Impressions of The Melbourne HiFi Show 2023

[BruceS]

Just home from the Hi Fi Show.

It massively exceeded my expectations!

Much better than I expected - and my expectations were pretty high!

My top three rooms were: the Audio Note (loved their new speaker which only arrived in the country on Wednesday); the 'Maggie' (always good); and the room with the open baffle dipoles (they sounded good and seemed to offer great value for money.

I was surprised by the willingness to play requested music - they either played my CD or they played the track from the internet.

Yes, there was the odd uncooperative spoilsport but they were few and far between!

The people manning the rooms were super friendly.

The standard of sound was way up - offhand I can't think of any terrible speakers.

There was a really nice atmosphere.

Did not actually buy anything this year but last year I purchased some great (expensive, at least for me) speakers which I am still enjoying massively!

For anyone contemplating going.

Don't contemplate just go!!!

You will kick yourself if you don't!

Bruce

[Steff]

I spent 90 minutes in room 2208 with epiphany audio's TAD CE-1x and ME-1x.

And the very impressive turntable & arm & cartridge.

Amp & CD player TAD.

Edited October 20, 2023 by Steff

[Kaynin]

I noticed there were very few turntable set-ups.

 

I enjoyed the rooms of Pitt & Giblin, Wilson & d’Agostino, Sonos Faber & McIntosh, Yamaha with their beautiful turntable, Magneplanar.

 

Oh, Radhio & Levinson was also excellent.

Edited October 20, 2023 by Kaynin

[BruceS]

Just wanted to add a little more to my post above.

I mentioned that the people manning the rooms were friendly, and they were more than friendly.

They were cooperative and just plain nice.

Let me give some examples. In one room I asked the guy running the presentation if he could play some acapella music, yes he beavered away on his iPad then came back to me apologising that there was a tiny bit of instrumental music in with the voices. This guy was just so nice.

Another example, I went back to the room with the open baffle dipoles to have another listen and I stayed a little (well maybe a bit more than a little!) past 'closing time'. No one said anything, or looked at their watches, or tried to move me on - they were happy to have me there and talk to me.

There is a really special 'vibe' about the Show. It is more than looking at and listening to great HiFi gear, or from the Room's perspective selling some stuff. I guess what I am trying to say is that there was a real spirit of community, and this is really special. I could give more examples but I think you get what I am trying to say.

Bruce

[noddyc43]

The 3 rooms I really enjoyed and spent most time were: 

 

TAD room

 

 

Audionote

NAD, Dali 

 

Bonus,

Also enjoyed  the Wilson's and D'agostinos.

 

 

 

 

 

[Misternavi]

Do you think 4hrs would be enough?

[parrasaw]

2 hours ago, BruceS said:

and the room with the open baffle dipoles (they sounded good and seemed to offer great value for money.

Would this have been the OAD Ultrafidelity room?

[Kaynin]

16 minutes ago, Misternavi said:

Do you think 4hrs would be enough?

 

You'll see a lot in that time, so if that's all you have then it's not a waste.  However, if you want to see everything, you'll need 6 or 7 - especially considering if on a Saturday as it's the busiest day, so rooms will be fuller.  

[Candyflip]

2 hours ago, Misternavi said:

Do you think 4hrs would be enough?

I can spend that in the Record Fair alone.   

[BruceS]

Yes,  parrasaw, that was the room.

Thanks.

Following up on the turntable comment.

Yes, some people were playing vinyl, but I noticed quite a few turntables just sitting there unconnected.

Not a lot of music on CDs either.

Mostly streaming.

Bruce

[April Snow]

1 hour ago, BruceS said:

Yes,  parrasaw, that was the room.

Thanks.

Following up on the turntable comment.

Yes, some people were playing vinyl, but I noticed quite a few turntables just sitting there unconnected.

Not a lot of music on CDs either.

Mostly streaming.

Bruce

Oh that’s a shame was hoping to see some amazing TT tomorrow

looking forward to it though

Edited October 20, 2023 by April Snow

[BruceS]

Do recommend the OAD Ultrafidelity room, you don't see (or hear) many open baffle dipole speakers. These are well worth a visit, a look and a listen. On top of that the three or four guys manning the room are all very nice and helpful in a non pressuring friendly sort of way.

