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Anybody going to Sound and Vision Bristol?

Nice to see the new Technics TT yesterday

Have to say it all felt a bit lifeless compared to other years
 
Just on train out of Bressol.. It was ok. Got to speak to the very helpful team from Mitchell but as usual heard little to really inspire. It is really best seen as a social day out.

Not helpful enough to get their name right?
 
Went yesterday for the first time. Was a great day out. Just wish the music choices were better to allow more realistic comparison.
 
Enjoyed:
Rega system (Planar 6/Brio/RX3s) - very sweet
Falcon LS3/5as
Harbeth P3ESR though the source was a bit feeble
Neat Iota Explorer (with RP6, can't remember the amps), helpful Doug Graham officiating
Spendor D9s superb
Chord integrated with Qutest into B&W 803s
The Primare system into big JBLs was great!
quite liked the Naim Atom on phones but not bothered about the other two
.... and a few others
I agree that a lot of the music was either same old same old or very personal choices - more info would help. All very hifi enthusiast this year, a lot less AV or lifestyle I thought.
 
Enjoyed:
Rega system (Planar 6/Brio/RX3s) - very sweet
Falcon LS3/5as
Harbeth P3ESR though the source was a bit feeble
Neat Iota Explorer (with RP6, can't remember the amps), helpful Doug Graham officiating
Spendor D9s superb
Chord integrated with Qutest into B&W 803s
The Primare system into big JBLs was great!
quite liked the Naim Atom on phones but not bothered about the other two
.... and a few others
I agree that a lot of the music was either same old same old or very personal choices - more info would help. All very hifi enthusiast this year, a lot less AV or lifestyle I thought.

The amp driving the Neat Iota Xplorer was the Heed Elixir, I really enjoyed the sound in that room too.
 
A few thoughts about yesterday (Friday) at the show but I would like to emphasise that I am aware that this is not the ideal place to assess ultimate SQ and that creating a level playing field is impossible. Too many varying factors so I won't go into these.

Still, I would like to think that most exhibitors put effort into making theirs sound as good as humanly possible. On that note I must say some succeeded whereas others failed.

I also think the format of the show is good. It must be because it seems to have been unchanged from the last time I went, some 11 or 12 or so years ago. - I was glad I went on the Friday. I didn't feel to good and my girlfriend went for the first time to a Hifi Show. It was plenty of busy for us but we did manage to get into most rooms without too much waiting. - I can't imagine how it will be like today ... .

Some shots I've taken. I apologize for the lack of quality. Lighting was challenging on occasions and it was done on a phone.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/147127884@N06/albums/72157692065119911

So here are a few thought/impressions. I am still full of cold so probably forget to mention one or two things. I will update this post as and when;

The first room/dem we attended was Dynaudio/Naim. Nice enough sound with good rythm, no surprise with Naim but lower treble seemed harsh and it did take away the enjoyment for me. I have noticed that with Dynaudio speakers before and can only assume this was due to the speakers. - I left after a couple of songs. My other half stayed for another song, she must have liked it better than me.

Next was the Arcam/Revel room. Now I must I was genuinely surprised. It sounded really good and that was without me knowing what was actually playing. There were big floor standers and the assortment of Arcam's electronics. When told that it was a lowly HAD S20 amplifier with the smallest Revel stand mounts my appreciation of the powerful and coherent sound grew further. Still not exactly budget stuff for many but very nice. I would have had this over the previous room for sound if not for looks. I can't honestly say I dig Arcams new design with the shiny volume know, cheap looking LCD display and 'Tuner' style buttons. - Nevertheless, it feels nicely made.

On to the Chord/B&W room. I wasn't familiar with their show music but my first visit left me somewhat disappointed. It sounded a bit plodding and bass wasn't integrated nicely. We listened to a couple of tracks and left. - We then came back later in the day. They played something more upbeat and I found it better but neither of us thought it was special. It should have been considering the amount of money that was stacked up in front of us. Amazing build quality I have to say though.

On to QAcoustics. They played the big Concept 500. Unfortunately SQ really disappointed. I can't really say much more. We left after a couple of tracks. The reps talking in room to punters and to each other didn't help.

Next was the Quad/IAG room. One of two visits. The first time round they played the Artera Solus with the small ribbon equipped S1's. This was nice enough but the room was clearly to large for the S1's. It seemed a strange choice. S2's would have been more fitting. It sounded coherent and treble and other hifi niceties were good but bass was clearly lacking and it sounded to lightweight. - On our second visit they played the large Electrostatics, again using the Solus. It sounded good but again felt a fraction to lightweight for my taste. The usual amazing midrange of a well designed ES but its not where my money would go (if I had the funds).

