What HiFi Show Bangalore

I went to the show today afternoon and its DEFINITELY NOT the place to go and enjoy/audition some setups. Total chaos, people talking while a demo is going on, cell phone rings etc etc.I was thrown out of some of the demo rooms when a "VIP" comes in for demo. Total waste of time.

Here are the rooms I liked in the 6th floor. Everything else was not worthy a visit.

1. PMC
2. Invention Audio. I think the value for money offered is very impressive.
3. Harbeths
4. Sonus Faber

One of the major let down was the new KEF reference series speaker, with top of the line costing 15L. It was so painfully bright (for my ears may be), that I had to run out of the room in less than a minute. Not sure if it was the speakers / associated equipment, but a total disappointment.

Finished the whole "show" in less than 2 hours. Thought of spending the whole day, but was not worth at all!

-John.
 
HI Fms's

Just returned from Show.Since this is my first show and not very Bad. I missed to carry CD's to play my fav tracks.It was crowded a bit but not Much.

PMC and Dynaudio were rocking out of Stereo and Genlac HT was good.Other brands were not matched well i believe since Sonus Faber,Focal,Harbeth (Pared with tubes) were not singing well.

Evey stall were focusing to sell and set up only the Home theater with Atmos and klipsch Were having the ATMOS speakers as well.

Who ever enter the room the ATMOS sample tracks were played in screen.

Only Harbeth,PMC,Marantz paired with a Italian Speakers(forgot the brand) sounded fair also good, and not miss.

Out of whole Exhibitors Harbeth ,PMC (Monitors only)and Marantz are knowledgeable spending some time with the Visitors,that the reason No much crowd in their stalls.
 
Dali and wharfedales were missing in the show. Not sure why.
it was Focal everywhere may be because DNI is sponsoring the show..

I got a chance to listen sonodyne avant T1 FS in white finish wih sonodyne amp. I just couldn't understand why it is priced 75k for pair. At least it just couldn't justify that price by the performance.

Agree with the previous posts that the demo room was so noisy wih people chatting and phones etc.
 
I went with low expectations so wasn't too bad. Liked the Harbreth, sonus faber and aero demos. I was a bit disappointed at the genelecs. I thought there would be a bit more variety like headphones, acoustic , music sources.
 
biggest thing that baffled me was why some people came with wives and kids. I was like hello !! Its not a family picnic place dude. whats effing wrong with the world.

Regarding people talking during demo etc thats a sad state of affairs these days. Nobody has respect for the audio visual medium in general. Take multiplexes itself tell me if there ever was a single screening recently when any of you was not annoyed by ppl talking on phone / commenting in silent scenes / showing off their status on FB/twitter in turn lighting up the entire theatre with their mobile displays. Thats the reason why people like us value home theatres and the solitude driven heaven that comes with it.
 
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biggest thing that baffled me was why some people came with wives and kids. I was like hello !! Its not a family picnic place dude. whats effing wrong with the world.

Regarding people talking during demo etc thats a sad state of affairs these days. Nobody has respect for the audio visual medium in general. Take multiplexes itself tell me if there ever was a single screening recently when any of you was not annoyed by ppl talking on phone / commenting in silent scenes / showing off their status on FB/twitter in turn lighting up the entire theatre with their mobile displays. Thats the reason why people like us value home theatres and the solitude driven heaven that comes with it.

Totally agree.

I will have to say that the 2 HFV meets I attended (one in Chennai and second one in Bangalore) so far were FAR MORE informative, engaging and entertaining.

Really looking forward for the next HFV meet :rolleyes:

-John.
 
I went on the first day at about 5 pm. Spent a couple of interesting hours !
Like ALL hi-fi shows ( even the dedicated RMAF at Denver ) this one suffers from acoustic issues. Even very highly regarded systems could sound just 'ordinary' and maybe even 'bad' ! They can't set them up in 'ideal' conditions in a hotel room with so many noisy people in them. You will find a lot of visitors to such shows globally always complaining of "how bad everything sounds" in the hotel rooms !

BUT we do get to see what all models are available currently and maybe get to see what 'potential' they have. Some systems were really poor and it's funny how after so many years of development they still haven't got it right !

When I went, there weren't too many people. So the first day is the BEST day to visit. I could even talk to the people but no techies around. Just marketing guys with typical marketing blurb of which some were really funny !

The HT setup was all about boom, bang, bust ! Nothing new there. But I must say the Pioneer HT amps do have good slam when playing action movies. Their new generation HT amps with a classD power stage do sound impressive. None of the others came close either due to movie selection or pairing with speakers or maybe even just the setup.

