[Stuart Wright]

The What Hi-Fi ? Sound and Vision Show featuring the Best of Stuff takes place at the Novotel London West Hotel and Convention Centre from 3rd-5th November 2006. It brings to life the biggest and best brands from the pages of the ‘market leading’ Stuff and What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision magazines. Experience all the latest groundbreaking gadgets, gizmos, hi-fi and home entertainment at the country's largest gathering of technology! You can see, try and buy the next big things in the world of gadgets, gear and technology! See all the kit that is going to take the world by storm at this awesome show. Tickets are available in advance at just £13 or pay on the door (£15). Visit the show website for more details at www.whathifishow.co.uk.

[Sonic67]

Didn't know about this. I'll see you there.

[DPoole]

Win over £20,000 in prizes!

To win one of our 2006 Award-winners, simply pick up a competition entry form from the What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision stand in the Chablis Suite, then answer all the questions correctly to be entered into our free draw– if you need clues, remember you can visit most exhibitors’ stands at the show to quiz them directly!

One of these great prizes could be yours:

Acoustic Energy Wi-Fi radio
Wireless Internet radio £200

Arcam Solo
All-in-one system £1000

B&W MT-30
Style speaker package £1575

Cyrus CD6s
CD player £650

Dali Ikon 5.1
Speaker package £2238

Denon DVD-1930
DVD player £250

Denon AVR-1507
AV receiver £250

InFocus IN76
Projector £1400

KEF iQ5
Stereo speakers £400

Monitor Audio Radius R90-AV12
Style speaker package £1350

Naim n-Vi
All-in-one system £2995

Onkyo CS-515UK + DS-A2 iPod dock
All-in-one system £365

Pioneer DCS-353
All-in-one home cinema system £279

Pure Evoke-3
Radio £200

Q Acoustics 1010 5.1
Speaker package £500

Rotel RA-05
Stereo amplifier £350

Sonos ZP100
Wireless Music server £1159

Sony KDL-40W2000
40in LCD TV £2000

Sony RDR-HXD860
DVD Recorder £400

Sony STR-DA1200ES
Surround receiver £400

Tannoy Arena Highline HLS500
Style speaker package £2695

Yamaha RX-N600D
Network receiver £600

[Bert Coules]

Does anyone know if there are any special deals available at any central London hotels in association with the show? Perhaps at the exhibition hotel itself? I seem to recall this happening in past years.

Bert
www.bertcoules.co.uk

[Rian1988]

I'm sure the ticket also gives you access to the Best of Stuff show, which will have a playable PS3! Darn why isn't it held in Scotland!!!

[danny daniell]

Why are the tickets so expensive? The recent Heathrow show cost £8 & the year before that tickets were given away free with the purchase of Hi-Fi News magazine.

Danny

[lostinspace]

Why London AGAIN?????????????

There are other UK venues which are much cheaper and accessible than ******* London again. Or do the rest of us not matter?

[DPoole]

Originally Posted by jstw

I'm sure the ticket also gives you access to the Best of Stuff show, which will have a playable PS3! Darn why isn't it held in Scotland!!!

Yes the ticket does give you access to the Best of Stuff Show and you are right we will have a playable PS3 there.

Why are the tickets so expensive? The recent Heathrow show cost £8 & the year before that tickets were given away free with the purchase of Hi-Fi News magazine.

You will find that the What Hi-Fi? Show is one of the biggest Hi-Fi and Home Entertainment shows in the uk and therefore warrants the extra ticket price, plus as mentioned above the ticket also gives you access to the Best of Stuff Show

[BigJJ]

Originally Posted by lostinspace

Why London AGAIN?????????????

There are other UK venues which are much cheaper and accessible than ******* London again. Or do the rest of us not matter?

let me think ... London is the capital city, the South East of England is the most densely populated part of the UK and most of all it is by far the most affluent. It's not rocket science!

[Simian Sibling]

Originally Posted by BigJJ

let me think ... London is the capital city, the South East of England is the most densely populated part of the UK and most of all it is by far the most affluent. It's not rocket science!

