[recruit]

This year i attended the show on the Saturday rather than Friday as i was last year and started by joining a very long queue for the opening at 10am, once the doors did open the queue went down very quickly !

I started off as usual haveing a good look around on the ground floor and had look over all the stands selling cables and accessories which is where some bargains could be had if needed, and also a great oppertunity to chat with some of the manufacturers of cables.

Being a forum member and Moderator i quickly headed up to the AVForums stand which is a great place to meet some fellow members and chat to Stuart Wright and Phil Hinton who were on hand to welcome you in...i had a go on the Burnout competition and surprisingly did not do too bad, and also managed to speak for the 1st time on the AVForums podcast which Stuart Wright & Phil Hinton has been doing a stirling Job with.

On to some of the dem rooms, and this year was looking forward to the Wilson Benesch room which really wowed me last year but to my surprise some of the music being played was certainly different to what i expected, anyway it was very good as usual and there speakers to me are fantastic although i may be a bit biased as i have owned a set of Discovery's for some time now and i use them as my Reference point for any dems i listen too, i really wanted to hear the ACT speakers which were being used for the 5.1 setup and they were also underpinned by there stunning Torus Subs and quickly asked if they could give them a whirl so they put on one of my favourites which is House of the Flying daggers,there is really only one word for it and that is Stunning, and like last year it quickly drew in a massive crowd !!

I then moved on and went up to the M&K/Gecko rooms which were demonstrating Sunfire and M&K, and they also had setup the new Audessy EQ system " Look out for the review by Phil Hinton " which quite frankly impressed all that had a good listen, it was also quite refreshing to hear the tiny Xenons creating a superb surround sound experience and anyone looking for a discrete setup, IMO these should be put at the top of you're list

Naim Audio had quite a few rooms as usual and were demonstrateing there new Intergrated amp which was very impressive and of a very high quality which Naim is renowned for.

Cyrus was my next stop and had an impressive line up and for 2 channel they were useing Spendor as there speaker choice this year, Spendor has always worked very well with Cyrus and IMO it was a good dem but could of certainly been better as my Cyrus and WB setup that i use gives me many hours of HiFi bliss.

Leema Acoustics had a good demonstration this year and was a real pleasure to listen too, they were useing there small bookshelf speakers and subs but also had there range of electronics ie amps and preamps powering there speakers which IMO was very good indeed....i did not really get a chance to listen to them last year so really glad i took the time this year.

PMC and Bryston had a superb 2 channel setup and they were demoing there new EB1's and a pair of huge mono block amps which kicked out a massive 1000watts of power and it was very very impressive but the speakers were huge and so is the price !!

The Denon and Yamaha rooms were crowded as usual and the Yamaha room were demoing some of there range of new speakers but did not really get a good listen to as the gathering of people was too many to get in there

Unfortunately this year time ran out so quickly that i did miss the Meridian Demo but talking to people who had been in had praised there DSP8000 setup but costing a grand total of £150K so it should, but i have heard them in the past and it is certainly one of the best AV and HiFi setups you could possibly imagine

The new Mitsubishi HC5000 projector was on show and they were demoing there PJ with Stewart Screens and it gave a fantastic picture and the screen was a specially designed version for 1080P projectors which i now definitly want and Gary " acave " forum member did not want to leave the room as he is pretty hot when it comes to the Video side of AV and is a CRT owner so he chatted with the guys running it for quite some time !!

One excellent point i forgot to mention is that the AVForums stand is very near to the restaurant and bar areas so we frequented them quite often and sank a few pints aswell as popping back to the AVForums stand which was becomeing very popular with visitors so good choice of location Stuart

This is only a snippet of what the show offers and there is also alot more to see but i thought i would share a few with you members and today is the last day so if you want to see one of the best AV shows this year pls get down there as you will love it !

Oh and get a good listen to the Podcast which are brilliant and very imformative ref to the show and if you can't make it to Bristol then definitely tune in as you get all the latest gossip direct to you're PC and did i not mention it earlier as i also get a few minutes of chat time in there too !

[recruit]

Here is a link to yesterdays podcast

Podcast Saturday 24th Febuary 2007

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by recruit

I then moved on and went up to the M&K/Gecko rooms which were demonstrating Sunfire and M&K, and they also had setup the new Audessy EQ system " Look out for the review by Phil Hinton " which quite frankly impressed all that had a good listen, it was also quite refreshing to hear the tiny Xenons creating a superb surround sound experience and anyone looking for a discrete setup, IMO these should be put at the top of you're list

I think that something must have happened overnight as four of us weren't impressed by the Xenon demo at all and three of the four of us are M&K owners.

Stuart & Phil urged us to have a look at the room next door to the M&K room where the TacT system (or whatever it's called now) was running but we didn't get in as the doors were shut and it seemed to be by appointment only - great shame as we liked it a couple of years ago when we last heard it.

