance is too low. Shows cannot be justified unless the rooms are busy with people of all ages with a genuine interest in hearing what the manufacturers products are capable of given good set up etc. Any idea why the show has been moved from Irvine??

Hope you're well,
Paul.

 

[DaveyF]

Thanks for the report Davey, one year I'll come back to LA but it is a shame it's not at Newport Beach anymore. Reading Mike Lavigne's and Steve's show reports, attendance is too low. Shows cannot be justified unless the rooms are busy with people of all ages with a genuine interest in hearing what the manufacturers products are capable of given good set up etc. Any idea why the show has been moved from Irvine??

Hope you're well,
Paul.

Hi Paul,

I was hoping you would have been at LA. OTOH, the justification you give is certainly logical. I believe the show was moved from Irvine due to a 'breakup' of the organizing group that lead to a splinter off of the LA club. As such, the LA group under Bob Levi decided that it was better to have their show in LA. I believe that there may be another show later in the year by the splinter group in the Newport area...
One of the things that surprised me when this happened, was the fact that these guys should have known that if the darn thing wasn't broken before, that there was no need to fix it!

 

[KeithR]

Hi Paul,

I was hoping you would have been at LA. OTOH, the justification you give is certainly logical. I believe the show was moved from Irvine due to a 'breakup' of the organizing group that lead to a splinter off of the LA club. As such, the LA group under Bob Levi decided that it was better to have their show in LA. I believe that there may be another show later in the year by the splinter group in the Newport area...
One of the things that surprised me when this happened, was the fact that these guys should have known that if the darn thing wasn't broken before, that there was no need to fix it!

I think the death of the former organizer played a large part in this unfortunately as did the increase in cost posed for the event to remain in Irvine. The new hotel was quite nice and with only a few floors meant the elevators were far easier than the 10 floors at the Irvine Hotel. The food was good, as was the bar. I think a lot of OC folks stayed home though waiting for September - which looks like a much, much smaller show.

 

[DaveyF]

I think the death of the former organizer played a large part in this unfortunately as did the increase in cost posed for the event to remain in Irvine. The new hotel was quite nice and with only a few floors meant the elevators were far easier than the 10 floors at the Irvine Hotel. The food was good, as was the bar. I think a lot of OC folks stayed home though waiting for September - which looks like a much, much smaller show.

It will be interesting to see if the Anaheim show will even be on the books at all. If so, i would think that this could be an interesting option to LA...IF they bring in more manufacturer's and dealers and IF they have a venue for the show that would highlight the gear. This audio show business is a business plan that escapes me??? Sure, perhaps for the proprietor of the show it most likely makes sense ( and of course for the hotel corp it certainly does), BUT for the exhibitor and the manufacturer...I'm not getting it??? As UK Paul so aptly puts it: "Shows cannot be justified unless the rooms are busy with people of all ages with a genuine interest in hearing what the manufacturers products are capable of given good set up etc."


And while this is certainly correct, I would strongly suspect that the economics of the room and ancillary costs are not anywhere near what the typical dealer/manufacturer can see as a return...never mind any potential profit!

 

[Simon Moon]

Thanks, Davey.
Sonny and I won't be visiting this year, albeit, we'd attended every THE Show in Irvine/NB for three days, since its inception.
Part of it is a new assignment which makes it difficult to arrive Friday; however, a major rationale for non-attendance was the change in venue...I just did not want to drive to/be around LAX.

Seems a bit of a draconian reason not to attend.

I attended on saturday and sunday, and the drive in and around the airport was pretty much a breeze.

I live about 30 miles away from the airport, and have to take all the worst freeways in LA to get there. And both days it took me 40 minutes to get there, and a bit longer to get home. And that includes the 10 minutes of surface streets I have to drive before even getting on the freeway.