Bristol Hi-fi Show....?

Joseph just a thought, If I have to work all next weekend, I may be able to have Friday off?

 

Bristol Tickets

HI MO, i might have a very few to spare, if you want pm me and i will see what i can do , regards nando.

 

soundbyte, got you a ticket, hope you get sat. off,.keep in touch.nando

 

Thanks very much for the offer Nando, but turns out I'm about to get a train up to North Wales for a few days so wont be able to make it.

Cheers.

 

tickets

hi , please tell me what day are you and frind want to go to the show, i need full names so i can alocate then at the gate, ta nando.

 

Hi Nando you have a PM

 

Will be in Bristol on Friday as going to Thomas Tallis Scholars concert in evening. I hope to pop in as I have not been to one of these things before. Interested to hear what single ended triode valve stuff sounds like.

 

I'll be there on Friday.

 

Cool I don't know what time exactly, is there going to be a stupid queue to get in do you think?

 

The queue usually moves pretty quickly.

 

I have definatley got to work this weekend so will drive up on Friday from Milton Keynes if any one wants a ride

 

charlie , what time aprox ? nando. i also go with dev on saturday as i have also to meet up with my manufactures, and and ale or two, nando.

 

Dom and I will be going up on Friday (tomorrow) have an eye appointment on Saturday (ya believe only 4 months late!).

I'm easy to spot, I look just like my Avatar (well close enough)

Anyway come over and say Hi if you spot us, we'll be around most of the day.

See you there

 

Just got back from it. I must say that if i'd gone with a suitcase full of money I most likely would have come back with it. Nothing stood out as wanting an audition. I don't know whether it was the usual bad acoustics but everything sounding like it had too much upper mid and would become tiring. I was a bit peeved that Rega had no demos as I really wanted to hear some.

The flying mole stuff was pretty neat. It was sounding digital but very musical. Excellent build and intriguing to see how small it was.

The fat man tube amps were looking fun and seemed to sound it too. i think the Naim stand was actually one of the few systems that held my attention.

In all fairness though I came out feeling part 'Meh' and the other half of me suddenly very happy with my existing system.

Bought a nice CD though.

 

Oooh one other thing. I forget the company but I thought it my duty to sit in on some cable comparisons.

The guy switched back and forth between some cables from Chord and Nordost. Not one person in the room said they had preference nor could tell any difference.

Undeterred by this the salesman then proceeded to tell us what was different in their sound. Genius.

 

Well I prepared my show report without even going to the show. I studied the show guide at some length and decided there just wasn't enough that was actually of interest to merit going.

Where were Sony to promote the new ES SACD and S-Master PRO amp with room correction (the first sub £500 amp in the world with full auto room correction FFS!)?

Where were Rega to promote the new Apollo and Saturn?

Where were Bel Canto?

Where were the high efficiency speakers?

Where were the single driver speakers?

This is the age of global warming but the hifi manufacturers seem to be living in a cocoon. Where is all the low power consumption hifi?

Where was the Puresound A30 (I still haven't heard one)?

At last count there are now at least 50 manufacturers making or using digital amps. I counted just six in the show guide. Shouldn't they all be promoting this new technology?

 

As stated. They were there, but didn't actually have anything plugged in ????!

 

Yes I found it a great disappointment, as a first Hi-Fi show. Listened to the new Quad speakers and the 11-forty or eighty and thought it was rather strange that they used their own cd player, I can't help think something better was needed. Why should we pay to get in? What's with the exercise bikes and models? Shall never go to one again, in fact made me realise how boring Hi-Fi can be!

 

I think it depends where you are in your hi-fi odyssey. A few years ago I found the show very helpful when I wanted to hear kit that was on the next rung up from what I had.

The problem I am having at the moment is that from where my hi-fi presently stands, it's difficult to see where to go next. I feel that I have spent enough. I could spend many thousands more and get a slightly nicer sound but frankly I have better things to do with my money (and time). What I'm looking for is hi-fi that breaks new ground at a sensible price point. I don't see much evidence of that at this show.

All the new CD spinners or amps or speakers are just minor tweakings of what we've had before and still just as expensive. Where is all the ground breaking new stuff (as opposed to same old in a new posh box).

Sure things are happening in the amplifier scene. Digital amps are improving in leaps and bounds. The Bel Canto S300i has genuinely changed the sound-per-pound ratio that one can expect from an amp but £1800 is still a lot of money for an amp to most people.

The Japanese look like they might be set to offer this new technology at real-world prices. Sony in particular have a new version of the S-Master PRO out in the form of the TA-FA1200ES. It includes 32-bit full automatic room correction and it costs £425. Yes you read that right. £425. Now that is ground breaking and something I would really love to hear but you won't find it at the Bristol Show.

In the loudspeaker world nothing seems to have changed as far as this show is concerned. Just more variations on 2-way or 3-way low-efficiency boxes. Yes you can spend more and get a better sound but the sound-per-pound ratio is dire as you move up the ladder. The sound just doesn't get better enough. It still doesn't sound real until you're spending mega-bucks and then most still don't.

I'm convinced that the future of loudspeakers lies in a different direction from the mainstream. I'm no expert but I've read a lot. I think we need to be getting rid of passive crossovers for starters (kudos to ATC as one of the few to carry the 'active' torch). We need to be taking more advantage of DSP. We need to be improving efficiency, not just because of global warming but because those who have tried it all say it gets you much closer to 'real'. Certainly my half-step in that direction with the 92dB Triangles bears that out. It seems there is also something to be gained from getting rid of loudspeaker cabinets. I know dipoles don't suit every room and need some space but only Jamo has so far offered one and it is insanely expensive (and isn't at Bristol this year). There is little innovation on offer at Bristol in this area this year.

Another area where the hi-fi establishment seem to be slow to catch on is in the use of computers as sound sources. Where are all the amps with Firewire/USB/Ethernet/Wi-Fi inputs? Even the new Sony mentioned above doesn't have iLink (Firewire). It only has S/PDIF which is not good enough. Kudos to AVI for their new USB active speakers which are at the show - a small step in the right direction. The Transporter is also a nice bit of kit and is at the show but it isn't cheap for what it is. If it were made by Sony it would be £300, not £1300.

Anyway, enough ranting from me. I'm not sure where the answer to all this lies at present. I only know that visiting the Bristol Show won't get me any closer

 

hi guys, first i would like to apologise for not being there, as i was suppose to go with dev, unfortuanally my wife was very ill with high blood preasure and she is more important to me than money, she is now getting a bit better,thanks simon for the efffort of meeting up, yours nando.