[recruit]

Originally Posted by Ian J

I think that something must have happened overnight as four of us weren't impressed by the Xenon demo at all and three of the four of us are M&K owners.

Stuart & Phil urged us to have a look at the room next door to the M&K room where the TacT system (or whatever it's called now) was running but we didn't get in as the doors were shut and it seemed to be by appointment only - great shame as we liked it a couple of years ago when we last heard it.

Shame as myself and acave found it quite entertaining.

We missed the demo next door too

[iPingu]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but does anyone know what model Monitor Audio front and centre speakers were used in the What HiFi demo?
I was really impressed by them, and forgot to take a look after.

Cheers

[Piers]

Ian,

I didn't listen to the M & K Xenon demo but I did get into the room next door (without an appointment). It was a stereo dem showing off room correction. Stunning is all I can say. Yes, they probably chose the source material to maximise the effect, but with that material it was dramatic.

I very much doubt that it was anything like you heard a couple of years ago - this was all new.

[megson]

I went to the show on friday and was very disappointed with the M&K Xenon demo. Was thinking of upgrading from my K17's to the Xenons but since my wife accompanied me to the demo, I now have no chance! Subwoofers were too loud IMHO and that meant there appeared to be little or no impact from the Xenons.Thing is... I know they are better speakers than that. The monitor audio radius speakers in the What Hifi demo were great by comparison and cheaper I believe.

It was my only real disappointment on an otherwise enjoyable day.

[recruit]

Originally Posted by megson

I went to the show on friday and was very disappointed with the M&K Xenon demo. Was thinking of upgrading from my K17's to the Xenons but since my wife accompanied me to the demo, I now have no chance! Subwoofers were too loud IMHO and that meant there appeared to be little or no impact from the Xenons.Thing is... I know they are better speakers than that. The monitor audio radius speakers in the What Hifi demo were great by comparison and cheaper I believe.

It was my only real disappointment on an otherwise enjoyable day.

Crikey something must of seriously gone wrong with the Xenon demo for you guys as they sounded very nice indeed when we listened to them and the only critiscm that i can make is that i would of prefered slightly more bass than what was on offer, maybe the eq was messed up from the Audessey

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by Piers

I didn't listen to the M & K Xenon demo but I did get into the room next door (without an appointment). It was a stereo dem showing off room correction. Stunning is all I can say. Yes, they probably chose the source material to maximise the effect, but with that material it was dramatic.

I very much doubt that it was anything like you heard a couple of years ago - this was all new.

If it was the Japanese drums we were told that the demo was stunning and having read your note I'm now even more sorry that we didn't get to hear it.

[glenann]

"On to some of the dem rooms, and this year was looking forward to the Wilson Benesch room which really wowed me last year but to my surprise some of the music being played was certainly different to what i expected, anyway it was very good as usual and there speakers to me are fantastic although i may be a bit biased as i have owned a set of Discovery's for some time now and i use them as my Reference point for any dems i listen too, i really wanted to hear the ACT speakers which were being used for the 5.1 setup and they were also underpinned by there stunning Torus Subs and quickly asked if they could give them a whirl so they put on one of my favourites which is House of the Flying daggers,there is really only one word for it and that is Stunning, and like last year it quickly drew in a massive crowd !!"

Thanks for those encouraging words Recruit. It was nice to meet you at the show, I'm glad you enjoyed the room. Even though I don't work for them, as such, it's nice to know the hard work we put into the setup of the room was appreciated. Even got good comments from UrbanT too!
To address the Diana Krall DVD thing raised somewhere else by one of the guys. It's not really my bag either, but after one of the WB guys put the disc on, the amount of people who wanted to see it again or ask what it was, gave us the impression it was going down well. NOBODY said to me to turn it off! If you wanted to see something else we would have tried our best to accommadate. Just ask Recruit who asked me to see HOFD, which I did as soon as I could.
Lastly, you would not believe the amount of negative comments regarding the picture quality of the Sim2 Projector. TBH if a projector can give any image in near broad daylight than it's a good 'un in my books! We weren't there to sell Pj's, you only had to go to the Sim2 room to see how it looked in the right environment.
Anyway thanks to all who came and passed constructive comments and understood the limitations of these events. Hope to see you next time.

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by glenann

To address the Diana Krall DVD thing raised somewhere else by one of the guys. It's not really my bag either, but after one of the WB guys put the disc on, the amount of people who wanted to see it again or ask what it was, gave us the impression it was going down well. NOBODY said to me to turn it off!

I went into the WB room at about 10:15 and quite liked what I heard but the two of us returned in mid afternoon to find yet another rendition of Ms Krall so didn't hang about long.

I'd love to have heard the Echo Dance on the WB setup as it is everything that Diana Krall isn't

[glenann]

Sorry about that. It wasn't on all day, just bad timing I guess. You should have asked, I'd have put it on for you no probs.....maybe next year?

