Well , I had only one day at the show and that was simply not enough... I had to bed in the show with a trip to the city so the whole family could have fun.
Positives,
Would I go back? ----sure it was big enough that I surely missed lots and I could pick up on that the next time.
Positives,
- Nice to meet Myles , Andre Jennings and for the life of me one other Audionirvana member that I can't remember ( my apologies! ) Saturday morning.
- Sat in on Fremer's turntable set up demo, pretty rudimentary- but he was entertaining and had some good stories. Also sat in on the subwoofer - room interface seminar with Houdas - that was a bit simple as well with lots of bits left out if you didn't know it. It was ok none the less.
- Lots of variety in top end and some esoteric equipment
- Most of the exhibitors were friendly and accomodating
- Got to speak with some designers and manufacturers directly- pretty cool
- Good marketplace set up with lots of vinyl and Acoustics Sounds had tape as well as some others
- Lots of tape if you were so inclined... I am just beginning with with my Otari and de Haviland on the way but if you were into tape more of it here than I have ever seen in a show for 30 years.
- No real stand outs for me- expectations not met in most rooms and the bigger they were the harder they fell- there were a few unexpected gems that I heard though
- I won't mention one room by a major sponsor with nice folks but way to plummy and polite
- Too packed but my fault for trying to jam a 3 day show into 1 day. I missed lots.
- Yes the rooms were hot... typical of high end shows that have crappy in room PTAC units or noisy air handlers that were shut off to preserve silence-- such that it was.
- Probably my biggest beef was in the software marketplace regardless of vendor- they were all selling at the list internet price... only if you asked would you get the current 15% off discount as on the web--(& on web deals they offer free shipping). I flipping hate stuff like that. Very opportunistic. I appreciate the grief and time to set up but if your going to sell at the show you should be matching your published rates online ---- or change them or ask to print a coupon or skill testing question etc... I was really a turn off. So I asked and was reluctantly offered the pricing and brought home 50lbs of vinyl and tape that the TSA guard said ".... you like hiss & ticks huh?" They couldn't believe I was using vinyl and tape!
Would I go back? ----sure it was big enough that I surely missed lots and I could pick up on that the next time.
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