Thank you for the lovely conclusion. We also enjoyed the show, and founds lots to consider.

I wholeheartedly agree with you about the ultra-luxury emphasis, but understand it from the business POV. These shows are still aimed at the serious money buyer, and they pay the bills.

But, just as one could purchase an entry level sports car at an affordable price, most things seem to have jumped the first time buyer. Because I chose a career as an art professor and unlike the movies, most of us didn’t have a lot of disposable income for stereo equipment, so we were forced to consider more humble gear, used equipment, or build it yourself kits. Add marriage or kids, and whatever discretionary income we pretended we had was greatly reduced. Mind you I did have colleagues with trust funds, sports cars, grand homes, and more, but most of the audiophiles I met growing up were more similar to me, loving the hobby, but looking for the Dynaco and Advent speaker combo we would afford. Even then a McIntosh Amp was big bucks.

One thing that allowed us grace were the smaller purchases, namely music. So, while maybe we didn’t have a fancy set of speakers, were able to buy maybe a hundred LPs, an album at a time being the prize. I do think that this is the golden age for audio, never before have we had so many incredible pieces of gear for so little money, so much music at resolutions and quality we could have only dreamed of, for a pittance. I’m amazed at what as fifty dollar USB DAC can do, coupled with some good headphones, and Qobuz, for a couple of hundred bucks total, it’s an amazing time to be alive in audio!

To support your comment further, I remember shows where they had budget gear competitions, and the rooms were packed, absolutely standing room only. So, it’s clear the interest is there. It might be that conventional audio shows aren’t the place for this. Hence the success of shows like CanJam, even if they do include stratospheric systems at times. I did see many examples of great, affordable gear at CAF, folks like ELAC, Triangle Audio, Geshelli Labs, and many more had great rooms.

Keep up the great work!

Harris Fogel
Mac Edition Radio
Copper Magazine

Mike,

Same. I can’t stand the music being played. Shudder.

IW

I witness the same thing every year at the Montréal show. With a few exceptions affordable audio gear sits idle on a table while they demo gear that 99% of attendees can’t afford.
The music is mostly curated audiophile drivel designed to make the gear sound good and not real music for real people that listen in real world conditions. That being said…as many I still look forward to attending every year. Partly out of habit and love for the hobby but also for the few rare refreshing finds and NOT for the Kodo drum music being played on $500,000.00 of Nagra gear.

To all concerned – If you ask a vendor/representative of a company to play a song and they say no because it is a favorite of yours or because they say it’s been played to much and you need to hear gnu music instead because “familiarity breeds contempt”?

Pfffft!

Your soundtrack is very familiar to you. In truth, familiarity does NOT breed contempt. It gives comfort. I usually ask for my favorite song of all, “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love” by The Spinners and one my favorite rock songs, “Sin’s A Good Man’s Brother” By Grand Funk Railroad.

I would elaborate on these two songs but I do not wish to bore you. I am familiar with them because they are a part of my life’s soundtrack. Not theirs. Mine. If someone is playing a song that does nothing for me, I am polite and wait my turn but if the music is anything but “music” to me, I just leave and if possible return later.

Do not take it personal unless it is obviously so and then just leave. Do not make more of some thing or some one until it/they have been prove to be worthy of you doing so.

As my mother taught me, too many people (especially so these days!) are looking everywhere to be offended.

Except the mirror.

Oh. And never forget that the Doobie Brothers sang, “Listen To The Music” NOT listen to the equipment.

ORT

Noah,

The brands that sell $100K speakers or turntables only have to sell so many of them to remain in business. I don’t see that as a viable long-term business model but that’s just me.

I think the problem with the shows is that they don’t expose new people to the reality that a lot of affordable high-end equipment actually exists and a lot of it is rather good.

Q Acoustics, SVS, Geshelli, NAD, PSB, Bluesound, Cambridge, Rega, Pro-Ject, Triangle, Magnepan, Emotiva, WiiM Audio, Schiit Audio, and others have some great options for consumers at almost every price point.

Do you need to spend $20K for a really good system in 2023? No. There are some excellent wireless options that one can add a turntable or CD player to and you’re done.

Focus on finding an amplifier and pair of speakers first. Digital sources have become much more affordable and you don’t need to spend $5K on a VPI to enjoy vinyl playback.

Best,

Ian White

ORT,

I walked into one of the biggest ballrooms with a $200,000K system and walked out. I’ve heard some of the components before and I had zero interest in hearing that mix of gear because I knew that it did not offer $200K worth of playback quality.

That doesn’t make expensive components bad. The Unison Simply 845 is $9,995. That’s not very affordable but the sound quality was superb. I sat and listened to 5 songs and started debating selling one of my kids to order one.

There were some serious hippies at this show. Mostly dinosaurs.

IW

None of it makes any sense anymore because of streaming. They have access to almost everything and in hi-res formats. If you walk into a room and they look at you sideways when you request something — that might be a sign that they don’t want you to hear certain types of tracks that will illuminate some warts.

At CAF, someone requested a pop artist that shall remain nameless in the Zu room and they played it. And it showcased how good their system can sound. Smart move.

Best,

Ian White

Marlie,

They are playing music for older men who have been their base for decades. Some of the companies won’t play anything that might illuminate any warts. I’ve had exhibitors put on a CD or record and turn it off in the middle of the track because they didn’t like it or the sound quality.

Companies spend a lot of money on shows and it used to be the policy that they only played music that they hand-selected to show off the performance quality of the system.

Streaming changed that because one has access to everything. The weirdest moment is when a potential customer asks if they can listen to a specific track and you say “sorry” or “we don’t have that one.”

Some brands like Zu Audio do the opposite. They turn their room into a massive party and play a lot of really interesting music. I can spend hours in their room.

If you walk into a room and they are using a streamer, don’t be afraid to ask them to play something you want to hear. Listening to audiophile recordings that you will never own doesn’t help you make an educated buying decision.

Best,

Ian White

Jerry, totally agree about the bad music at AXPONA last year! which makes the experience insufferable. Sigh.