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Hi Fi news show Windsor 10th-11th nov

G T Audio said:
According to HiFi News Magazine, the entrance price is £20, or £30 for the 2 days. However, I did notice advance fast entry tickets were £20 + a £2.15 admin fee. Can't see why the extra £2.15 would be worth paying because it is not like you will be queueing up in the thousands to get in...
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Exactly, which is why I won’t be going.
 
I quite fancy it but it’s a long way to go for a jolly and the price is (frankly) ridiculous. I say this because the excellent Cranage Hall show is entirely free - free parking and free entry - you even get a glass of bubbly on entry. Against that £25.00 entry does seem ridiculously steep! Now the Cranage show is unique in being free but surely this is the way that shows should be going? Cranage is in its fourth year now and has become increasingly popular with each year - other shows are clinging onto existence and raising the price of entry is only likely to hasten eventual demise in my opinion.
 
£25 to have people pitch product to you is simply absurd, what on earth are they thinking? How the hell does the audio industry expect to attract fresh young punters if that is the attitude?! It should obviously be free, any costs footed by those exhibiting/selling. That is how advertising works!
 
It was £22 and attendance seemed similar to previous years. I enjoyed seeing so much kit in one place. Okay sound quality is rarely going to be brilliant in hotel rooms/conference rooms, but I still love going every year. Most fascinating was a demo on 3-D acoustics by US company Theoretica, though I would expect stunning sonics if I was shelling out £25k. I finally got to hear LS3/5As for the first time in my life in the Falcon/Primare room and was very impressed, though at £2.2k it seemed slightly steep - I was expecting them to be around the £1500 mark.
 
brilliant , thanks for that . yes at one show the falcon Ls3/5a were playing next to their big floorstander and the number of folks who asked if it was the big speakers playing was substantial
 
YNWOAN said:
I quite fancy it but it’s a long way to go for a jolly and the price is (frankly) ridiculous. I say this because the excellent Cranage Hall show is entirely free - free parking and free entry - you even get a glass of bubbly on entry. Against that £25.00 entry does seem ridiculously steep! Now the Cranage show is unique in being free but surely this is the way that shows should be going? Cranage is in its fourth year now and has become increasingly popular with each year - other shows are clinging onto existence and raising the price of entry is only likely to hasten eventual demise in my opinion.
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Not quite unique - the Signals show at Ipswich has always been free, entry and parking. It's a great show, in a super location.
 
hifinutt said:
brilliant , thanks for that . yes at one show the falcon Ls3/5a were playing next to their big floorstander and the number of folks who asked if it was the big speakers playing was substantial
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I heard them a few years ago at Cranage I think with the bass-extenders (which I’m not sure I’m a huge fan of) driven by a Sugden CD and amp (A21SE I think) and they sounded stunning on classical. One of the best strings sounds I’ve ever heard, just magical (Saint-Saen’s Organ Conc, second movement). I rather wish I’d bought a pair when they were £1200, though at the time I felt they’d just be too similar to my JR149s (I’ve still never done the comparison!). A special little speaker for sure.
 
Suffolk Tony said:
Not quite unique - the Signals show at Ipswich has always been free, entry and parking. It's a great show, in a super location.
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Fair point and well made - but doesn’t that rather reinforce my thought that this is the, constructive, way that such shows should be going?
 
I’ve still never heard a pair, but I think I’m just going to miss bass to much. I love my 12” woofers.

I went to listen to a similar speaker with cash in my back pocket to walk out with a pair and on hearing them I decided they were not for me within 3 minutes, just missing so much in the lower octives... KEF LS50’s... so should I ever bother with LS3/5as??
 
Tony, yes, it was you and I that went round the show together, I think, that year and heard that combination - just one example how these independently organised shows are the match (or better) of those set up by publishing houses or professional event organisers.
 
I justify the cost as an excuse to have an annual catch-up with a couple of mates. One of 'em is a subscriber to HFN and he gets tickets for £15 - still steep but bearable. But it'd be more bearable if it was free!
 
I go to loads of these shows and often catch up with industry friends, but it never costs more than a tenner (if industry recognised I often get in for free, but that isn’t the ‘every man’).
 
I cannot believe that the manufacturers don’t get tickets from the organisers to send out foc to customers... I do antiques fairs which cost at least £25k plus and I wouldn’t dream of asking a prospective customer to pay an entrance fee.

I understand that the show probably won’t have any ‘sales’ to cover costs, it’s far more introductions etc, but the entrance fee should be swallowed by the exhibitors.. they are maybe finding it tough to find customers, but charging them to come into your ‘showroom’ is just c r azy.
 
i went to the Cranage Hall show , last year first time, it was free and it was one of the best shows i have been to ,,i am from Nottingham, great show, i will be there next year , and i spent about £2600, they get their money back, on townshend and booze
 
Rana said:
.........I finally got to hear LS3/5As for the first time in my life in the Falcon/Primare room and was very impressed, though at £2.2k it seemed slightly steep - I was expecting them to be around the £1500 mark.
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I went along today.

Along with the Kii 3 BXT system, that Primare i-35/Falcon LS3/5a room was the best in the show.
A fairly budget system (Primare/Falcon) sounding far better than many of those mega set-ups costing tens and hundreds of thousands of £££'s.

IMHO, little Falcon speakers were much better than the company's larger flagship Reference speakers (quoted as "just under £20,000"), which were being demo'd in another Primare room, with that company's brand new Pre-35/A-35.2 combo.
Only the natural lack of deep bass, being any sort of negative; if you even call it a negative.
These Falcons sound like one if the best LS3/5a efforts I've ever encountered.


zzzzz
 
hifinutt said:
........I believe amongst other beauties they will have the Magico M6 playing there....
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pjdowns said:
....Would have been interested to hear the Magico's because every other pair I have heard I though sounded atrocious.
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This is the third time I've heard big Magicos at a show.
I was hoping this time it would be better than the last two times, but I was to be disappointed again.

OK the drum track sounded very impressive, but once they got going with the various bits of music played, the large powerful sound was marred by awful bass.
The bass seems to set off cabinet resonance, something the expensive alloy construction is supposed to eliminate, and to excite the room; producing a muddy, oppressive and uncomfortable mess underneath the undoubtedly impressive mid-range.

Wilson seem to do the big powerful sound much better, in my limited experience from various shows.

The Kii Three BXT combo knocked them both into touch IMHO...and for a fraction of the price.


zzzz
 
Rug Doc said:
I understand that the show probably won’t have any ‘sales’ to cover costs, it’s far more introductions etc, but the entrance fee should be swallowed by the exhibitors.. they are maybe finding it tough to find customers, but charging them to come into your ‘showroom’ is just c r azy.
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I believe the reason for charging is to keep the riff-raff and tyre kickers out...
 
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