Bristol HiFi Show 2023
Discussion
Anyone else go?
Set in a central Bristol hotel, the conference rooms at ground level have various manufactures showcasing their wares. You can then go up to 60 various bedrooms on a further 4 floors to litsen to each manufactures kit. Each have arranged the room as a front room type setup (with beds removed).
Worked quite well.. although, absolute sausage fest and had vibes of choosing a manufacturer at the bar then going up to a bedroom to sample their acoustic abilities.
However I went, as many seemed to, to take a look at Bowers and Wilkins, in particular their subwoofer range, and was sadly disappointed to see only 1 lower end sample on display and no ability for listening to or comparison.
That said, a decent morning out for HiFi lovers, and although seemly strange, actually the perfect setting. Heavily soundproofed bedrooms allow for a fair listening experience that could not be achieved in a traditional exhibition setting.
Set in a central Bristol hotel, the conference rooms at ground level have various manufactures showcasing their wares. You can then go up to 60 various bedrooms on a further 4 floors to litsen to each manufactures kit. Each have arranged the room as a front room type setup (with beds removed).
Worked quite well.. although, absolute sausage fest and had vibes of choosing a manufacturer at the bar then going up to a bedroom to sample their acoustic abilities.
However I went, as many seemed to, to take a look at Bowers and Wilkins, in particular their subwoofer range, and was sadly disappointed to see only 1 lower end sample on display and no ability for listening to or comparison.
That said, a decent morning out for HiFi lovers, and although seemly strange, actually the perfect setting. Heavily soundproofed bedrooms allow for a fair listening experience that could not be achieved in a traditional exhibition setting.
Just got back. Went all the time in the 90a early 2000s, fell out of love with it but went for the first time in Many years today.
Wow. really impressed with with PMC, Dali and 700 s3 speakers In the Rotel room. Shame that Macintosh and Sonus didn’t have much of a demo room. Forget the floorstanding PMC model but they sounded wonderful and filled the small room.
Queued up to hear the b and w demo only to be told no more demo sessions but only a drop in and listen session. Was hoping to hear the 800 range, but didn’t bring any examples. Spoke to the chap In the Rotel room (using b and w) who explained the 800 range is a few years old and the effort was to promote the 700 s3 range and that I should look out for new 800 news.
Wanted to hear some new naim kit but they only arrived with their new classic range and didn’t seem to be that enthusiastic to talk about it.
My next money will be going on the Sopra 2s from Focal. Too hot, too crowded but worth the £13 entry fee
Wow. really impressed with with PMC, Dali and 700 s3 speakers In the Rotel room. Shame that Macintosh and Sonus didn’t have much of a demo room. Forget the floorstanding PMC model but they sounded wonderful and filled the small room.
Queued up to hear the b and w demo only to be told no more demo sessions but only a drop in and listen session. Was hoping to hear the 800 range, but didn’t bring any examples. Spoke to the chap In the Rotel room (using b and w) who explained the 800 range is a few years old and the effort was to promote the 700 s3 range and that I should look out for new 800 news.
Wanted to hear some new naim kit but they only arrived with their new classic range and didn’t seem to be that enthusiastic to talk about it.
My next money will be going on the Sopra 2s from Focal. Too hot, too crowded but worth the £13 entry fee
Edited by oldaudi on Saturday 25th February 19:34
I went and was disappointed Kef weren't in their usual place. I'm a fan of their speakers and each year look forward to listening to their new products. I know they were over at Sevenoaks but I hadn't factored that into my day.
The Arcam surround sound demo was good and the usual what hifi demo great to see with the difference in TV tech.
I've been going for about 15 years now I think and always enjoy the trip out and wander around, it was good to be back this year.
The Arcam surround sound demo was good and the usual what hifi demo great to see with the difference in TV tech.
I've been going for about 15 years now I think and always enjoy the trip out and wander around, it was good to be back this year.
oldaudi said:
Wanted to hear some new naim kit but they only arrived with their new classic range and didn’t seem to be that enthusiastic to talk about it.
My next money will be going on the Sopra 2s from Focal. Too hot, too crowded but worth the £13 entry fee
Interested in your upgrade path. I’m tempted by the New Classic range from Naim (222/250) paired with Focal Sopra 2’s, though there’s some lovely used Scala Utopia 2’s up for sale that’s equally tempting me. I’ve been out of the separates market for decades, focusing instead on good headphones for lifestyle reasons, but am about to take the red pill and dive back down this rabbit hole later this year…My next money will be going on the Sopra 2s from Focal. Too hot, too crowded but worth the £13 entry fee
Edited by oldaudi on Saturday 25th February 19:34
Recently went to equivalent in Chicago. AXPONA. Similar setup in a hotel/conference center type place. Although it was massive. 14 floors and over 200+ listening/w
king rooms. Was a similar sausage fest, to be expected.
Not an audiophile at all but was interested to hear what really high end audio sounds like. To reset my reference point if you like. They had many setups easily into the several hundreds of thousands of dollars on the go and yes, they sounded fabulous. What stood out was the clarity and detail in the sound, but also how effortless, yet powerful and tight the bass was, without any seeming detriment to the higher frequencies. But overall it was their ability to seemingly “disappear”, and just fill the room. Quite remarkable. Although they all pretty much blended into one after a time. Especially as there was no consistency in the music being played between demonstrations, so impossible to compare. They made all music sound great though, even music that’s not to my taste was a pleasure to listen to.
There was also a plethora of comedy power cords, conditioners, and interconnect vendors hawking their snake oil. Bold claims that a 5grand 6ft ultra shielded power cord somehow makes a huge difference to sound quality of their amp. Ignoring the standard socket and thousands of feet of bog standard wire between the substation, fuse box, and the wall socket it’s plugged into. Lol.
Couple of snaps of some of the standout performers in no particular order, at least to my ear.
king rooms. Was a similar sausage fest, to be expected.Not an audiophile at all but was interested to hear what really high end audio sounds like. To reset my reference point if you like. They had many setups easily into the several hundreds of thousands of dollars on the go and yes, they sounded fabulous. What stood out was the clarity and detail in the sound, but also how effortless, yet powerful and tight the bass was, without any seeming detriment to the higher frequencies. But overall it was their ability to seemingly “disappear”, and just fill the room. Quite remarkable. Although they all pretty much blended into one after a time. Especially as there was no consistency in the music being played between demonstrations, so impossible to compare. They made all music sound great though, even music that’s not to my taste was a pleasure to listen to.
There was also a plethora of comedy power cords, conditioners, and interconnect vendors hawking their snake oil. Bold claims that a 5grand 6ft ultra shielded power cord somehow makes a huge difference to sound quality of their amp. Ignoring the standard socket and thousands of feet of bog standard wire between the substation, fuse box, and the wall socket it’s plugged into. Lol.
Couple of snaps of some of the standout performers in no particular order, at least to my ear.
Edited by dvs_dave on Sunday 23 April 03:19
Yes, very.
In the ones we have worked, we ended up installing professional sound blankets that my business partner uses in rooms when doing sound recordings.
How anyone can truely enjoy or appreciate the performance I'll never know.
Stopped doing them now, because you can't truely make them sound good.
In the ones we have worked, we ended up installing professional sound blankets that my business partner uses in rooms when doing sound recordings.
How anyone can truely enjoy or appreciate the performance I'll never know.
Stopped doing them now, because you can't truely make them sound good.
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