Impressions of The Melbourne HiFi Show 2023

[tripitaka]

Thanks for the detailed report @Keith_W, Though I recall the ClassA Audio room was playing Audiovector speakers, not TAD, per your report? I reckon the TADs were a different room.

 

Anyway, can't believe I somehow missed the March room demonstrating his new floorstanders, a pity.

Edited October 22, 2023 by tripitaka

[parrasaw]

Really enjoying the feedback from members who were able to attend the show.

 

A quick heads up.

One of our fellow members,  Shane Stephenson has started up his own Youtube channel called "An Aussie Audiophile".  You can find it at:

https://www.youtube.com/@shanestephenson8423

 

He has a few subscribers (no cost to subscribe) already, and he has posted a few short videos of some of the rooms which he visited on Friday and Saturday., with additional posts being added as I write, I think.

He might still be "learning the ropes" about posting Youtube videos, but I like what he has posted so far, and I encourage fellow members to support him.

 

I believe that he is going to post a bit of a "wrap up" from his perspective in the next few days.

 

A very big thumbs up to Marc and his family for the work which went in to preparing f for, and presenting the show, and a thank you to you guys who are posting your impressions for those of us who were unable to attend.

[Ian McP]

best sound for me, non fatiguing too!

All highly recommended

 

Open Audio Designs

Audio Note

Microphase Audio Design

Hulgich Audio

March Audio

 

and four of those are Australian!

[wikeeboy]

7 hours ago, Lysander said:

I just looked up the price on the internet and noticed my mistake. In my notes I have $2500.

Yes I see the incredible value at my initial price. My bad.

In that case they are not good value at their real price. Moving on.

 

They mentioned in the room current rrp at 27k. Was a surprising jump up from what i remember being 20 not long ago.

[Kaynin]

1 hour ago, tripitaka said:

Though I recall the ClassA Audio room was playing Audiovector speakers, not TAD, per your report? I reckon the TADs were a different room.

 

 

Yes, the TAD's were driven by TAD electronics too, something I didn't even know they did!

[Lysander]

10 minutes ago, wikeeboy said:

 

They mentioned in the room current rrp at 27k. Was a surprising jump up from what i remember being 20 not long ago.

In my defence when I entered the room I immediately noticed to the left the Oppo player with the Benchmark Headphone/Pre amplifier underneath and joked to David (later introduced himself) that I would take the old dusty rusty Oppo player of his hands for a trifle. He laughed, then introduced himself and we struck up a conversation about the Magnetar UDP900 made with some ex-oppo engineers as a replacement. Anyhow he later played some tracks and I asked for a price to which he said $2500. I would swear in court that was what I heard. Now, either I misheard or he misspoke. I have seen them here as of today (on internet) for just over 18K.

[wikeeboy]

1 hour ago, Lysander said:

In my defence when I entered the room I immediately noticed to the left the Oppo player with the Benchmark Headphone/Pre amplifier underneath and joked to David (later introduced himself) that I would take the old dusty rusty Oppo player of his hands for a trifle. He laughed, then introduced himself and we struck up a conversation about the Magnetar UDP900 made with some ex-oppo engineers as a replacement. Anyhow he later played some tracks and I asked for a price to which he said $2500. I would swear in court that was what I heard. Now, either I misheard or he misspoke. I have seen them here as of today (on internet) for just over 18K.

 

That will likely be the cheaper 'studio' version. The normal 8c is now showing online for $26k. 

[Mendes]

22 hours ago, Mendes said:

So, my two cents….

Best Room… Audio Note, by a fair bit.

 

Nice work Mr Fletcher 

 

Then really liked 

DacMan Room 

Bill McLeans room

And Lux Audio with the really cool int amp’ and great front end.

 

 

Sorry, no pics

Found some pics….. 

[Stereophilus]

I only made it along for the Sunday this year.  And just to be different I started up the second floor, working my way down and around.  Unfortunately I didn’t get to hear everything, which was a shame, but I did enjoy the overall quality this year, which seemed to surpass the effort from last year.

