Worth Going to 'THE SHOW' IN NYC IN APRIL

It will be worth it, you will see lots of the big players, lots of smaller outfits, hear gear of modest to extreme price and even be able to buy some music if you wish. You might squeeze in all you want to see in one day but probably not.

The last Stereophile show in NYC was worth it, but many exhibitors said they would not be back because of extraordinary costs mainly of labor union requirements for the load in. Hope it's not true. We need a significant audio show in NYC.

Hard to say at this point. It is awfully depressing to see so little interest from major companies with only two months to go. How do they expect patrons to make plans and book reservations when the list is so underwhelming?

Does not speak well for the organizers or the industry.

I have been to NY several times in the Spring, a beautiful time to go BTW.

Waldorf is solid 4-star hotel and it should be pretty kneat there. However the smaller list indicates the number of manufacturers and dealers that can afford to run the show in Waldorf.

Who knows, it may be your last chance to be insulted by Andy Singer. That's worth a couple of subway tokens.

Buconero,
I would check the Attendees list for 'who's' going to be showing.
That's a good indicator.
Sometimes the lesser attended shows give one more opportunities to meet and listen.

Good luck...how have you been???

Larry

If someone is interested, I can share a room at the Radisson (across the street from the Waldorf). Your cost would be $100.00. Room will have two single beds.

disappointing does not equal not worth it.

the decision to go may depend upon who is exhibiting.

At the last Stereophile show I had a conversation with Andy Singer about his demo. He knew I wasn't a potential customer but was friendly and informative as could be.

Can someone post a link to the show site. I can't find it anywhere. TIA.

http://www.theshownewyork.com/

Here is a more direct link:

http://www.chestergroup.org/index.php/new-a-announcements/45-new-york-audio-a-av-show-12

Theduke(audiokinessis?), probably Andy knows you personally.
I plan to put $600 shoes with the rest of designer clothes to visit his place on April 1st and ask for inexpensive and affordable cartridge at his store to see the reaction.

.NO!

Huh, harder to find than you might have thought. But this appears to be it.

I'll be there regardless of the show quality. It's the preeminent show for us on the East Coast right now. At any rate, I followed the link that Mezmo kindly provided, and the exhibitor list looks very good, actually.

Exhibitor list has some major quality. I'm in.

Great rooms a wonderful hotel great vendors .

How does this compare to the RMAF?

Thx, Mezmo. I will be there as well, probably Saturday or maybe Friday and Saturday. Anyone want to get together for a beverage?

HIGH WATER SOUND will be there and will have a wonderful sounding room with plenty of LPs.

Mezmo thanks for the link.
April in Manhattan,SETs and Horns.WOW !!
A lot to see and hear but I will be mostly hanging at High Water Sound.
See you there

RAMF is #1.

Swampwalker, "I will be there as well, probably Saturday or maybe Friday and Saturday. Anyone want to get together for a beverage?"

I should be there Friday, Michael, and hope to see you again there. First drink's on me...

Marakanetz:
No, I'm not audiokinessis.
Really, Andy was approachable, friendly, and conversational.

I am just a fifty minute train ride away, so plan to attend at least two days. I would be happy to meet and buy a round.

Planning on Saturday (a local boy, so no excuses). Would love to meet up and sponsor a round -- although sounds like we're growing towards a potentially dangerous number of rounds.... Not that there's anything wrong with that, as they say.

OK, so how do we hook up? Mezmo- You're a local boy, where's a good watering hole?

I plan on going and think it would be great to meet & buy a round.

There's the hotel bar, of course, but I don't fancy $13 for a glass of wine or $9 for a pint. I'm in NYC at least two days per week but never in that area.
Does anyone know of a local (reasonably priced) bar (like an Irish pub, say) nearby where we can all hook-up Saturday around 6;00pm?

Any foodies among us audiophiles?
Nyc tops most cities in food variety and quality.
A lot of good places and not too expensive, cheaper than the speakers that'll be displayed at the show.