Following up on the turntables.

There was this amazing-looking turntable entirely made in clear plexiglass.

It appeared to me to be one of the 'not connected' turntables.

There was a guy standing near sort of looking after things but I did not talk to him.

Good looking turntable!

There were some rooms that appeared to be 'vinyl only".

A real mixture of sources.

Bryan in the Audio Note room remarked a number of times that his CD player was an Audio Note model XXXX Red Book CD player from 1995!!

It was a great Show.

Truly something for everyone.

Bruce

[mackinnonrob]

I spent 3 hours on Friday checking out the rooms and really enjoyed my time though easily could have spent longer. Most rooms I only heard one track and often wondered what the system's would sound like with different music. 

There were the 'Hi fi show' challenges with music leaking (flooding in one case) between rooms and people talking loudly but so many rooms that you could move on and return later. I loved seeing the Australian manufacturers though missed VAF and Osborn. It was also cool checking out the home cinema set ups which I have never bothered with before. All in all a pleasure

[Kaynin]

At shows I find retailers play different music, you just have to stay for more than one song.  Many ask for requests too.  It's never a critical listening environment though, just an opportunity to get a feel for the gear, see it in the flesh and meet people passionate about the brands - which is a good way to make a contact for follow-up if so desired.  

[Kaynin]

41 minutes ago, April Snow said:

Oh that’s a shame was hoping to see some amazing TT tomorrow

 

 

 

Yeah not much on offer, but I do love the Yamaha GT-5000 which is on display and playing.  Well worth sitting in front of for a little while...  

[Steff]

50 minutes ago, April Snow said:

was hoping to see some amazing TT tomorrow

 

The turntable in room 2208 was in full operation and sonically fabulous, as well as aesthetically & financially (deck plus arm plus cartrdige somewhere north of $60K iirc) imposing. Plus @Epiphany Audio takes requests.

Edited October 20, 2023 by Steff

[Lysander]

14 hours ago, Kaynin said:

Sonos Faber & McIntosh

 

48 minutes ago, mackinnonrob said:

I spent 3 hours on Friday checking out the rooms and really enjoyed my time though easily could have spent longer. Most rooms I only heard one track and often wondered what the system's would sound like with different music. 

There were the 'Hi fi show' challenges with music leaking (flooding in one case) between rooms and people talking loudly but so many rooms that you could move on and return later. I loved seeing the Australian manufacturers though missed VAF and Osborn. It was also cool checking out the home cinema set ups which I have never bothered with before. All in all a pleasure

I noticed Osborn missing from the listings so I emailed him. He replied stating he has had enough of shows, "they are far too costly - tampering down" as he put it. He was in England at the time upon the email exchange.

[agelessgoodguy]

"Talking heads"

[cazzesman]

I spent 4 hours there on Friday.   1st up the vibe was pretty upbeat in the first 2 hours of opening.    Lots of big smiles and welcomes.     I wonder how the vibe will be on Sunday between 2pm and 4pm. 

 

I was pretty focused in my reasons for going.     Some Headphone tryouts, March Audio and NAD M66.     I would have loved to have been able to hear some Focal Headphones, but such is life.      I sauntered around the rest of the show but not much else really grabbed my interest.    I say that because I wasn't really in the market for any new gear as I am extremely happy with my current setup.   

 

The NAD/Dali display was 'HUGE".   Good presentation from the Leader of the Band.    The old staple - SRV - Tin Pan Alley, sounded stunning.      Impressive sound for the round up figure of $100,000.     The NAD M66 comes in around $10,000 but it has ALL the bells and whistles and does away with many other stand alone components.    It is surely the Swiss Army Knife of Pre/Streamer/Dac/Dirac Live/4xSubs/Roon/Tidal etc etc.

 

March Audio revolves around the genius of Audio components designed and manufactured by Bruno Putseys.     Alan March and his Wife have taken Bruno's Amp Modules and Speaker (cone) design and built Digital (for want of a better word) Amps and 2 types of speakers.    A Floor Stander and Stand Mount.    At roughly $15,000 for Floor Stander and dual Monoblocks it is great value for stunning sound and quality of workmanship.     If ever my Kii 3's die I would seriously consider the March Audio gear.