Amen

[LFCRules]

Well I'll be there on Friday with a couple of mates from work. Travelling up from the South Coast via car (to half way house ), then train and tube. I went last year for the first time, and I think the price warrents the experience. There really is a lot to see and hear, especially if you get their early and get to spend some quality time there

[Phil Hinton]

Podcast team will be there and would like to meet you to get your comments on the show

What Hi Fi Show London 2006
The AV Podcast team will be attending the What Hi Fi show in London on the 4th and 5th of November. If you are going to the show and you see us walking around (You can't miss me I will have the portable recorder, mic and headphones on, and probably wearing my favourite dts jacket - yes I am sad) come and say hello and have your comments about what you have seen recorded for the Podcast. We will also try to hold a roundtable meeting in a bar or other area near the venue which you are welcome to take part in, more details on this in the next day or so.
We are hoping to get as many interviews with manufacturers talking about their kit as possible so those who can't make it can still enjoy the sights (will be taking a camera) and sounds on the day.

[Sonic67]

Is this place in the congestion charge zone?

[Simian Sibling]

No it's outside the zone!

I am going sunday so i will miss the podcast team

still, should be a good day out!

[Phil Hinton]

Originally Posted by xboxspares

I am going sunday so i will miss the podcast team

Nope we should be there Sunday as well, depends how much of the show we cover in the first day and going by experience that's never achievable, so keep an eye out for us, would love to hear your comments.

[Sonic67]

Will be there Sunday. Have booked into a Travel Lodge for the Saturday night.

[teched whfsv]

First chance to see and play PS3 at the Show. Clicky for more info.

[Fox7522]

Does anyone know if I will be able to buy a Sony bravia tv at a reduced price at the show?

[Siamese Cat]

Locals guide to the area

I live very close and thought a guide to parking and eating might be useful for some of you out of towners...

The area is well outside the congestion zone but the area is being expanded in Feb next year so next year the borders are very close indeed. Make a mental note to check next November!

All the roads I'm going to mention are shown on a map on the show's website, follow the link on Stuart Wright's post at the top of this thread, go to 'getting there' and there's a link to the map at the bottom.

Parking.

You can park in the residential streets to the west of Hammesmith Grove, it's resident parking and runs from 9-5 but non residents can pay & display for up to 8 hours. But its expensive - £1.60 an hour. You CAN park in residential bays free on Sat & Sun. There is a cheap and very large multi story car park in Glenthorne Rd. On the map it's the P sign under the R of Rd. Glenthorne Rd is one way running west to east so you can only access it from the west. Only a few minutes walk to the show.

Eating

There are some superb pubs & restaurants in walking distance.

Gastropubs first, two are quite exceptional and as good as exist in West London. These are the Havelock Tavern in Masbro Rd w14. This is in an area called Brook Green and is due north of where the show is being held. It's pretty close.

The other, which is by some margin my favourite of everything in the area is called the Anglesea Arms and is on the corner of Brackenbury Rd and New Aldensley Rd. This is the furthest from the show of anywhere I'm going to mention and you need to click the map one click to the West to find it. It's well worth the walk. Both of these get very busy and you'll need to get there early to get a table.

There's another pretty good gastropub called the Grove in Hammersmith Grove on the corner of Aldie Rd. That's pretty close too.

Restaurants.

My personal favourite is the Brackenbury at the south end of Brackenbury Rd. It's a stalwart of the area and has a well deserved good reputation.

Much more expensive but very stylish is Chez Kristof - about 100x north of the Grove gastropub ie about 100x yards north of the junction of Aldie Rd and Hammersmith Grove. We're talking £100 for two so treat time only and perhaps useful for persuading partners to let you buy the new toy you saw.

In the Goldhawk Rd near the junction with Devonport Rd there's a terrific and cheap vegetarian Restaurant called Blah Blah Blah. There's a fun and good value Polish Restaurant called the Patio on Goldhawk Rd at the junction with Shepherd's Bush Green.

There are a couple of others that some rate - Bush Bar and Grill - Goldhawk Rd between the Patio and Blahx3 down an alley next to the Tesco Metro. Lastly and very close to the show Snow's on the Green at 166 Shepherd's Bush Rd.

