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Windsor/ Harrogate show.

davidavdavid said:
Having read through the thread so far and the respective reports on each of the show, am going to ask: were either of the two worthwhile from an hifi perspective?, or was it more of a day out, connecting/re-connecting with mates?
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A bit of both. I enjoyed the visit, and stayed at the hotel Saturday night.

I'm not sure if it was a success for the organisers though. There certainly weren't crowds of people and several times I was the only punter in a room. The £12 entrance probably had a lot to do with that. I hope they feel confident in holding the show again next year.

It was certainly nothing like the old Harrogate shows from the 70s/80s. Back in those days the Old Swan was just one of several hotels being used. I think I have a programme somewhere, I'll see if I can dig it out.


davidavdavid said:
The Harrogate show sound likes a Pro-Am (professional-amateur) Golf Tournament with industry vendors and hobbyists/enthusiasts presenting. Curious if they were side-by-side or separate?
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As mentioned above the hobbyists were on the same floor as many of the business vendors, but in their own wing. Personally I'd have like to have seen the two mixed together, and I heard one of the hobbyists saying in the late morning on the Sunday that he'd had no visitors
 
I went Harrogate from York where I just happened coincidently to be. I went Saturday morning for about 2 hours. I thought the approach to making a mixed media type of event with Wammers, Dealers, art students, photography and a local drink supplier (we bought a bottle of Harewood Gin) is the way ahead. A "lifestyle" show leaning towards hi-fi and audio works for me.

The Wammer rooms were just great and sounded good, celebrating the diversity of what we like to do. The dealer rooms were very mixed as far as I am concerned. B&O, the TV was nice but the speakers poor IMO, especially since they were £23k. The G-Point Audio room was poor IMO, when I was they only played plinky plonky jazz, and boy are their staff arrogant and defensive....I tried to ask them about cable lifters.

The Code Audio room was great - those little speakers are brilliant. The guy running the room was friendly chatty and best of all just passed me his iPad and said choose some music - he didn't flinch when I chose some old school grime by Wiley.

AN room sounding very good as usual, it was great to catch up with Mario again. I really like the room that had the "new" Tannoys and MSB amps, it was sounding brilliant.

Personally, I think the mixed show format works very well and I enjoyed it. It was reasonably busy on Saturday morning, but I guess only time will tell whether interest was sufficient to make it sustainable.

I'd like to have seen a little room of headphone dealers and I think as a more lifestyle leaning show it needs an anchor exhibitor with more affordable equipment (like for example a local Sony Centre)
 
Yes, £2k is indeed the full thing. However the "non audiophile" family can get a flat TV for £500. Is this item worth 4 TVs to an "average" family? Not a chance. The bluetooth speaker has replaced the Dual/NAD/Diamonds of the 80s, selling them £2k worth of KEF is like me suggesting that a Porsche Cayenne is "ideal for the non petrol head family" because it has 5 seats and a generous boot.
 
A number of ‘ordinary’ families we know have Sonus systems several of their components run into that sort of amount and while decent SQ not in the same league as the KEFs.
Keith
 
I had a long chat with James Henriot about those a few years ago as he lent them his pre/power amps for testing and said they were very impressive.

Also waterproof so they can be wheeled outside for parties :)
 
I popped down to Windsor and had a good look round on the Saturday , one or two nice systems there..along with a few that i know should sound very well but really didn't . Met a couple of people from the trade who i have spoken to on the phone but never in person and that made the trip worthwhile for me .Tried to buy a drink in the bar but found 4 staff clearing up and one serving with a good 10 people waiting .
If the numbers stack up we may miss Windsor next year and try showing at Harrogate as its only 10 miles from the office .
 
stevec67 said:
Yes, £2k is indeed the full thing. However the "non audiophile" family can get a flat TV for £500. Is this item worth 4 TVs to an "average" family? Not a chance. The bluetooth speaker has replaced the Dual/NAD/Diamonds of the 80s, selling them £2k worth of KEF is like me suggesting that a Porsche Cayenne is "ideal for the non petrol head family" because it has 5 seats and a generous boot.
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Purite Audio said:
A number of ‘ordinary’ families we know have Sonus systems several of their components run into that sort of amount and while decent SQ not in the same league as the KEFs.
Keith
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Good points, I think, from both of you.

Steve is right to say that most people wouldn't see prices >> a decent TV as good value: but your average bluetooth speaker really doesn't hold a candle to the budget hi-fi of yore. There is a yawning gap (if it is possible to fill it, and make a profit) for the new equivalent of the Dual/NAD/Diamonds. But it must integrate with all the other 'stuff' and do so easily.

[Case study: I bought a friend of ours a very nice little Bluetooth speaker for Xmas (an upgrade to their laptop & tablet audio), and they were initially very pleased with it. However, I suspect it's now fallen into complete disuse, because of the glitchy pairing process.]