[recruit]

Originally Posted by glenann

"On to some of the dem rooms, and this year was looking forward to the Wilson Benesch room which really wowed me last year but to my surprise some of the music being played was certainly different to what i expected, anyway it was very good as usual and there speakers to me are fantastic although i may be a bit biased as i have owned a set of Discovery's for some time now and i use them as my Reference point for any dems i listen too, i really wanted to hear the ACT speakers which were being used for the 5.1 setup and they were also underpinned by there stunning Torus Subs and quickly asked if they could give them a whirl so they put on one of my favourites which is House of the Flying daggers,there is really only one word for it and that is Stunning, and like last year it quickly drew in a massive crowd !!"

Thanks for those encouraging words Recruit. It was nice to meet you at the show, I'm glad you enjoyed the room. Even though I don't work for them, as such, it's nice to know the hard work we put into the setup of the room was appreciated. Even got good comments from UrbanT too!
To address the Diana Krall DVD thing raised somewhere else by one of the guys. It's not really my bag either, but after one of the WB guys put the disc on, the amount of people who wanted to see it again or ask what it was, gave us the impression it was going down well. NOBODY said to me to turn it off! If you wanted to see something else we would have tried our best to accommadate. Just ask Recruit who asked me to see HOFD, which I did as soon as I could.
Lastly, you would not believe the amount of negative comments regarding the picture quality of the Sim2 Projector. TBH if a projector can give any image in near broad daylight than it's a good 'un in my books! We weren't there to sell Pj's, you only had to go to the Sim2 room to see how it looked in the right environment.
Anyway thanks to all who came and passed constructive comments and understood the limitations of these events. Hope to see you next time.

It was a great day and a pleasure to meet you to

Thanks.

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by glenann

You should have asked, I'd have put it on for you no probs.....

I'm not as bold as recruit. I'm the shy retiring sort

[Phil Hinton]

Although I was there for the entire show, I missed out on seeing everything, but will quickly round up what I did see.

Denon - Very Good demo which covered all the Bases well and as always the staff were enthusiastic.

Sim2 - Both the D35 and D80 looked good. I have seen them looking better but given the surroundings I think Alan and the Team did a great job. I still rate the D80 very highly.

Gecko - Both of the rooms were fantastic and I am sorry to hear some had trouble with the sound on later days of the show in the M&K room, I thought they sounded excellent when I heard them. The Lyndorf room was gob smacking as well.

What HiFi - Andy Kerr always puts on a great demo of the Magazines award winning kit and this year was no different, I am sure that the public were impressed with an unbiased look at 2003 kit against today’s line up. I was impressed by the Panasonic LCD and will have to take a closer look at it soon.

A&K/HC5000 - This projector looks interesting but I wasn’t so keen on it's set up and material used at the show, I would like to see this machine in better surroundings and feeding it different sources before I comment further.

Optoma - Showing some good material and the top line projector looked very good indeed, again I really want to see it a second time to have a longer and closer look.

Projection Design - The M20 Projector looks like a fantastic piece of kit for the money and the colours were stunningly good on the material I viewed briefly, certainly one to have a closer look at.

Rel - I had an interesting conversation with Terry from the company and it was good to see them take so much show space. The new models look very interesting and I wasn't disappointed with what I heard.

Kef - The usual High Standards, the wireless surrounds look like an excellent product.

Pioneer - Stunning display with Blu-Ray playing at 1080P 24HZ. The Plasma vs LCD comparison was as controversial as always, however I believe Jim and the guys did their best to dispel rumours over the set up procedures. Sadly I never made it to the Stereo room and feel like I missed out there.

Onkyo - I like the products and it's good to see the company finally making a move on the UK market as I still think they are under rated by some and the company has great products coming to market, so I wish them well and hope they manage to get a wider audience.

Arcam - Solo 5.1, one word, Stunning! Go see one for yourself.

Yamaha - I really did want to see the full demo but sadly I ran out of time, next year maybe, but I know they impressed a lot of people with the new speaker range.


I also had brief viewings of other stands but didn't see enough to really write about.

Overall, I think it was a brilliant show and I enjoyed every minute. Was especially good to finally meet so many forum members.

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

Can I make a comment about the Pioneer LCD demo....

In all honesty i thought it was pathetic. The idea was that both displays were on "out the box settings". However, I dont know anyone who would continue to use the VIVID setting once they took the Sony out the box. All this demo told me was that Pioneer choose better out of the box defaults than Sony. So Sony on VIVID, Pioneer on STANDARD. Both SUB optimal.

The reality of this demo is that they could have set both units up properly and with the material they were playing the Pioneer would still have been obviously superior. If they'd done that then it wouldn't have looked like they were treating the viewing public like a bunch of idiots. Perhaps they might try that next time

Gordon

[chrisw]

The most impressive audio I hear were those enourmous Quad's... the Rel demo was superb also.

Nice to meet the guys who run the forums and have a go at burnout!