My own first choices would be the Tavelock the Anglesea Arms and, for a restaurant the Brackenbury. For a cheap meal even for a confirmed carnivore Blah Blah Blah.

Hope this is useful

What time does the show start? I can't seem to find anything about it on the website...

[teched whfsv]

Originally Posted by chrishodgson

What time does the show start? I can't seem to find anything about it on the website...

It's open 9am - 6pm.

[lostinspace]

Originally Posted by BigJJ

let me think ... London is the capital city, the South East of England is the most densely populated part of the UK and most of all it is by far the most affluent. It's not rocket science!

Is that the best reason for using London?
What's wrong with moving it around the country on a rotation basis?
London is far too expensive for most of the population to get to. London has NOTHING to suggest it is the only place capable of holding the show in the UK. Surely if companies want to sell their wares outside London (the capital for now anyway), then the rest of the country should get a look in.
What about the competitions run at the show? I'm prohibited from entering simply because I cannot get to the venue. Is this a breach of my human rights?

P.S. Rocket science is not difficult, at least not to intelligent, hard- working northerners. Can't speak for those in the south though

[Stuart Wright]

Originally Posted by lostinspace

P.S. Rocket science is not difficult

Is that why you are lostinspace?

[lostinspace]

Originally Posted by Stuart Wright

Is that why you are lostinspace?

Great comment, but no-crap at geography.

[BigJJ]

Originally Posted by lostinspace

Is that the best reason for using London?
What's wrong with moving it around the country on a rotation basis?
London is far too expensive for most of the population to get to. London has NOTHING to suggest it is the only place capable of holding the show in the UK. Surely if companies want to sell their wares outside London (the capital for now anyway), then the rest of the country should get a look in.

Actually lost bloke I'm playing devil's advocate as I'm originally from the Midlands (i.e. north of Watford and therefore "up North").

I just find it comical when people whinge about things being in London. Surely companies make the decision where to hold their events based on commercial reasons. If they will make more money in London, then guess where the event will be held?

Actually, come to think of it, I'm surprised there's much call for gadgets in the North............ I don't think they're that useful for drinking or fighting

[AgentCool]

On the subject of London once again being the host, it is annoying to the 80% of the population that don't live there. Funnily enough, by far the best Stuff exhibition was in 2001 when it was held at the Birmingham NEC. I don't think it went by the same name back then but it was much bigger, cost less to get in and there were plenty of freebies including some quality staplers, Stagg chilli and a CD containing a 6-month trial of Windows XP.

The worst was at Olympia in 2003. Took me all of 45 minutes to walk around.

[lostinspace]

Seem to remember that the best ever attended motor show was at the NEC, too.

The trade shows I used to do were either in London or the NEC, and by far the best attended, easiest to attend, and to set up from an exhibitor's point of view were the NEC ones.

Maybe those setting up shows in London getnose bleeds once they leave a London postcode- or would they get lost outside their own blinkered little world?

[Sonic67]

I'm from Birmingham and would have prefered the NEC but I had a great time at the event anyway. Thanks to all for putting it on.

[Simian Sibling]

well i did enjoy it! i know i live in london so it was easy but we got there at 2pm and left at 6pm.

2 things really impressed me was the sim2 projectors! they just looked awsome but the top of the range one at £36k was just slightly out of my league, saying that i would have been hard pushed to buy thier entry level one at £3k

And the new mission speakers! again i thought they were stunning! the set was £1200 and i would have to save a while for them but i am seriously thinking about it as they really did sound fantastic!

The only thing that did dissapoint me was the lack of things to buy/stalls selling things. could have bought a lot of cables but nowt else. it seemed to be a "look what we can do, but you can't afford it" show but still i enjoyed it. came home and watched the spurs match which i sky+ (come on you spurs ) and i was dissapointed with the size of my screen after seeing 6ft+ ones!

[BigJJ]

Originally Posted by lostinspace

Maybe those setting up shows in London getnose bleeds once they leave a London postcode- or would they get lost outside their own blinkered little world?

dude, stop bitching and face the facts. There is NOTHING worth a fart in Doncaster except for a second class race track. Damn I hate jealousy. I was having a laugh with you and you went and got all soppy. Get a life!