 

There were 3 standout rooms for me:

1. Dacman Audio / Hulgich was effortless and holographic. The Duke Mk2 were beautiful to behold.  Bass was problematic in the room, but everything else was excellent.  Shi-Tone (or is it ****-One?) cables for the win!

2. Kudos / Copland / Aqua / Lumin was a really sweet and coherent presentation.  Very hard to fault in any area.  Special mention to the man in control who threw on some Lygon St doof-doof music to demonstrate bass control… Kudos indeed!

3. Fyne / AVM / Auralic did a great job of imaging with an unusual room setup for seating, with the speakers setup along the sidewall, but nonetheless managed to throw a wide and deep soundstage.

 

All 3 of these room paid a significant amount of attention to their streaming equipment upstream of the DAC and I think this reaped huge dividends for them.

 

A great show all up.  Well done to everyone who worked so hard to get it all setup and working.

[Guest]

Raging I couldn't make it this year.

Still, representing the @StereoNET tribe here in Yanchep, WA tonight!

 

[Keith_W]

5 hours ago, tripitaka said:

Thanks for the detailed report @Keith_W, Though I recall the ClassA Audio room was playing Audiovector speakers, not TAD, per your report? I reckon the TADs were a different room.

 

This error has been pointed out to me by several people! Thank you for the correction. 

[LINN88]

I attended the show yesterday, was blown away by a lot of the gear being demoed, though I didn't see any of what one might describe as your entry / mid level tiers Naim, Rega, Audiolab, Rotel ,Creek etc, some selections for those without wallets full of Goldcards . just my 2 cents worth.

[amey01]

9 hours ago, ThirdDrawerDown said:

 

One year at the Show I sold second-hand LPs on behalf of a widow friend (I still have six boxes) and almost the first guy through, before anyone else had had a chance to look through my bins, proudly introduced himself as the secretary of a Hi Fi enthusiast's club which sounded like it had perhaps five members and immediately expected a discount due to this emeritus status. I mentally filed him as the Queensland Porpoise Spit equivalent of the Rolling Stones' Deputy Under-Assistant West Coast Promotion Man and reduced the price less than I would have for any similar bulk buy. Fact is, you get these people and they are part of what makes the scene colourful. Anyone in retail has met them. Several reasons for a high level of tolerance above-and-beyond. Customer service at luxury discretionary goods level needs to be good, no matter what. Also there's a reasonable fear that simple polite requests to be considerate will get misread, this is the fear of neutral or negative comments being read as hugely negative and going viral as social media algorithms foment conflict. Also cash flow could be being adversely impacted by cost of living, and people who are spending money like to spend it with decent people, so it pays to be nice or at least tolerant.

 

But in truth, what I found with my change in role from punter to seller, mixing with real sellers at the record fair, the place was full of genuinely decent people who I would happily invite to any barbecue, and they are pretty good at reading the room and the folk in i, and handling the pain-point people if they go too far over the line.  

 

I enjoyed selling records and meeting many stereonet friends. I'd have liked to have been there. Am enjoying this thread, thanks to everyone who has posted!

 

HAHA, funny story about the LPs. 

 

I disagree about misinterpreting though - if a comment like "Please stand back, there are six people there trying to listen" when viral, then I think it would be for all the right reasons, not the other way around! 

 

Don't forget - for every pratt who might buy something, there are six or more quieter people who you might lose - just because they might not be so ill-bred, uningratiating and audacious. 

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2023 by amey01

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, LINN88 said:

I attended the show yesterday, was blown away by a lot of the gear being demoed, though I didn't see any of what one might describe as your entry / mid level tiers Naim, Rega, Audiolab, Rotel ,Creek etc, some selections for those without wallets full of Goldcards . just my 2 cents worth.

Rega, audiolab and Creek were present at the show, at least according to the pics and confirmations I've seen so far.

[LINN88]

1 minute ago, Hydrology said:

Rega, audiolab and Creek were present at the show, at least according to the pics and confirmations I've seen so far.

Yes I saw a couple but they weren't entry level versions more higher up in the model lines.

[amey01]

14 minutes ago, LINN88 said:

I attended the show yesterday, was blown away by a lot of the gear being demoed, though I didn't see any of what one might describe as your entry / mid level tiers Naim, Rega, Audiolab, Rotel ,Creek etc, some selections for those without wallets full of Goldcards . just my 2 cents worth.

