“Get ‘em while they’re hot,” was the operative term at the sizable Marketplace off the Hilton lobby, as early attendees snatched up what they could while they still could.

The lovely Jan Mancuso, beautifully bedecked in bountiful floral bouquet, beams positive vibes throughout "The Marketplace" as she smilingly extols the praises of Reference Recordings’ ever-expanding catalog of superbly recorded classical, jazz, and blues, including Stereophile’s "Recording of May 2013," Doug MacLeod’s There’s a Time, which is now available on LP and which Jan co-produced.

Despite being the kick-off seminar presenter on Friday, and starting just one hour after the doors opened, John Atkinson herded almost a full house to "Garbage In, Garbage Out." An expanded version of a seminar he originally delivered at RMAF 2012, the description reads:
Making value judgments on audio components using commercial recordings has pitfalls that many writers gloss over. The way recordings are made drastically affects what you hear from your system, explains John Atkinson using his own recordings as examples.

A trumpet fanfare? For the opening of the largest consumer audio show in North America, nothing less would suffice. As Bob Levi (right), President of the largest audio society in North America (or perhaps the entire galaxy), gave the cue, the ribbon could be cut and the music could pour forth. The trumpet player was William Artope Jr, whose band gave concerts later in the show.

You thought ribbon cutting was simple? Not when the esteemed ribbon cutters—from left to right, David Robinson (Positive Feedback On-Line, in white shirt), Michael Fremer (Stereophile and AnalogPlanet.com), Robert Harley (The Absolute Sound), and John Atkinson (Stereophile)—were faced with 1001 photographers, a ribbon that looked as though it was manufactured of industrial-strength mylar, and a giant golden scissors that couldn’t cut its way out of a paper bag. No wonder Bob Levi of the Los Angeles & Orange County Audiophile Society (far left) and show organizer Richard Beers look relieved when the ribbon finally snapped.

Holger Stein (center), designer of the Stein Harmonizers that have such a baffling effect on system performance, was beaming in the Hilton lobby. Perhaps he was thinking about all the attention his new phono cartridge is getting.

Racing in shortly before the show was to begin, Manley Labs’ one-and-only EveAnna Manley was liberally dispensing hugs and smiles in the lobby.

Last year, after my photo of him briefing a cadre of adoring acolytes appeared on this site, Richard Beers forbid me to ever publish pictures of him that were taken unawares. So this time, with his full knowledge and consent, the miracle man whose expertise and persistence makes T.H.E. Show(s) possible, has allowed me to reveal to the world what he looks like at 10:12AM, before his 25th cup of coffee.

It was 10:10AM on Friday, 50 minutes before the start of the T.H.E. Show Newport Beach, and the lobby of the Hilton Irvine was abuzz with activity. Folks were standing 5–10 deep, in multiple lines, waiting to register or retrieve their pre-registration badges. Close by, at the entrance to the lobby, photographers for multiple publications and organizations were establishing turf, staking out the best spot for catching every smile, grimace, and nuance of the 10:30AM ribbon-cutting ceremony. And in the midst of it all, hotel visitors whose deepest association with audio is that it rhymes, more or less, with rodeo were eyeing the whole thing with a mixture of curiosity, incredulity, and downright dread.

Welcome to T.H.E. Show.

Register to win a set of Westone 4R In-ear Headphones (MSRP $599.99) we are giving away.

According to the company:

"The Quad-Driver Westone 4R-Series with durable and removable EPIC cable take your listening experience to an entirely different level. Four symmetrically balanced armature drivers engineered into an advanced three-way crossover network deliver breathtaking clarity, realism, and imaging. Left and right earpiece responses are tested by each driver pack and matched to an extraordinarily tight +/- 2dB tolerance, delivering unparalleled balance and accuracy of sound-stage reproduction. "

[This Sweepstakes is now closed.]