Windsor/ Harrogate show.
- Thread starter orangeart
- Start date
DNM
pfm Member
You're showing your age. They've long been branded Snickers, not Marathon but somewhat aptly, the tiny bar I purchased was branded 'IRRITABLE', which kind of summed up my mood when I was charged £2 for it!
hifinutt
hifinutt
fourlegs posted this elswhere
I had a very enjoyable day at Harrogate with my mate Nigel ( @TheFlash ). I thought the mix of trade and Wammers rooms worked really well.
I liked the venue and also the great Chille Con Carne for lunch in the large dining room just hit the right spot.
There were some great sounds in many of the rooms but my stand out room was g point audio with the AXJET concrete horn speakers. When we asked the nice lady who makes them she said, “My Dad makes them”. She has a clever Dad is all I can say.
If anyone is wavering and wondering whether to go I would say make the effort and have a look.
I had a very enjoyable day at Harrogate with my mate Nigel ( @TheFlash ). I thought the mix of trade and Wammers rooms worked really well.
I liked the venue and also the great Chille Con Carne for lunch in the large dining room just hit the right spot.
There were some great sounds in many of the rooms but my stand out room was g point audio with the AXJET concrete horn speakers. When we asked the nice lady who makes them she said, “My Dad makes them”. She has a clever Dad is all I can say.
If anyone is wavering and wondering whether to go I would say make the effort and have a look.
Lordhenley
pfm Member
I’m at Harrogate on Sunday, looking forward to it
suzywong
Wot, no electrons?
Went to Windsor today. One system that really impressed, many that were good, the rest were OK and one or two which were not so good.
I suppose the thing that p1$$es me off the most is the dealers/reps and their mates all having loud conversations while the rest of us poor slobs are trying to listen to the systems that I assume they are trying to temp me with.
Lots of Pink Floyd being played, which makes a change from the usual plinky plonky “jazz” from artistes that I’ve never heard of.
I parked in the overflow car park down by the river. I had the camera in the boot, so after the show I took a few shots of the memorials at Runnymede. You can see the RAF memorial up on the hill (my uncle gets a mention, sadly), and there’s a memorial to JFK & the Magna Carta. I think it must “say something” about how we Brits view history that the monument to one of the greatest legal documents in history was paid for and erected by the American Bar Association!
But hey ho, whatever, a pleasant day out.
PS sorry for bad grammar above (two sentences ending with a preposition) - but I carn’t be ar$ed to correct it!
I suppose the thing that p1$$es me off the most is the dealers/reps and their mates all having loud conversations while the rest of us poor slobs are trying to listen to the systems that I assume they are trying to temp me with.
Lots of Pink Floyd being played, which makes a change from the usual plinky plonky “jazz” from artistes that I’ve never heard of.
I parked in the overflow car park down by the river. I had the camera in the boot, so after the show I took a few shots of the memorials at Runnymede. You can see the RAF memorial up on the hill (my uncle gets a mention, sadly), and there’s a memorial to JFK & the Magna Carta. I think it must “say something” about how we Brits view history that the monument to one of the greatest legal documents in history was paid for and erected by the American Bar Association!
But hey ho, whatever, a pleasant day out.
PS sorry for bad grammar above (two sentences ending with a preposition) - but I carn’t be ar$ed to correct it!
Stunsworth
pfm Member
Wish I’d gone for the chilli, I had a scantily filled coronation chicken sandwich for £4.50!
Enjoyed the Harrogate show, though it’s a bit on the small size. Best sound for me were the Sonus Faber lookalikes (apologies to the manufacturer) near the lift on the first floor - anyone playing Kind of Blue gets my vote. I though the Wammers rooms were a bit of a mixed bag, but kudos to them all for making the effort.
Enjoyed the Harrogate show, though it’s a bit on the small size. Best sound for me were the Sonus Faber lookalikes (apologies to the manufacturer) near the lift on the first floor - anyone playing Kind of Blue gets my vote. I though the Wammers rooms were a bit of a mixed bag, but kudos to them all for making the effort.
Whaleblue
Southbound
I was at the Windsor show. First HiFi show in umpty-odd years.
Best bit? Met up with a friend and an old friend of his.
Good bits? Many room’s sounds were pretty decent. Some interesting conversations.
Worst bits? Middle-of-the-Road jazz in soooo many rooms. Some systems driving speakers into distortion. Some speakers that were just a bit rubbish. Some things I liked carrying prices 10x what I thought reasonable.
Odd bit? A cable/mains treatment demo that seemed to show actual improvements. I’m a bit ‘conflicted’ on this one.