 

Do you go to an car show to look at Toyotas? 

 

Martin Logan didn't have a single electrostatic there - is that prosaic enough for you? 

 

[LINN88]

10 minutes ago, amey01 said:

 

Do you go to an car show to look at Toyotas? 

 

Martin Logan didn't have a single electrostatic there - is that prosaic enough for you? 

 

Too many 'loud' people at car shows

[dcathro]

I went on both Friday and Sunday. For me the best sound by far was the Audio Note room. The speakers were new and had improved big time by the Sunday.

 

 

[KRSDarwin]

Came down from Darwin for the show again (this time managing to book the correct Pullman hotel) and so went to all 3 days. There were at least another 2 attendees from Darwin. 

 

I appreciated the efforts made by all the exhibitors. I found the presenters friendly and generally they played varied and enjoyable music and often encouraged requests (with good responses). I picked up quite a number of new tracks and artists to try at home. 
 

Photos attached of some of my favourite systems, minus Pitt and Giblin and Magnepan (which were great). 4 times I heard the speakers truly disappear: Hulgich, Nirvana Sound, Wilson and Linn. 
 

I enjoyed the talk by Peter Comeau and both Wharfedale’s sounded great. 
 

The record fair was handy as usual and I am looking forward to spinning newly acquired vinyl under my show purchased TT light. 
 

Though I hope it doesn’t hurt the prospect of future shows, I thought the crowds were more manageable this year compared to last year. I was always able to get a seat in the rooms. 
 

What made the show even better was the GTGs, dinners, catching up with previous attendees and meeting SNA members in person. 
 

Thanks again to the exhibitors and thanks to Marc and his team for making it all possible.

[RankStranger]

17 minutes ago, KRSDarwin said:

I enjoyed the talk by Peter Comeau and both Wharfedale’s sounded great. 

 

Peter's talk was fantastic. I've heard him a few times on the Darko podcast and I really enjoy his perspective. I thought the new little Ashtons sounded awesome and more balanced and engaging than the Dovedales, although I'm sure that was just the room

 

You didn't happen to write down the name of the last track he played, with the video component, did you? It's something I think my kids will get a kick out of but I forgot what it was called

[KRSDarwin]

Sorry Simon but I didn’t take a note of that track. 
 

on second thoughts, maybe it was “Make us stronger” by Ghost Rider?

 

Cheers

Edited October 22, 2023 by KRSDarwin

[option-up]

25 minutes ago, RankStranger said:

You didn't happen to write down the name of the last track he played, with the video component, did you? It's something I think my kids will get a kick out of but I forgot what it was called

It was this: https://youtu.be/Q3oItpVa9fs?si=NMZz1zjDttcaZS_w

[krebetman]

Enjoyed the show immensely, thanks to @Marc and the team for all the organising.

 

 For me, the rooms I most relaxed into the music (or were woken up by it) were Hulgich, Fyne, March and Audio Note.  With many of the other systems, I found myself heading for the door pretty fast where there was an overly present treble.

 

 The most arresting system for my taste (and budget!) was the Wilson/D’Agostino/Linn/Nordost one. It’s good to dream, right?

 

 As somebody else in this thread noted, the systems i enjoyed most (with the exception of March) had done a lot on the network side, with audiophile switches, fibre bridges and other tricks.  As an IT guy this does my head in- but it has for years and I have felt the effects of the very modest changes in have made in that area so proof (or maybe confirmation bias) is king.  Now I am l lusting after fibre networking components

[Kazz]

I visited the show on Saturday, as a first time show goer I was very impressed by the whole show and all of the rooms we visited were well setup.

 

Went into the Krix LX-7 room and was blown away, I'm not a soundbar person, I prefer a full speaker setup, but this soundbar was the best I've ever heard.

 

For any one with limited space for a full speaker setup this would be ideal.

 

A big thanks and congratulations to @Marc and @Ness for a great experience.    

