[Del]

I've just seen the entry price for this year's STUFF LIVE SHOW 2008 at the ExCel (31 Oct- 2nd Nov)Welcome to STUFF | Stuff...£20

I'm sorry but no way am I paying £20 for entry. IMHO that entry price is unjustified. I predict a very low turnout for this show.

Rant over.

Del

[AgentCool]

Yeah, it's steep though I can't remember how much it used to be as I didn't go last year. Hopefully there'll be a lot of free pens and other tat. I remember getting some from the Trium stand at the show a few years back and they were better than most of the ballpoints I'd bought in the past.

Oh, and who can forget the Stagg Chili stand at the Earl's Court show in 2002?

[dunks517]

Will it be just like the magazine and be full of Ipod docks from wall to wall?

[Apone]

At 20 quid, they can forget it. I used to go every year. Not any more. I would rather spend my money toward a BD disc. Rant over

[Greggles]

As per my previous post, although it's probably too late to get the tickets now!

Originally Posted by Greggles

Anyone interested in going, but is put off by the £20 entrance fee, why not take out a sub for What Hifi magazine. A tenner for three issued and two free tickets for the show. Just cancel it before the next due date.

Magazine Subscriptions - What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision

[daveram]

Anyone got any coupon discount deals for the show?

[Verno]

Yes, enter discount code "SUB" on the booking page to get £5 off.

They then charge you a £1 booking fee Brings price up to £16 but better than £20

[Greggles]

Without doubt, this is the worst show of it's type that I've ever had the misfortune to attend. At least I didn't pay for the ticket! I highly recommend anyone considering going change their mind! The Hammersmith venue Is far supperior.

[AgentCool]

Originally Posted by Greggles

Without doubt, this is the worst show of it's type that I've ever had the misfortune to attend. At least I didn't pay for the ticket! I highly recommend anyone considering going change their mind! The Hammersmith venue Is far supperior.

Care to elaborate? I ask because I've already bought tickets for tomorrow so have to go!

[bigtings]

I was about to go today changed my mind at the last minute , but greggles tell us what was bad about it(apart from it not being value for money ..lol)

[mcooky]

Any good discount deals going on at the show.

[Dave Taylor]

I am not impressed by the show's organisers, they sent me an e-mail a few months ago promoting the show, I enquired about trade tickets and had a reply stating if I gave them my details they would send tickets out just before the show.

Last week I enquired where my tickets were and they did not reply to the e-mail, at the beginning of this week I sent another e-mail (which was read) again asking for the tickets and also pointed out that the link to the PDF version of the floor layout did not work, again I had no reply.

So I did not go for two reasons, one location, Excel is not the best place to get to and also the price, and absolute rip-off when you look at the limited number of exhibitors this year.

I'm afraid this is very typical of a lot of shows, they start off very good and over the years the organisers overpriced the stands and the entrance fee making it none cost-effective for traders and the public.

Re Dave

[Greggles]

Basically it was row upon row of small display stands demonstrating/ selling a variety of products from MP3 players to Massage Chairs! As far as serious HiFi/ AV demonstrations were concerned, there was the usual What HiFi demonstration (with the usual huge queue) and the Wilson Benesch stand which at least attempted to keep out the noise of the rest of the show. The main problem was that the lack of physical separation between the "Stuff" part of the show and the serious "HiFi/ AV" part (what little there was). I now understand why so few such companies were in attendance. At least at the Hammersmith venue they were on separate floors and had the use of hotel rooms, which, although not ideal, were a lot better than is available at Excel. How can they justify £20 for this. I'll stick to the Bristol show next year.

[RegM]

It's a shame - I first went to this show in 1995 and it was huge, took a whole day to get round it all. Ever since it has got smaller and smaller and the price has gone up and up. Last year I was out of there by lunchtime and this year sounds a lot worse. Greedy, incompetent organisers. The Ideal Home Show has gone exactly the same way.

[rich521]

Really poor show, little worth seeing, save your money, buy another Blu Ray or to instead

This show has to be the worst I have ever seen it ...basically crap..crap …and crap.....

They are charging £20 for what Hi-Fi !!! Yes ‘’what Hi-Fi’’ ..... Yes I do mean that there is sod all..I went as trade on Friday ... was a hassle getting there and DLR trains were a joke with there signs .. Finally get there and it just stuff live ok for the kids but what about us folk going to buy the latest DVD player or Av amp I might as well went the ideal home exhibition and got more out of it .

I went to the show back in 2004, 2005 and 2006 at Hammersmith and it was great all the big names were there and Denon had too big rooms plug Arcam ,Pioneer Yamaha ,Henley designs, Sony and loads more .


At Hammersmith it was one building which was great and kept the Stuff Live audience apart from the What Hi-Fi audience which was great and yes all the those hotel rooms may not have been always a great way to here some of the latest gear but at least you had a chance to take your own cd’s and have a sit and listen and have a chat with the reps of that company and have a great time .

What about all the accessories that you were able to buy some cd’s records and so on that used to be down stairs at Hammersmith that is what made a show good and a great day out .