NYC show was wonderful!!Dudes.

I did attend on Saturday. I had most enjoyed the Lloyd Walker room. A very gracious fellow.

Here's my notes - taken on my phone from Friday, so short and brief.

YG Acoustics (big ones) - pa speakers! Forward and not nuanced

Sony - veiled

Wilson Sasha/vVTL- nice, dynamic, open , diacordant, not well integrated

Scaena- not integratwd, hole in upper mids

KEF Blades on koto drum track - nice but give me something real, on regular music very nice and integrated in a big crowded room. Bigger than life but pretty and dynamic. Bass is still detached and overloading the room

MBL - awesome. Cohesive, dynamic, detailed. Not overly loud but still port bass boom

Gradient - best sound so far, cohesive, live, full range, very nice amd dynamic, soind very big for their size

Woo audio - headphones, probably best sound at the show

Veloce and little YG's7 sounds much better than the big YG's but a bit congested and not full range

Quad 58s- sometimes its easy to say it has all been done before and its not better, just dfferent. I don't think there was anything in this room that was lass than 20 years old.

TAD - no bass, toppy high end. Crappy am radio sound. Probably the worst soound at the show.

The Clue bookshelf speakers - $999 and they are phenominal, against the wall, cohesive and dynamic and awesome I want a pair of these.

Singer Verity VAC (big system) - balanced nice on cd and spectacular on hi rez apl for about $100k, then a second system of Kudas (?) speakers and Dart Zeel integrated for about half that (small system) which sounded dynamically constrained but still more cohesive than most so far if a bit flat

Amphion Hegel - nice and open if a bit horny in the tweeter and tippy on the top end and needs a sub

Harbeths - somewhat flat and non dynamic. Not what I thought Harbeths should sound like

Robert Lighton speakers and electronics - ok bit nothing spectacular. Rather home made look and not fully finished. Also somewhat closed in and typical small tweeter and big woofer sound with a hole.

Walker Burmeister - a bit tame and over controlled but nice

Davinci Wilson Sasha Pass - might be some of the best sound at the show but still a bit congested on complex stuff

Red Wine - great synergy between all components and speakers, playing up with the best I heard

Hansen Redpoint - Wes always makes sure thing sound good, dynamic and balanced

Soundsmith on a big VPI HRX w/ Firefly bookshelf speakers - dynamic and natural. Very very sweet. Not a tube in sight but wow tube sound.

GF Audio - panels and self powered cone woofers. Sound nice but looks raw for only $2750 pair and awesome at 3 times the price. Someone just buy these.

Audio Note - boxy and closed in sound.

Arum Cantus Speakers, Avid tube amps, VPI classic 4 (new tt) - big and dynamic and beautiful in 3 speaker sound (yup there was a center channel speaker too). Awesome.

Small but good. Wish more NYC dealers would have supported the show but times are tough. Thanks to Innovative, Sound By Singer, Wes Bender Studios and High Water Sound
Best of show cost no object---MBL (always too loud with over loaded bottom, but still, after subtracting room issues--A+). Runner up Scanea/Conrad Johnson/Kronos/SME/AMR/DCS. Second runner up YG Acoustics/Soulution/Brinkmann/Airtight (smaller YG acoustic speaker setup in a separate room also impressed).
All others:
Tie: Gradient room;Verity Audio with VAC and Playback Designs(Singer); Walker/Burmester; Wilson,VTL,DCS(Innovative);Hansen,Viola,Redpoint (Wes Bender);TAD,Viola, Weiss, Bricasti (ok day 1, great day 2)
Best bargain:
VAS,VPI, Aurum Cantus
Coolest room with great sound that defied all categorization:
Reconditioned Quads with amps and cartridges(stereo and mono) by Miyajima, Oswald Mills Audio turntable with Schick arms, Charles King/Levinson preamp (appeared rebuilt/modified) all from Robyatt Audio. I went back to this room 4 times. Could not get enough.
Coolest new item:
Audio Desk Systeme Glass record cleaner (available from the Cable Co). This baby is compact and cleans quietly, ultrasonically and with a built in with squeegee to control liquid flow so the label stays dry. It cleans and dries both sides simultaneously. It dries by blowing cool air on both sides of the record instead of vacuuming. Fremer to write up shortly.

