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Cotlake
06-09-2008, 18:32
http://www.chestergroup.org/index.php?option=com_shows&task=detail&Itemid=31&id=8

Are any forum members planning on attending the show?

I will be assisting demonstration in the joint HFW and WD room and would welcome meeting some of you who belong here.

Best wishes,

Greg

Marco
06-09-2008, 18:40
I might be going down, Greg. It's not confirmed yet, though.

It would be good to meet up again and you can buy me that drink ;)

Marco.

Cotlake
06-09-2008, 19:10
Hi Marco,

Ah, trust you to use an expensive venue for me to buy you that drink ;)

Most certainly I owe you a drink and will happily oblige. I hope you can make it.

Best wishes,

Greg

Marco
06-09-2008, 19:22
Hehe... We could always 'pop on' the tube and go to a real pub :eyebrows:

Any idea what the WD system will consist of, Greg? Please say some big Tannoys will be part of it... :dummy:

Marco.

Cotlake
06-09-2008, 19:55
Hi Marco,

I can't be specific. The best I can offer is what Peter posted on the WD forum.

Most of our time in the past nine months has been taken up with bringing our best selling kits up to date. For example we've redesigned the PCB and internals of WAD HD83 to become WDHD3S, complete with switched impedance on board.

We're also just finalising the latest updates to WDKEL84, again with a much improved PCB layout with proper star earthing, HT and signal routing. This is on sale now for delivery within two weeks. The new PCB also allows us to do an XL version with improved components.

And, of course, WD25T The Sequel is now selling well and will be playing at Heathrow. As for what else will be there, well you'll just have to wait and see (maybe some not so pretty prototypes, but what the heck, I know you'll want to see what's coming from WD this winter)!

Whatever, the future looks promising!

Best wishes,

Greg

MartinT
07-09-2008, 15:33
Hi Guys

I'm planning to be there on Sat 20th and will be glad to meet up with you. Happy to buy an 'expensive' drink for you as this is my once-a-year audiofest which I always look forward to.

By the way Marco, I'm currently selling my REL subwoofer on eBay and will use the proceeds to purchase a full KAB SL-1200 setup. So, even more to chat about!

Primalsea
07-09-2008, 18:24
I've been a little disappointed with the shows so wasn't planning on going. Everything seems to be utter crap or good stuff set up utter crap. Also I'm pissed off with listening to Keith Don't Go.

The last I heard was that WD wasn't going to attend anymore, what happened to change things???

Cotlake
07-09-2008, 19:50
HFW were slow to make their own room booking and as they often work in partnership with WD, WD held off until HFW was committed.

All show demonstrations present compromised sound because of the surroundings. Having said that, don't most showrooms? Even dedicated listening rooms can sound good but totally different from what you hear at home. I'd even argue that a dealers listening room cannot be all things to all kit so that environment is also compromised.I've regularly positively argued synergy of equipment, all tuned to meet the listening requirements within the personal home space. Anything outside of that will always be sub-standard. However, every exhibitor is subjected to the same constraints, so if you find a sound at a show that works for you, it's well worth thinking and planning onward with the kit concerned. Tweaking will allow you to adapt the kit into you home to deliver that special sound you rightfully expect and need.

Clearly this supports the ethos of those dealers that are brave and knowledgeble enough to offer a home demonstration/fitting service. On commercial kit, particularly if you can afford the service, IMHO, this is the way to go to get satisfaction. Personally, as a DIYer, I'm happy to do this for myself :)

Best wishes,

Greg

Marco
08-09-2008, 05:43
Hi Marco,

I can't be specific.


Hi Greg,

No worries. The reason I asked is because I remember one show where the WD crew demonstrated Tannoy Westminsters and they were 'rather good' :eyebrows:

We'll see what the chaps come up with this year!

If I can't make it try and get some photos for the forum, will you?