[Guest]

Well after a week away I'm home and (barely) rested. From the organisers point of view, it was probably the most successful show we've run since it all started in 2016. How time flies. Bump in was smooth (it really is organised chaos) and while you can plan for literally months, these things are dynamic and with many moving parts. Somehow it all comes together by show opening.

 

Firstly, I'd like the thank all the exhibitors for not only supporting the show itself as it really is a big undertaking both financially, and physically. Staff to assist them are often flown in from around the country and increasingly, overseas. The costs beyond just the cost of a room can multiply very quickly. These shows are genuinely hard to do - and it could be very easy to simply not commit - but they do, and for the majority of exhibitors, each and every year. As the show evolves, so to do the rooms and exhibits, from acoustics to aesthetics, and it's all combining to make each show a little better. 

 

I saw a comment earlier about the crowd size - as predicted it was slightly less than last year and in my opinion, perfect. Being the post-COVID show last year, it was always going to be big, just like all shows that returned last year. I'd anticipated less people this year and by design I was more selective in where the show was marketed this year. Last year it was becoming a struggle to get into some rooms and even difficult to navigate the corridors. This year I wanted to focus on quality over quantity, and the feedback from exhibitors is that this was bang on. I think we've found our balance now.

 

We took advantage of the increasing number of international guests from the industry attending and set up a full video production studio up on the 9th floor. 12 interviews were shot across the three days which will be released across the coming weeks - some excellent insight and knowledge was shared and I look forward to editing and releasing these. The upside was it prevented me doing 80+ kms across the venue over the 4-5 days which I am thankful for today - the downside was I missed many of you and barely even heard many of the rooms this year. It also proved what a great team we have (from my family members, to the mods, reviewers and our overseas StereoNET staff that came over to assist). I was nowhere near as in demand as previous years, and most issues that arise during a show were swiftly and efficiently handled.

 

Show coverage is coming - with multiple people taking notes in every room which will be collectively collated, compared, and drafted this week. We don't do show awards any more - as I think one only has to read the Impressions thread each year to see which rooms and exhibits are stand outs. That opinion comes from a wider audience and is a better reflection than what just one or a few people can judge from just a few minutes in each space (particularly when the systems generally evolve over the course of the show days).

 

Thanks to those exhibitors that go the extra mile to put effort into their spaces, engage with the attendees, accomodate the request and show patience with the questions and the enquiries. Overall I think the quality of Australian shows is steadily improving and we've built something that we can be proud of. The feedback from our international guests is overwhelmingly encouraging, and many of them (and the locals) often talk of the very positive 'vibe' of this show and they look forward to it each year. I don't actually know how you create or design 'vibe', but it's present and consistent each year. I appreciate that.

 

A big shoutout also to @Minidisc - a genuine headphone listening area and more of the brands in the head-fi space being present was well overdue and it was immensely successful. We will build on this in 2024 with plans already underway. 

 

I also need to congratulate those that undertook the bigger builds - the cinemas. These take literally months of planning, and 2-3 times longer than all the other displays to design, build and execute. The number of moving parts and fields of expertise required to bring it together in such a short time should not be underestimated - particularly the final audio and video calibrations, often down to just the last few hours before the opening of the first day. Congratulations to Claver and NAVS and his team, along with Premium Audio Company/Klipsch for their effort. Their systems ran rock solid for all three days with no downtime.

 

By 10PM last night you'd barely recognise there had been a show with 60+ exhibition spaces and thousands of people attending over the previous days. 

 

Finally, thanks to the StereoNET members who attend each year. The show allows the community that exists here to extend to the real world around the time of the show - the meet ups at the show and catch ups in the bar, the many GTGs that take place before, during, and after the show concludes. I walk around and see the smiles, laughs, and the enjoyment people get and that is what makes it all worthwhile for me. About this time each and every year I tell myself I'm not doing it again (speaking from a place of exhaustion), but this morning, I'm genuinely encouraged and motivated to get cracking on 2024 already. Keep the impressions coming ... and the feedback too. We appreciate it. We've already got a (big) list of things we got wrong (better signage for the multiple levels, coffee carts around the venue, for example), things we (as organisers) can do better, and ideas to offer even better value for money and a more enjoyable overall experience for all attendees. 

 

Here's to 2024 and what will be our 7th show ....