I am soooooooo glad I came to this show it was well worth it. It was good to see a big turn out so that we can keep this nyc show going.
I thought the best rooms were
MBL
sound smith
gradient helsinki
hansen
wilson
the clue
and harbeths at the gradient room.
I am sad to see few threads or replies on this events posts.
Also I hope they keep it at the waldorf its a classy place and that we don't have to wait years for the next show.
Anyone know if they plan on coming next year, I asked last year and they told me it was on for this year and voila they kept their promise.
Cross your fingers lets keep this alive.

I attended the show on Friday as well. Though I was worried about the abbreviated show hours, Friday seemed like the best compromise. Saturday looked like it could turn into an absolute mob scene. By Sunday exhibitors are drained, want to go home, and look to break their setups down.

The absolutely glorious weather in NYC made the walk over from the Port Authority a nice affair. If you looked at the long but relatively quick moving line waiting to register at the start of the show you might guess this was the male wing of an AARP event. Thankfully, I did see some closer to my age as well as a couple of women as the day passed.

My regrets in missing Soundsmith, Wilson Sasha, and MBL, though the latter routinely disappoints me at shows as sounding nowhere as interesting as their components look. I spent time in the Woo Audio rooms, which folks seem enthusiastic about. But since I don't care for headphones, and didn't even spend a second listening, I can't say anything about the sound.

Dan D'Agostino presided over a static display of his gorgeous amplifiers. Too bad they didn't play music. I can't wait to see the herd follow the latest aesthetic from the man who has done more to set the visual cue of high-end audio than anyone of the past generation. Dan's gift in terms of visual creativity has always reminded me of the Wayne Gretzky quote as to how he could be the best hockey player when he wasn't big, fast, strong, physical, intimidating, vocal, mean-spirited, possessing of a hard or accurate shot, etc., "Most people skate to where the puck is. I skate to where the puck is going."

One of the truly good people in this hobby, Robert Stein of The Cable Company, hosted a nice room full of his tweaks.

I agree with Ptmconsulting on the Kef Blade demonstration. Reminded me of those sound effects LPs popular in a bygone era. I wished for a bit of real music to provide some actual sonic insight. Can't say I would have disliked the sound, but I can't say if I liked it, either. I guess I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now.

A few rooms stood out to me as poor sounding:
1) Audio Note. Put a gun to my head, and I'll tell you I consider Audio Note maker of the best sounding high-end audio components. I even own an Audio Note CD player whose sound I find noteworthy.

They were in two rooms, one featuring their speakers, the other with the Robert Lighton. Unlike what I've heard from Audio Note at RMAF and VTV as well as a dealer I know, both sounded lousy Friday afternoon. Thin, harsh, digital sound with no redeeming qualities.

I will say the Lighton speakers look beautiful. I have absolutely no idea why I find them evocative of the Gershman Opera Sauvage, yet with an elegance of finish three steps above. Since they fit well to my tastes from a visual perspective, I do hope they sound better than they showed Friday

2) VAC/Verity. Another room with two brands I'm a huge fan of, yet with tremendously amusical sound. Some might be taken aback by my statement, but hats off to a most gracious and accommodating Andy Singer, who I spoke with for a good 30 minutes

3) Zellaton. Quite artificial sounding. We'll cut them some slack as it was still early, and perhaps they had not yet figured out the room

4) Hegel. Dull as dishwater. Not really sure what anyone sees or hears in this stuff

Rooms I liked:
1) Miyajima OTL/Quad. !!! BEST SOUND OF SHOW !!! Robin Wyatt did a masterful job in assembling a system that could channel a performer, and place them right there with us in that Waldorf Astoria room.

