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San Francisco, 1997. And you could even visit Napa and Sonoma, for great wines, to match a great hi-fi show that will remain for always in my memory.
As we wrap up the Home Entertainment Show for another year, it seems appropriate to ask if you have attended HE2002 or any other audio or audio/video show.
I've been to a few shows, all of them in New York. They are quite a lot of funand informative. The shows are a good place to see a lot of manufacturers' products under one roof, and you often get to meet the products' designers and ask them questions about their gear. It usually isn't possible to properly evaluate equipment under show conditions (compromised room acoustics, cramped demo rooms, crowds, unfamiliar music), but the shows are still a good venue to get a good idea about equipment performance. I attended HE2002, and I enjoyed it a lot. I did get useful info and ideas for improvements and upgrade ideas for my music-only (two channel) system. I would like to add a new turntable and SACD player, as well as new cables and interconnects.
I attended this year's HESfor 30 minutes. Far too many pushy geeks without a life for my taste. Crowded rooms, rude people, no ability to listen and really examine the hardware. To think I could have bought a CD and had change left over for the price of admission.
I really enjoyed the sixth and seventh floors of the Hilton. Room after room of great sounding speakers, tube and solid state gear, analog and digital, two-channel stereo. Audiophile heaven. Also bought some top quality, hard to find, vinyl.
I have attended numerous hi-fi shows over the last three decades. My first shows were in Europe during the late '70s. It amazes me how far hi-fi has come and the designs today are fabu. I love the resurgence of analog and the fine tables out there.
I have been to many audio shows, but the best were in the early sixties in NYC. The demonstrations were by the actual heads of the companies. Saul Marantz demonstrated his 10B tuner to me. Avery Fisher showed his equipment and Rudy Bozak demonstrated his speakers. Ah, the good old days, no video, just good music.
Every year I go to the Montreal hi-fi show to see (more than to hear) the newest gear. Somehow, the most expensive setups always turn out to be the most disappointing ones. Best sound at the show this year: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista CD player with Phoenix Acoustics 15W tube amps and Meadowlark speakers. Most disappointing: top of the line complete Linn setup with the new Komris. Was the gear really new and fresh out of the boxes? Or was it the room acoustics that were that bad?
Unfortunatly living in Colorado I would have to fly to NY or Vegas. The thought of traveling to be among large crowds and hustle bustle never did appeal to me. Thought I would love the opportunity to see the latest products all in one place, I beleive the sound quality would not be as good as in my dealers showroom. So I must be content with reading Stereophile and visiting the local dealers for personnal auditions.
HiFi 1986, (missed 1990), 1996, and HE Expo 2001 and 2002 in NYC. Those were some of best weekends I've ever had. It's great to hear tons of stuff I could never audition otherwise, and there are a lot of great people around, fellow audiophiles and presenters alike. Please keep NYC in the regular rotation!