We tried twice to get into the B&W room but the doors were closed and there were folks waiting and we didn't want to hang around.

We got into the Kef dem the second time round. It was worth the wait. The Wireless convinced on all levels other than perhaps looks. Very impressive dynamics, tonality and coherence. It filled the room with ease with very good sound. Impressive. Most comments from visitors seemed entirely positive. It may no woe all of those that are used to hulking big speakers but if you need more bass/scale it has a sub out with adjustable cut off frequencies. Nice. I said 'all of those' used to big speakers because some will perhaps question their coffin sized boxes after hearing these.

On to the Cyrus dem. I am a little biased here as a long term Cyrus user but it wasn't entirely positive. - Cyrus's new ONE, whilst looking somewhat snazzy, lacked in build quality. The volume and selector knobs seem poorly made and 'eggs'/feel a little loose. Not good for a crucial interface even though most folks will use the remote more often. I also don't like the choice of LED's but that's subjective.

Using the main system consisting of streamer, pre and mono's (there might have been some PSX'R's in there too) it sounded powerful with Kef Blades. The usual Cyrus detail came to the fore and it was all there. Bass was tight and it sounded coherent but to these ears (and where I sat) it was simply to loud. - Unfortunately I didn't hear the ONE. The new Cyrus stand mount speakers were on display but I did not hear them.

The ACT/Prism room sounded good using actives. Coherent, driving, clear but not cold. We liked this one. Expensive but good.

The two Spendor Rooms; One using top D9's, the other A7's. I think they both used Auralic hardware. - Unfortunately the over riding impression in both rooms was one of a slightly too dominating upper treble. With both speakers there was a mild harshness I couldn't dial out. Whilst my other half couldn't point out exactly what it was, she did not like either room. Go figure. I really wanted to like the little A7's. Having also read good things about the even smaller A2's I wanted to go back to the room later but somehow forgot o_O.

The PMC/Bryston Room was typical neutral whilst not having any dominant or distracting traits. One for 'active sound' fans not wanting to give up boxes. I found it sounding powerful and involving. Expensive but good. The AVM electronics on display looked superbly made.

On to the Neat room. What can I say? - It was superb. No other way to put it. - The sound emenating from the small Xplorer was astonishing. Using Heed amplification it just oozed into the room. Rhythmical, punchy with a lovely full sound. It drove the room perfectly with just the right amount of elastic and bouncy but delineated bass. At the end of the day we both thought this was the best room of the show. That this was achieved with diminutive components just added to the attraction. Lovely. - Unfortunately I didn't hear the Iota Alpha but I was bowled over at just how SMALL they were looking at the display samples. - If they sound half as good as the Xplorers I would be happy to own them.

For some reason we missed the Leema rooms. Shame as I would have liked to hear that.

Falcon Acoustics had another good sounding room with the big Sugden Mono's powering some Studio 30's. Sound seemed tightly focused and fairly neutral but involving. One for long term listening in your mansion ... which you no doubt would have if you can stump up for this stuff and which you need to accommodate the Sugdens. Unfortunately I did not hear the LS3/5a's with the Sugden integrated but I can imagine it would sound good on a smaller scale.

The Exposure Room; I was lucky Tony Brady was there. A very nice and humble person. However, the system assembled sounded somewhat mechanical and cold, it didn't really involve. Again, my Spanish girlfriend thought the same. - However, in a different room, the brand of which me unfortunately escapes (I took a pic, they used some small what seemed like omnidirectional floorstanders) an Exposure integrated which looked like a 3010 sounded better to my ears.

Proac; This sounded a little harsh with the larger floor standers. I also heard the smaller Tablette 10 (Signature?) and they sounded nice and open but with little weight, unsurprisingly. Probably best for the smallest of rooms.

Musical Fidelity; The big all-in-one together with a Nu-Vista Phono stage and Rega deck through B&W floor standers made good noises even if the choice of music gave me the runs.

Acoustic Energy; Big disappointment. - Not because of the sound generated with an AVI integrated and their new passive entry floor standers ... it was entirely ok even good for a speaker that cheap. No, AE, in their infinite wisdom chose to bring one (1!) Speaker only of an AE1 Active pair. I mean what ... ?! - Apparently its because they showed the Actives last year and want to concentrate on the new entry models. Ok I get this but considering their actives are featuring dominantly in their current line-up ... and why bothering bringing one speaker. Never Mind, their loss as ...