I got to hear some known tracks on a pair of Elac speakers which did sound very good. Pity I didn't carry my test music disc which I usually do to every hi-fi show I go to. Dali was there too along with Jamo. Apparently the Jamo open Baffle 909 (?) is on (working) display at their show room. I will check that out next time.

Atmos isn't worth it till they have enough recordings with that available. Paying a premium now at the introduction stage is a waste. Besides all the effects pale in comparison to really good stereo music ! While most HT systems produced a lot of LF with the sub's , something in the bass was missing ! Looked like the region around 30 to 60 Hz was subdued. Phase cancellation ...room resonance effects ? Maybe.

Anyway it's always worth visiting these shows as we get to see all the stuff in one place. Then you can decided which ones to audition at the showroom later on. A pre-evaluation filter ! :)

I didn't see anyone mention the 2.6crore speakers !
Didn't see it ? It was in the ballroom on the ground floor. A HUGE pair of Focal speakers. A giant version of what they had in their demo room on the 6th floor. these had golden coloured sides . Someone said it was gold plated ! Did the air particles move smoother with the gold plating ? Bit it was a whopping Rs 1,29,99,000/- EACH ! The Focals on the 6th floor were better set up !
There weren't too many people there and we got to pick the tracks we wanted to hear. One was the first few tracks from The Wall ( Pink Flyod ). I have heard this so many times over the years at very loud ( pleasurable) listening levels that it's hard wired (!) into my brain.

The Focals didn't have the slam or bass weight that I'm used to . The one with the helicopter should have had tremendous energy and the crash that comes after that should give you goose pimples ! It was missing ! The amps were two huge McIntosh mono blocks ! Could the room be too big ? Don't know what , but the demo reduced it's real value to about Rs 12,999/- ! :) Besides it's size was enough for you to get an instant divorce at home ! ;)

BUT I was glad I went for the show. In spite of the disappointment with the sound in many rooms ( which I did expect!) I will still go for other shows ( like in Chennai next !) as no two shows 'sound' alike. And sometimes you do come across something that really interests you. Just for that it's worth it !
Cheers.

For those who want to hear their own music, make a compilation on your own CD AND USB drive. However in some shows abroad most guys play off a HDD or some networking system and so often a CD wouldn't help. A USB drive probably has a better chance of being useable. I can see that this is slowly happening here also.
 
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Thank God I didn't go then...sounds bad

I don't know if I should say this, but I went from Mumbai & I liked the show a lot.
It was superb.
Excellent Location - Ritz Carlton Hotel.
Great Room.
Super Demo.
Super Gear on display.
In the Basement / Ball Rooms / 6th Floor Room.
All you need to do is go with your own CD's & request for a demo & ask
questions. People are there to answer them.
Show interest & you will be treated with respect.
That is my suggestion...:licklips:
 
I am in Bangalore and I am planning to go on 30th. In fact, I am invited by the new distributor for Rega . I understand they have only have the base models for the show.

OMG - I must have missed that;
My loss.
I just returned from the Show & I did not see any Rega @ the Show.
I am sure it must have been well connected & played well.
It is a 'serious' British Audio maker.
Do report with pics if you went & herd it.
Please.
Will be appreciated.:)
 
I am attending the show now. It is surely not a place to demo.
Have visited mostly all rooms in 6th floor.
Sir,
I was on the 6th floor in Room # 624.
Elac & Hagel.
If you would have come, I was there.
I was explaining all things to all people that visited.
We had all products marked - model # & Specs.
Prices too were on hand in a file on the table.
All you had to do was get your CD & ask for music to be
played.
Heard it & had an opinion on the sound.
Good / Bad / Could have been better all comments are welcome.
However, music is a must - cause if you don't get your CD's you will not know what you are hearing & then to form an opinion gets rather difficult - imho.
All said, the main thing was you came & that is important.
Experience the Show.
Support the industry.
These things are good...
 
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This is me in the Reviera Room with Mr. Piyush.
The McIntosh & Sonus Faber Amati Futura sounded fabulous.
The Cables were all Oyaide from Japan.
DAC was from Wadia - USA.
This was a 50 + Lac audio set up for 2 channel & I really liked the sound.
 