Listening to the Quad ESL57, I'm in the camp that wonders what improvement in loudspeakers has occurred over the past five and a half decades. People continue spending tens of thousands of dollars on speakers that sound awful when they could put music in their home ala the ESL57 at quite modest cost. Not sure how the amps do on their own, but this system easily provided the best sound I've ever heard from OTL amplification

2) Highwater Sound. What's to say, other than Jeff Catalano has always had the gift of producing music at an audio show? Possessing a solidity all but absent in high-end audio, though decidedly a speaker first guy, I'll credit the TW Acustic Raven table. Kudos to Jeff for playing good music, at appropriate (read non-Geritol/constipated audiophile) volumes

3) Veloce. Call me a fan of the rich, full-bodied, powerful presentation. Mark Conti and Vytas Viesulas produce some of the more interesting and creative amplification in the industry today. To my ear, better sound with a lower-end YG loudspeaker than YG's own room, which I also found not too shabby

4) Walker. Lloyd did an excellent job of getting the most out of the otherwise Burmester system. Though Walker gear normally highlights openness, clarity, and the retrieval of detail, this sound tended toward liquidity, warmth, and power

5) VPI. The new Classic 4 and Traveler turntables look promising, and should continue to build market share for the company. I think it's time to upgrade my Classic TT to a tonearm with VPI on the fly. My condolences to Harry and Matthew in regard to Sheila. The company's future looks bright with Matthew taking an increasingly important role in the operation. Unlike most Chinese operations, especially, these days, Cayin has an excellent front man in Steve Leung. Thanks to Roy Hall for sharing a belt of the Scottish gold

6) Kaiser Vivace. Exceptionally good sound from the attractively elegant loudspeakers from Germany

7) Sony. Nice to finally hear the Sony loudspeakers, which I expected to be a bit larger than I found out. I've seen comments regarding their dark nature. In my opinion, I feel they passed the inherent lushness of the Pass Labs amps on with proper measure

8) Scaena. I've long felt interested in hearing these curious looking speakers. My guess would have been the sound would not match their looks. Glad to write my suspicions proved wrong

Just a note for anyone interested -- I'm the tri-state dealer for The Clue, and agree with all that it's a phenomenal speaker, and a game changer at its price. Hope I'm not speaking out of turn here.

robert @ outreachav . com

Where's Ralph?

He's always good for a little self promotion and/or a white paper.

All of course under the guise of information provision.

Yeah right.

show was somewhat disappointing, except for the robyatt room with the quad 57's.

i can honestly say i would not want to own any system i heard in the rooms i visited with the exception of the room with the quad 57's.

however, kudos to berning's mono amps and preamp and the clue, although its placement constraints could pose a challenge to attain optimal sound and achieve the bass response i heard.

I fully agree with Mrtennis (!) I did like the Quad room, also Lloyd Walker's room! I was mainly hoping to see a nice SET/Horn setup, but alas...

When is the next nyc show??

The Chester Group sent me an email indicating that they had entered into a long term agreement with the Waldorf for an annual NY audio show. Hope it's true. Thought the show was very good. Hope the dealers did well with it. Could be better next year if more local dealers in the area would participate.

i think the show would be more interesting if there was greater participation from manufacturers and less dealer representation.

there are were many good products that were not present at the show, such as audio research, magnepan and martin logan, specifically the clx, as well as analysis audio, roger sanders electrostatic hybrid, aesthetix, and others.

Yes-that too. Regarding the NY show, I believe all of these manufacturers have dealers in the area (NY/NJ/Conn) who can put together a display including any of the above manufacturers' wares if the manufacturers share enough of the cost. I don't know enough about the percentages traditionally paid by dealers and manufacturers to display at a show, but as for NY (versus, say Rocky Mountain), the dealers for most major manufacturers (and many smaller manufacturers) are a short truck drive away, have the goods and know what to pair it up with and how. I believe the effort should be made by both the dealers and manufacturers to bring it all to one location---the Waldorf. Of course, after parties like the one at Innovative Audio are also a great idea.