... Canton also featured a superb powered floor stander in their room. It sounded great, costs 1400 quid and has niceties such as r/c, digital tone controls, adjustable cut off for subwoofer connection. It sounded fun. Active operation will soon be extended to their more upper market floor stander. If they sound even better some of the more familiar manufacturers here may have something to worry about. Great sound imho.

Quadral also had a fantastic sounding room. Powered by a Belles Aria Integrated one of their floor standers made very involving, punchy and rich sounding music. Unfortunately German brands still seem to have a stigma attached to it within british audiophile circles. Probably partly explained as a lot of good stuff is made (or at least designed) here.

Rega. They played some RX3's powered by a mostly Brio 2018 system when we visited. A brave move as they could have aimed higher. - Unfortunately it didn't quite pay off, the system sounding somewhat edgy. There was a little bit to much treble and bit metallic with it. Sound was also a little lightweight and lacking in solidity and bass. It was not all bad though as it had a good measure of snap. - Some may say 'but look at the price ... '. Correct, it was cheaper than many but a roughly price comparative system would be Kef's LS50 Wireless. Unfortunately there is no comparison imho. Nada. To add insult to injury, even slightly better sound can be had for less ...

... Jamo and Project teamed up in the Henley room with some microscopic Components by the latter and some truly handsome, small floor standers by the former, courtesy of their Studio line. It will never win best show sound but I thought it was better than some systems many times it's price. Musical and it looks great. On a budget? Me thinks one could do much worse.

I thought the Totem room sounded superb. Powered by Rega Electronics we very much enjoyed the result. Looked stylish too.

Harbeth played a Sherlock Holmes play. Voices sounded good. That's all I can say really.

Mission showed off their new QS range. Unfortunately sound was boomy even with the stand mount. Not the prettiest speakers but I have no doubt they will do well.

Astin Trew was another stand out. Their new integrated sounding powerful, warm and clear. Very nice. Wished I could say the same about the looks. Reminds me a little about certain cheap Chinese made 'pro' power amplifiers.

I was also impressed by Dali's Callisto active floor stander. Powerful, rich and musical. Not the prettiest speakers* but they sounded better than many vastly more expensive systems/speakers.

(* Apparently these were pre-production samples)

Audio Note; They made one of the best systems I can ever remember having heard. This wasn't one of them. I appreciate that the electronics chosen were one of the more cost effective lines (I think) but the speakers cost nearly 5 grand unless I read incorrectly. Sorry but that is a little steep for something that looks like it was knocked up in shed. Worse, they sounded somewhat boxy when they played a single voice recording. I wasn't familiar with the record but ... choose your show music wisely if you want to exhibit your products at their best ... . - In any case, a lot of uhhhh and aaahh'ing by gentlemen with beards. It was liked by the ones in the know it seems. - What do I know?
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One for the single, die hard, hair shirt enthusiast.

Hegel. A few rooms using the manufacturer. In one they had a Roest with small Amphion speakers. It was played quietly as the Rep was talking to someone ... A bit too quietly. It sounded like a small system. Looked good mind.

In the main room they had a number of configurations. When we listened they did a comparison between a ripped 16 bit file and the recording played through the Mohican CD Player and H360 Amplifier. It was vocal based and slow so it was difficult to make a judgement. Sounded powerful. The rep fancied himself as a bit of a comedian and was quite funny to listen to. Nuff said.

I think I've covered enough. There was some more but I bored you guys enough
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I stayed away from cable/accessory stuff as we had some time constraints and I did not visit Technics' or a couple of other TT focused dems as vinyl is (unfortunately) not on my agenda at present for practical reasons.

Highlights ... Neat's Xplorers/Heed, KEF LS50 wireless, Arcam/Revel.

Best budget system ... Project/Jamo

Best value for money high end ... KEF LS50 wireless.

Best sound of show ... Neat Room.

All in my humble opinion only and hampered by a cold. Your mileage may vary, different music may change the outcome and its worth taking in to consideration what I said at the beginning of the post.

Cheers
 
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Great write up thanks and excellent pics.

Thought the Neat and Kudos rooms were very enjoyable, but then i am biased having owned speakers from both manufacturers.
 
Really enjoyed reading folk’s accounts and seeing their pics, so thank you to those who took the time to share their impressions. It just shows that technically good equipment can be badly represented by hotel bed and meeting rooms, yet some well judged systems can shine- usually smaller speakers in free space like the Falcon ls3/5as or the clever little wall positioned Neats. I havent been to a show in years and reading this put me in the mood..
 


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