 

Thanks to Marc for putting it all together.  I realise it is a business exercise, but he still has to be prepared to put it on the line each time.

 

Regards Cazzesman

 

 

[NonPlayableCharacter]

Spent the day there yesterday, barging my way around on the crutches and generally creating havoc and destruction.

 

I enjoyed the Fyne F1-8s - beautiful looking speaker with a ton of clarity. There is much to love about Fyne (I'll take a pair of F704s in gloss walnut, thanks) seeing as I am the current custodian of some Tannoys that are essentially cousins to the Fyne range. Fantastic to meet my old nemesis (and hopefully now friend) @TerryO in person at last - as is always the case, there is more that binds us when we meet in person than divides us when we are all bulls*&ting on the boards. Very kind of you to invite me up to the Gold Coast, Terry, thank you!

 

Very impressed with the Dutch and Dutch kit. That is a wall of sound and functionality (actives, sub, streamer and DAC, DSP) in a single package. It makes a great case for itself for a minimalist setup.

 

The Triangle Magellan Quator 40th Anniversary speakers sound special. I am out of descriptors for these. At the price-point they should tempt a lot of people and rightly so.

 

The new Dali Epikore 11 speakers being driven by a pair of NAD M23 amps fed from the new NAD M66 digital pre is a special experience. The Dalis want to be good at 80 grand, but instead of trying to find fault with them at that price, it just made me want to find a way to justify them to Mrs Tel. They are, after all, a speaker that could well have been the inspiration for the descriptor "imposing".

 

I'd also recommend the SPL room too. Excellent guys with great products. They were even happy to entertain my tongue-in-cheek suggestion that they should crank the turntable into life and spin my NM copy of Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss (no joke - been after a decent original pressing of this since I lost my first one in an acrimonious split 30 years ago). I had just acquired it from the excellent record fair setup an hour prior. I didn't follow through with handing it over to play, but man, were they game for it  The SPL aesthetic grows on you quickly and it is highly competent kit.

 

The show made me not only want to really work in earnest on selecting my new floorstanders for the main listening area, but also try to justify a second setup in the bedroom and maybe even a third in the study. Mrs Tel may take exception with the study system especially as I am now semi-retired and never spend time in there.... So much shiny stuff at the show

 

There is so much else that is probably worthy of mention, but I spread myself very thin to see as much as possible, knowing I wouldn't have the physical fortitude to go back for a second time over the weekend.

 

Enjoy yourselves and be kind on the exhibitors, they have a tough gig keeping everyone happy.

 

 

[Guest]

Won't be there this year, so looking forward to reading this thread. 

 

I remember threads going crazy on the first day but not so this year.  Perhaps everyone is getting old and steady?   

[Thunder_Snake]

Lots of mentions of other brand’s “unveiling,” “launching” or “debut” of new equipment at the show in the home page of the AV show forum, but no mention of Audio Note’s new Field Coil speakers until I come here.
I wonder why?  

 

[BruceS]

I knew about it because I was in their room (three times) when they mentioned it.

When I was discussing the rooms I just let it pass me by.

Don't know about everyone else.

Did enjoy those speakers though.

Bruce

[Thunder_Snake]

1 hour ago, BruceS said:

I knew about it because I was in their room (three times) when they mentioned it.

When I was discussing the rooms I just let it pass me by.

Don't know about everyone else.

Did enjoy those speakers though.

Bruce

Thanks for letting me know about them @BruceS 

[Misternavi]

Went today for about 3hrs and didn’t get to visit every room. 

 

DEXQ was the stand out for me.

Made them play Taylor Swift Cruel Summer and it sounded the really good. 

everything played on it sounded just right.

 

OAD, Class A audio, audio unlimited (HT), nirvana & audionote  was good.  I also enjoyed the large whafadale dovetons (?) room. 

 

Raidho was good. amazing bass from 5in drivers but i think it needed a bit more warmth in the bass (my sound preference)