Keith is right that there are people out there buying more expensive Sonus kit, but these are (a) people with more money (!) and (b) they've been sold on the style, ease of use and convenience. I just don't see (maybe I'm wrong and not looking in the right direction ... certainly folks have been shelling out more for portables) much if any movement towards prioritising sound quality per se. For those of us who are old enough to remember, fidelity used to be a common talking point.
 
Eat Yr Greens said:
Good points, I think, from both of you.

Steve is right to say that most people wouldn't see prices >> a decent TV as good value: but your average bluetooth speaker really doesn't hold a candle to the budget hi-fi of yore. There is a yawning gap (if it is possible to fill it, and make a profit) for the new equivalent of the Dual/NAD/Diamonds. But it must integrate with all the other 'stuff' and do so easily.

[Case study: I bought a friend of ours a very nice little Bluetooth speaker for Xmas (an upgrade to their laptop & tablet audio), and they were initially very pleased with it. However, I suspect it's now fallen into complete disuse, because of the glitchy pairing process.]

Keith is right that there are people out there buying more expensive Sonus kit, but these are (a) people with more money (!) and (b) they've been sold on the style, ease of use and convenience. I just don't see (maybe I'm wrong and not looking in the right direction ... certainly folks have been shelling out more for portables) much if any movement towards prioritising sound quality per se. For those of us who are old enough to remember, fidelity used to be a common talking point.
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Ther KEFs really are straightforward to use, here my son ‘bluetooths’ his music to them wirelessly from his phone I use them either directly connected to my computer via USB or via their own app, where they play my stored music, they are also now Roon endpoints.
Room boundary filters, filters for more/less bass/treble, subwoofer integration.
Sound quality is excellent I prefer them to the passive version which are extremely good in themselves.
Keith
 
Eat Yr Greens said:
Steve is right to say that most people wouldn't see prices >> a decent TV as good value: but your average bluetooth speaker really doesn't hold a candle to the budget hi-fi of yore. There is a yawning gap (if it is possible to fill it, and make a profit) for the new equivalent of the Dual/NAD/Diamonds. But it must integrate with all the other 'stuff' and do so easily.

... For those of us who are old enough to remember, fidelity used to be a common talking point.
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Here's a case in point - a friend of mine was asking my advice for a budget hifi. He's IT savvy, so I pointed him at a Chromecast Audio (£30), a TPA 3116 from Ebay (£18) and he had a pair of JBL bookshelf speakers left over from the days when he had CDs. Now I think that such a system is every inch a match for 1980s budget stuff of yore, and even if you disagree on the amp there are plenty of choices in the £200 integrated camp. He agrees, he's delighted. As far as he is concerned internet radio is as good as FM and more varied, and we all have to agree on the first part that it's not far behind, while the second part is indisputable. He streams input from a PC, again that's within an ace of CD. Through a pair of bookshelf £100 speakers it's a country mile better than TV sound, it's domestically just as acceptable as a bluetoothe speaker or the KEFs, and it comes in for under £200, so making it acceptable to the finance dept when compared to a £500 TV.

As for me, I've oredred a TPA 3116 amp like my pal, it's getting connected to my DIY speakers and a tablet, or maybe a CCA, and that's the dining room done.
 
In as much as the Harrogate attempted to be "mixed media", "lifestyle" integrating non-hifi brands, apart from respective locations, how was this show any different than the Indulgence Show which took place in London?
 
It appears to me you didn't go to either. I didn't go to London but here is some blurb from the website:
"Explore the ultimate in performance, with the world’s leading brands gathering to demonstrate their products, from two channel and multichannel audio solutions, to headphones and portable audio. The event will also feature fine complementary indulgences, from stunning cars, luxury tailor-made holidays and healthy living products, to recreational vehicles and home décor."

I didn't see anyone in Harrogate selling expensive holidays or home decor. I don't see any evidence of "Indulgence" offering rooms to enthusiasts who bring in their collections of home made and secondhand equipment to demonstrate them to others.

I'd say that they were very different.
 
stevec67 said:
Here's a case in point - a friend of mine was asking my advice for a budget hifi. He's IT savvy, so I pointed him at a Chromecast Audio (£30), a TPA 3116 from Ebay (£18) and he had a pair of JBL bookshelf speakers left over from the days when he had CDs. Now I think that such a system is every inch a match for 1980s budget stuff
<...>
...and that's the dining room done.
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Now you've got me thinking! My previous posts on here were about questioning the 'gap in the market' for decent audio quality for 'ordinary people' i.e. affordable and easy-to-use kit straight off the shelf.

But of course the same huge leaps in affordable electronics that lead to things like the Raspberry Pi being such a hit for computing hobbyists haven't passed audio by ... evidently

Now if only I had some spare time!
 
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