Dublin High End Show

[Diapason]

I agree with a huge amount of that, Rocker, and while I accept the fact you can't please everyone, I don't think we need to hear Take Five for the 700th time either. Of course, at least with jazz you feel like you've some touchstones to work with, so that puts it above the music being played in the SOTA Kharma room at the Cloney show every time I was in that room. Surely variety is the key here, and you don't need to plumb the depths of grungy recordings to do that either. There are lots of examples of good recordings in all genres, so it should be easily possible.

Of course, I'm not sure the free-for-all approach works either. I find it frustrating to be a show where somebody wants to play through a backpack of their CDs, all of which are well-known, none of which sound any good at all. I'm not interested really in hearing what systems sound like playing shite recordings, especially somebody else's shite recordings!!

[Derek]

but what about the disks you have that have poor sound quality yet the music is good enough to ignore the ropey recording?

I have tons of this and it doesn't interfere with my enjoyment, but I do at times wish there were some better recordings available to me.

[jaybee]

I know that music is personal, one mans meat is anothers poison and all that, but why are we subjected to endless jazz at hi-fi shows? Now I like the occasional bit of jazz but there is so much good music out there, it is selling the equipment short to only play music, which I expect would sound good in a car stereo, through a full range system. Well recorded 'demo' music will sound good on most systems but what about the disks you have that have poor sound quality yet the music is good enough to ignore the ropey recording? The bottom line has to be the music and not the recording quality. The equipment itself is only a means to an end [which is the replay of the music] though shows suggest otherwise. Equipment envy!!!!

I asked for some rock music in the dCS room and after a search the guy found a Dire Strats CD. He played 'walk of life' and it sounded poor enough, grainy to my ears and not the least bit enjoyable. By chance on the way home Radio NOVA played 'walk of life' and it sounded better and more enjoyable on the car stereo than through a £50K+ high end stereo system. Something is wrong here me thinks. Somebody has lost the plot somewhere. I know, I know that it is unfair to audition any kit in a show environment and it might sound wonderful in my music room, but.... It looks great to be sure but I would have expected popular music like Dire Straits to sound amazing when played through a system like that. And as it did not, then I can only wonder why?

many years ago one of the old-school writers for HFNRR wrote a slightly tongue in cheek piece about music vs hi-fi and how mono was the ultimate...

I remember well his position that the best sound in the world can be on a mono radio in your kitchen... It stuck with me as an image....

Useful as a bit of grounding, especially with the exponential decline in joy that the new shiny box brings with age... I'm sure the price of ones system affects the size of the decay constant!!

[jaybee]

but what about the disks you have that have poor sound quality yet the music is good enough to ignore the ropey recording?

I have tons of this and it doesn't interfere with my enjoyment, but I do at times wish there were some better recordings available to me.

modern or vintage?

[tony]

Agree with all Rocker and Haystacks comments. I would love to play something different even if poorly recorded just to try and get a benchmark of the quality of the sound. I find the environment of a show a bit intimadating and I wouldnt be the shy type. Maybe some of this relates to the fact I wasnt purchasing so felt like a tyre kicker.

Whatever about take five my heart drops when Pink Flyod are rolled out. Get me outta there quick I would prefer some off beat cajun tex mex with weird female vocalist with three ears that sounds unusually amazing on first listen.

[Claus]

What I would like is someone actually demoing the equipment by giving a brief rundown of components, then playing some examples of music in all genres and explaining what they think that system does well on each piece of music. Choral music is nearly never played and I did not hear a single symphony played either(!!??) And as Alan Sircom said why no modern rock/pop music? I did not bring my own music after an experience where someone got out of their seat and ripped my cd out of the machine, saying "this recording is just too shite for me to listen to!"

[Fran]

Well, in each room I went to I asked the guy to tell us what we were listening to - in most rooms there was a range of equipment and unless he told you, you wouldn't know.

When I went into the Electrocompaniet room, the lad had gregorian chant playing - on LP no less!!


RE: playing music..... I think that's important, but the reason for the music selection is undoubtedly that they want to play music that they know sounds good on their system. It might be boring as hell for others, but they know it sounds good.

I know where Derek is coming from with the poor recordings. I've experienced them!! Fantastic soul stuff but can be very harsh and glary...... and if the system tends even a shade towards brightness it will be unbearable. Derek - if you didn't have super smooth ESLs and valves driving them, you might not listen to as much of it!!


Great show though, great to see so much discussion on it here. I thought the location was fantastic too. Well done and thank you to Kronos + the sales guys for making it over.


Fran

[Ciaran]

What I would like is someone actually demoing the equipment by giving a brief rundown of components, then playing some examples of music in all genres and explaining what they think that system does well on each piece of music.

That sounds like a good idea, once the total presentation wasn't so long that there was no chance of hearing your own records.

I did not hear a single symphony played either(!!??)

You clearly weren't in any room at the same time as me!

I did not bring my own music after an experience where someone got out of their seat and ripped my cd out of the machine, saying "this recording is just too shite for me to listen to!"

That is shocking! I have never experienced such rudeness at a show! How did the guy demoing the equipment react?

Personally, if I hate the music I just suffer in silence once I think I have some hope of playing own. If I thought there was no prospect of playing my own music, I'd leave. Maybe it would be a good plan for people with similar tastes to visit together and "gang up" on each room in turn. It would be an efficient way of getting better value out of a show and meeting up with forum friends at the same time!

[Diapason]

I think an awful lot depends on the personality of the person doing the dems. IMO a lot of the guys on the hifi show circuit seem to be quite shy, and don't really seem that comfortable in a "presenting" role. And then there are the guys who are either bored to tears themselves, or the occasional one who looks disdainfully on everyone daring to breathe near their precious equipment. I've seen them all!

Occasionally you come across somebody who has the right kind of personality and the right kind of attitude, and it's an absolute joy. Remember when Maurice from PMC demoed a huge range of PMC and Bryston equipment in the Burlo, including the MASSIVE BB5/XBD system? He managed to combine a slick line in patter with a genuine and infectious enthusiasm for what he was doing, and he was happy to play anything thrown at him from the floor. He'd intersperse punter selections with his own, and that in itself was incredibly instructive. I remember just how DIRE a U2 CD sounded in comparison to some of the other recordings he played, and it made me realise that after a certain level, you just can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The great thing about that dem was that he also went up through the PMC range, showing what you got for paying the extra money. Of course, the PMC sound wasn't for everyone, but I thought the dem was great.

[Derek]

but what about the disks you have that have poor sound quality yet the music is good enough to ignore the ropey recording?

I have tons of this and it doesn't interfere with my enjoyment, but I do at times wish there were some better recordings available to me.

modern or vintage?

More vintage than modern, I just love old school Soul and original Rhythm & Blues sound, but most of this was produced on a shoestring cheaper mics etc , so the recordings suffered .
Many of the recordings were made by recycling the tapes, so you could have a finished album mixed and ready for pressing but recorded on pre-used tape, engineers just couldn’t push the recording. This happened on a lot of the smaller labels, little local small town studios that couldn’t afford to keep up with the big boys.