Best bit? Met up with a friend and an old friend of his.
Good bits? Many room’s sounds were pretty decent. Some interesting conversations.
Worst bits? Middle-of-the-Road jazz in soooo many rooms. Some systems driving speakers into distortion. Some speakers that were just a bit rubbish. Some things I liked carrying prices 10x what I thought reasonable.
Odd bit? A cable/mains treatment demo that seemed to show actual improvements. I’m a bit ‘conflicted’ on this one.
suzywong
Wot, no electrons?
was that the Audioquest demo or the Nordost?
Whaleblue
Southbound
Neither, IsoTek.
As an aside, they were using Larsen speakers. Thought they were excellent.
sunbeamgls
pfm Member
Could you add a little more detail please SW?
Went to Windsor today - first time at a UK show. Not a patch on Munich but then didn't expect it to be. Still enjoyable though.
Standout was the Padood room - it was a good room to demo hifi, but even so, the sound was outstanding, and the demo with the guitarist was spectacular. YG Sonja speakers with top Nagra, so not a cheap system, but very good indeed.
Also thought Magico S3 Mk2 driven by Constellation was very good - incredible bass, great cohesion top to bottom, and very well controlled. By comparison the Wilson Alexia / D'Agostino / dCS was not my cup of tea - harsh top end, too digital / analytical.
Standout was the Padood room - it was a good room to demo hifi, but even so, the sound was outstanding, and the demo with the guitarist was spectacular. YG Sonja speakers with top Nagra, so not a cheap system, but very good indeed.
Also thought Magico S3 Mk2 driven by Constellation was very good - incredible bass, great cohesion top to bottom, and very well controlled. By comparison the Wilson Alexia / D'Agostino / dCS was not my cup of tea - harsh top end, too digital / analytical.
Harrogate show.remember the 80s show here makes you wonder it shows had had their day . the private rooms were a v.good .but the rest was poor and in some cases the rooms too small. attendance in the morning was poor. headphone demo was interesting .for me the audio note room sounded very good,. cant do with rooms just using a laptop for the source. private rooms 9/10 others 5/10
sunbeamgls
pfm Member
darrenyeats
pfm Member
For playing normal music in a good way, I liked the Music First system with Tannoy Kensingtons.
Also liked the Larson speakers in the Isotek room (especially once they plugged in the EVO3 Genesis One and Titan One - as Whaleblue wrote, food for thought).
We had some criticisms of B&W demo, which we shared with them afterwards. Level matching is a problem in so many demos, I've given up complaining. But he went out of his way to say "we're playing all these speakers at exactly the same volume", a sentence I thought at best would lead to confusion, since the bigger speakers have higher sensitivity. As I pointed out, you might get a bigger speaker but you still have the same neighbours, and I'd like to hear whether the more expensive speaker has any other quality beyond being louder. So you should adjust for sensitivity with an SPL meter (work it out before doing the demo) - but if not then stay silent on the matter of volume! Also, he kept telling us what to think and hear at every stage. How not to run a demo. But I thought the improvement between the previous and new gen bookshelf models was clear, and the last track Dreamer by Hiromi through the 702 S2 did sound great.
Biggest disappointment was the LS50 active, even though I went back twice to give it extra chances because I wanted it to sound good.
To restore some active pride, I liked the PSI Audio actives fronted by MERGING+NADAC playing London Grammar. However, the latter cost an eye-watering £13k.
Also liked the Larson speakers in the Isotek room (especially once they plugged in the EVO3 Genesis One and Titan One - as Whaleblue wrote, food for thought).
We had some criticisms of B&W demo, which we shared with them afterwards. Level matching is a problem in so many demos, I've given up complaining. But he went out of his way to say "we're playing all these speakers at exactly the same volume", a sentence I thought at best would lead to confusion, since the bigger speakers have higher sensitivity. As I pointed out, you might get a bigger speaker but you still have the same neighbours, and I'd like to hear whether the more expensive speaker has any other quality beyond being louder. So you should adjust for sensitivity with an SPL meter (work it out before doing the demo) - but if not then stay silent on the matter of volume! Also, he kept telling us what to think and hear at every stage. How not to run a demo. But I thought the improvement between the previous and new gen bookshelf models was clear, and the last track Dreamer by Hiromi through the 702 S2 did sound great.
Biggest disappointment was the LS50 active, even though I went back twice to give it extra chances because I wanted it to sound good.
To restore some active pride, I liked the PSI Audio actives fronted by MERGING+NADAC playing London Grammar. However, the latter cost an eye-watering £13k.
You don't need an SPL meter. You should be able to get the same level between equipment (or speakers) using your ears.