What the hell has happened..Haymarket charge £20 for what...I think thay have got to large for there boots and going to regret this big time.

I went to the Heathrow show back in September and have been going for a number of year now and I thought may be they had there problems but compared to this the London Heathrow show was brilliant .

This is the last time I ever go to the Hi-fi show.

Denon had some stupid corner shop ... were was Arcam .... Marrants , Yamaha ...Pionner Project to name some?? Who care's about some girls handing out some stupid card. What about a program guide.. £20 and no program guide but some shaving gel or some sort in the bag with a carphone ware house mag .. What are they thinking this has to be Mr.Blobby sorting out the show this year then?

Come on ..If thats the way it's going to be then they should just call it a day .

I took with me some cd's to try out on some of the new equipment but was totally in dismay on what I saw .

I spoke to quite a few exibtor's that had some sort of relation to Hi-Fi I mean cables manufactures and all of them said it was a waste of time and they will not be doing another what Hi-Fi show and that is the truth.

Be great to here what the rest of you think ot there ... Yes you can tell that I am really annoyed and that is putting it politely I had to come all the way from west London to this show ....never again .

[Apone]

I hope that the What Hifi team realise that wanting to charge 20quid for a show that is said to be so so poor really needs to be looked at for next year. If they do another one that is.

[asimm]

Oh dear-

I have been to 4 or 5 shows before. I always spend at least 4 hours or so and come away being inspired. Last year the Sony and Sim projector demos were awesome (especially Sim's Le Mans demo). I always come away having heard some fantastic quality Hi Fi in a good demo environment having had a good chat feeling that I ought to persuade the wife that we need 7 speakers in the lounge, need a projector etc.
I can honestly say it took me about an hour to go round the show. I then went for lunch and went back just to make me feel that it was worth it. I asked one of the exhibitors if the show was smaller this year and he said it was bigger than last year! it just did not seem like it and there were too many Hi Fi stand manufacturers/dock stands etc (not that I have anything against these manufacturers but I am playing £20!) and not enough of the big names (where were Sky, Sim and at least 10 more Hi Fi rooms)?
No inspiration, just disappointment. Hope they sort this out for next year, this has turned in to an annual treat for me.

[boksbox]

Originally Posted by Marcd51

This show has to be the worst I have ever seen it ...basically crap..crap …and crap.....

They are charging £20 for what Hi-Fi !!! Yes ‘’what Hi-Fi’’ ..... Yes I do mean that there is sod all..I went as trade on Friday ... was a hassle getting there and DLR trains were a joke with there signs .. Finally get there and it just stuff live ok for the kids but what about us folk going to buy the latest DVD player or Av amp I might as well went the ideal home exhibition and got more out of it .

I went to the show back in 2004, 2005 and 2006 at Hammersmith and it was great all the big names were there and Denon had too big rooms plug Arcam ,Pioneer Yamaha ,Henley designs, Sony and loads more .


At Hammersmith it was one building which was great and kept the Stuff Live audience apart from the What Hi-Fi audience which was great and yes all the those hotel rooms may not have been always a great way to here some of the latest gear but at least you had a chance to take your own cd’s and have a sit and listen and have a chat with the reps of that company and have a great time .

What about all the accessories that you were able to buy some cd’s records and so on that used to be down stairs at Hammersmith that is what made a show good and a great day out .

What the hell has happened..Haymarket charge £20 for what...I think thay have got to large for there boots and going to regret this big time.

I went to the Heathrow show back in September and have been going for a number of year now and I thought may be they had there problems but compared to this the London Heathrow show was brilliant .

This is the last time I ever go to the Hi-fi show.

Denon had some stupid corner shop ... were was Arcam .... Marrants , Yamaha ...Pionner Project to name some?? Who care's about some girls handing out some stupid card. What about a program guide.. £20 and no program guide but some shaving gel or some sort in the bag with a carphone ware house mag .. What are they thinking this has to be Mr.Blobby sorting out the show this year then?

Come on ..If thats the way it's going to be then they should just call it a day .

I took with me some cd's to try out on some of the new equipment but was totally in dismay on what I saw .

I spoke to quite a few exibtor's that had some sort of relation to Hi-Fi I mean cables manufactures and all of them said it was a waste of time and they will not be doing another what Hi-Fi show and that is the truth.

Be great to here what the rest of you think ot there ... Yes you can tell that I am really annoyed and that is putting it politely I had to come all the way from west London to this show ....never again .

Some of us had to trawl all the way over to West London for the previous shows, so it six and half, fortunately after last years experience and reading the reviews here I didn't bother this year.
Having been to the motor show at Excel I can see what a good venue it is and has better transport links than the West London shows.

If they did it properly they could easily build custom mdeisgned demo rooms, much better than the dreaful hotel room layouts.
I guess we've seen the end of the shows of the late nineties/early noughties but there again there isn't much new nowadays, no big leap to flat screens or hearing surround sound for the first time.