This was the Absolute Phase Audio Room.
Superbly set up by Mr. Prithvi Vedpathak.
A professional.
The Room has an Esoteric SACD Player.
Conrad Johnson Pre & Power with Linn Cables.
Harbeth Speakers.
Again a Rs. 40/- ++ Lacs Audio Set up.
Superb Sound. I liked it a lot.
Serious.
Also Mr. PV gave super demo's
Excellent coice of music.
I was very satisfied with the performance of the
Speaker & Electronics etc. that played will in the Ritz Carlton Room.
28wdkbk.jpg
 
I didn't see anyone mention the 2.6crore speakers !
Didn't see it ? It was in the ballroom on the ground floor. A HUGE pair of Focal speakers. A giant version of what they had in their demo room on the 6th floor. these had golden coloured sides . Someone said it was gold plated ! Did the air particles move smoother with the gold plating ? Bit it was a whopping Rs 1,29,99,000/- EACH ! The Focals on the 6th floor were better set up !
There weren't too many people there and we got to pick the tracks we wanted to hear. One was the first few tracks from The Wall ( Pink Flyod ). I have heard this so many times over the years at very loud ( pleasurable) listening levels that it's hard wired (!) into my brain.

the recording of The wall they were using was a horrible recording.We changed it to a Stockfisch CD from there own collection and it sounded really amazing.
the problem here is that it is a very revealing setup..play a bad recording and it sounds worse than in lesser setups. But play a good recording and it sounds amazing
 
This is a picture of the Genelec Room.
The India head Mr. Prashant Damle was kind enough to give me the chance of a picture with him.
Good Set Up. Lots of audio gear on demo.
All connected & all could get played.
25qzvnk.jpg

Great Demo was being provided.
 
This is me in the Reviera Room with Mr. Piyush.
The McIntosh & Sonus Faber Amati Futura sounded fabulous.
The Cables were all Oyaide from Japan.
DAC was from Wadia - USA.
This was a 50 + Lac audio set up for 2 channel & I really liked the sound.

I was there today. I thought the Elac/Harbeth and Sonus Faber + Mac Rooms were really well setup

All the above rooms and folks manning it were really very open and friendly too ..and that was very nice.

The harbeths had a great sound very smooth and relaxing. really liked it. and very well setup too.

On the track we heard (was with Santosh/Rajiv and a few other FMs) this cold have sounded much better but on a later track really opened put..maybe recording quality again had a say here

The KEF blade is a really nice speaker but the setup/room was not great..but still it is obviously a really revealing speaker which needs to be setup very carefully.
 
I was there today. I thought the Elac/Harbeth and Sonus Faber + Mac Rooms were really well setup

Sir,
When I mentioned I was to come to Bangalore - you said you were travelling, so we could not met.
I made it a point to visit a few audiophile residences, it would have been great to meet you & listen to your set up too.
I was in Bangalore from Wednesday.
Staxx / Shiva / Jayant / ARN / The Listening Room etc. I made it a point to go to all those places [trust me it is really far - so many of them] !
I would have visited you too...
9hi329.jpg

This is a Pic of Sridhar & his new 'pet loudspeaker' !
Nice.
I liked it.
 
OMG - I must have missed that;
My loss.
I just returned from the Show & I did not see any Rega @ the Show.
I am sure it must have been well connected & played well.
It is a 'serious' British Audio maker.
Do report with pics if you went & herd it.
Please.
Will be appreciated.:)


Only the Rega turntables were on display and they were also not hooked up. They were in the Audio Planet room
 
the recording of The wall they were using was a horrible recording.

This is possible. It was a paper sleeve type cover but I didn't think that it could have been a poor disc. I'm sure under the right conditions the speakers should sound quite good. The designers wouldn't leave that to chance at that price point.
I recently heard some new generation Focal speakers at a Focal dealer. Great sound. Much smaller than these of course but similar styling and it was all black.

Often there are so many variables that it's sometimes hard to set it right under certain conditions. I heard a pair of Legacy speakers that were as tall as these Focals. Source was vinyl. The sound was superb. Room was about half the length as the one where the Focal was. Width was similar. Speakers also located at about the same place. They were WMTMW's.

In any case it was a great show. I enjoy spending time listening to all the new equipment that keeps coming constantly. It doesn't really matter if something didn't sound so great. I wouldn't ask for a special demo of the large Focals ( set perfectly !) as I couldn't possibly afford them in any case.
Just that I have heard many other reasonably large speakers like Eggleston which did sound great in a not so great setting. But then again , I guess something could have been done if they had time and a proper location.

Lot of people seemed to have enjoyed the show. It keeps the interest up and helps the industry and when the time is right we find something new to pick up ! Wish they were selling CD's and vinyl too ! The show would be a trigger to pick up some new music ! They should keep mostly well known well recorded albums and covering a large range of types of music.

Maybe What Hi-Fi should organise package deals for music. Buy 20 CD's or vinyl at one time at 50% off ! :D
 
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