[AgentCool]

I went yesterday during my annual trip to London and, yes, it was poor. I've been going since 2001 (except last year) and this was easily the worst one yet taking less than an hour to get around. In my opinion, the Novotel Hammersmith venue was a lot better as the hotel room layout was well-suited to demoing Hi-Fi/Home Cinema kit.

As for the size of the show, it was tiny! I remember when it was at Earl's Court in 2002 and it was spread across two halls which took ages to get around. This year it was little more than a glorified row of adverts with little opportunity to try out kit. I went to John Lewis on Oxford Street later on and had much more fun in their electrical department messing around with the iPods, radios and computers. The Hammersmith exhibitions had a lot more substance with many more smaller companies demoing kit than were in attendance this year.

Unless this returns to Hammersmith, I will not be going again. Oh, and £20 was an outrageous asking price. Even £5 would have been pushing it for what was on show this year.

[davepuma]

Any idea what Logitech unveiled for the Squeezebox at the show? Some members alluded to something new but haven't told us what!

I went to the motorshow a couple of years back but preferred Earls Court tbh! £20 seems a bit steep!

[walker01]

what do you guys think should be changed for next year.
like where it should be and what should be there like more gadgets and less speakers

i fount that there was too many speakers and tvs on show

[johnr2110]

Originally Posted by Greggles

Without doubt, this is the worst show of it's type that I've ever had the misfortune to attend. At least I didn't pay for the ticket! I highly recommend anyone considering going change their mind! The Hammersmith venue Is far supperior.

Hi

Totally agree with you there the Hammersmith venue is far better & having the specialist in seperate rooms gives the show an intimate feel that was far superior to the noisy free for all at the Excel. Where the manufacturers seemed to be having a volume competition.

I sincerly hope that the organisers see sense & return the What Hi Fi & Stuff show to the Novotel or a venue equally suited.

Yours

£20 Poorer & Distgruntled

john r

[KBD1]

Hi Guys
I am glad i looked at your previous comments regarding Excel show, not being so called up to scratch, regarding exhibitors.
I usually go to the London show, but glad i did not.
Roll on Bristol 2009

[walker01]

The excel center is normally great for shows but they just didnt have it laid out well

[Greggles]

Originally Posted by walker01

what do you guys think should be changed for next year.
like where it should be and what should be there like more gadgets and less speakers

i fount that there was too many speakers and tvs on show

Although having Stuff and What Hifi shows at the same venue makes a lot of sense (there is a lot of cross over) they really need to be physically and acoustically separated. Hence the multiple floors at the Hammersmith venue worked well (although a little cramped). When I heard about the move to Excel, I was quite excited. Big, big disappointment.

[slimshodi]

I went on the Sunday. I was so looking forward to the show and I'm glad that I am not the only one that found it disappointing. I haven't been to one of these shows for many many years. I think the last one was a computer show at the Earls Court back in the 80s and that was great.

I just cannot understand how they could justify charging £20. The best thing about it was the vibrating chair and the guy talking about the Canon camera. What about to the rest of the manufacturers?

[TheBoingoBandit]

I'm a Live/Best of Stuff/Stuff Live veteran and have been to every single show (even the one-off move to Birmingham in 2000)since the first one in 1993.


I went again this year despite last year's disapointing Hammersmith show.



Like most people on here, I only spent about an hour at the show (compared to all day when it used to occupy the entire Earls Court complex -something rivalled by only the Motor and Ideal Home shows). In those days (God, I sound old!) you used to have the Capital Radio roadshow there plus celebrity apperances which made it seem like a special event.


The lack of that special event feeling is probably what's missing now. Most people could experience the same 'show' by visiting Tottenham Court Road, Harrods, Selfridges, John Lewis and all the other technology stores in London for free (and it'd last longer).


I know that the lack of stands is probably due to the credit crunch but charge admission price accordingly. I think a lot less people would complain at paying only £10. As a comparison, I went to the Motorcycle News Show at Excel. Despite being twice the size of the Stuff show and tickets only being about £15 (including a free stunt show), it still felt like a bit of a rip-off. The Motorcycle News forum was full of disgruntled complainers. Another example is the Classic Car Show later this month which will cost less to visit than Suff, but occupies about FIVE halls at the NEC.


I think next years's show (IF there is one!) will drop the What Hi-Fi tag, although the What Hi-Fi stand will still probably be there. They could still have hi-fi there maybe by moving the demo rooms to the next door hall (Stuff was the only show at Exce last weekend) or by using one of the hotels adjecent to Excel.



Anywy, it's not all bad. This show was far better that the re-Christened Audio & AV Show Heathrow a couple of months back.

[chrisowe]

I also remember when it was the Live shows at Earls Court. I think it was 1994 when Sky had a massive stand there with its own TV studio.

I went last year to Hammersmith which wasn't bad, but didn't bother this year as the Excel is quite a trek round the Jubilee line. Glad I didn't!

[Dave Taylor]

I also went to the first Live show, it was awsome. Gone are the days I susspect.

Last years Stuff show was £10.50 on the day, so how they can get £20.00 this year for a lesser show.

I have never been to the Bristol show, so maybe Feb will be my next fix.

Re Dave