Martin,

Nice one. If I get there it would definitely be nice to meet up. It'll be good to have another KAB 1210-er on board, too. The word is spreading fast! :smoking:

Marco.

shane
08-09-2008, 09:19
If I can't make it try and get some photos for the forum, will you?

That would be appreciated by the rest of us even if Marco does manage to get there!

Marco
08-09-2008, 09:28
Hehe... Absolutely!

Marco.

Mike
08-09-2008, 15:43
That would be appreciated by the rest of us even if Marco does manage to get there!

Agreed! :)

I don't think Marco actually knows how to take photo's... hehehe :lolsign:

Primalsea
08-09-2008, 18:29
HFW were slow to make their own room booking and as they often work in partnership with WD, WD held off until HFW was committed.

All show demonstrations present compromised sound because of the surroundings. Having said that, don't most showrooms? Even dedicated listening rooms can sound good but totally different from what you hear at home. I'd even argue that a dealers listening room cannot be all things to all kit so that environment is also compromised.I've regularly positively argued synergy of equipment, all tuned to meet the listening requirements within the personal home space. Anything outside of that will always be sub-standard. However, every exhibitor is subjected to the same constraints, so if you find a sound at a show that works for you, it's well worth thinking and planning onward with the kit concerned. Tweaking will allow you to adapt the kit into you home to deliver that special sound you rightfully expect and need.

Clearly this supports the ethos of those dealers that are brave and knowledgeble enough to offer a home demonstration/fitting service. On commercial kit, particularly if you can afford the service, IMHO, this is the way to go to get satisfaction. Personally, as a DIYer, I'm happy to do this for myself :)

Best wishes,

Greg

I'd heard that the show organisers put HFW's nose out of joint when they stopped using them as sponsers and changed to another mag.

MartinT
08-09-2008, 19:13
I'd heard that the show organisers put HFW's nose out of joint when they stopped using them as sponsers and changed to another mag.

The original Hi-Fi show was organised by Hi-Fi News magazine for many years. What happened to it? At least it was a pure hi-fi show, unlike the London Sound & Vision show where we have to mix it with home theater (sic) types.

Marco
08-09-2008, 21:13
I don't think Marco actually knows how to take photo's... hehehe :lolsign:

The taking of the photos is not the problem - it's the posting of them on the forum!

Actually, I've done it before ages ago with Photobucket but I'm too much of a lazy fecker to be arsed going through the procedure again :eyebrows:

Marco.

Steve Toy
09-09-2008, 00:32
Imageshack.us is better. That way you don't own your file or account of photos. When I upload mine using imageshack they are not registered to any account of mine, they just get posted up via a link.

Set your download size parameters for forums, upload, select the top option of the second group of three beneath the adverts, copy and paste:



http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/7682/qsrefrack106wf7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/9273/chesterfest08067nm4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Marco
09-09-2008, 08:11
Oooh... There's that Chateau in France we've both been to!

Is that Madame Tassart's hi-fi system? ;)

Marco.

jandl100
14-09-2008, 07:36
I'll be there Sunday, according to current plans.
.... I'll be wearing my "Box Swappers Do It More Often" badge. :) Only kidding.

Marco
14-09-2008, 08:10
Or: "So many boxes, so little time" :eyebrows:

Marco.

jandl100
14-09-2008, 08:25
Or: "So many boxes, so little time" :eyebrows:

Marco.

Ne'er has a truer word been said. :)

Primalsea
14-09-2008, 10:55
As well as the show at the Park Inn Hotel (which is the one we're talking about) is the show at the Renaissance Hotel down the road going to be held on the same day??

I've not heard anything about the other show for ages and wonder if it's still going.

jandl100
14-09-2008, 17:03
Nope - the Renaissance Hotel one by HiFi News isn't happening this year. I suspect it's dead until the Chester Group one gives up the ghost - the Chester one was always better for 'real' hifi, anyway, imho. :)

purite audio
14-09-2008, 17:40
There are some companies exhibiting/ demonstrating there though, Branko and a few of his dealers i believe.

MartinT
14-09-2008, 19:23
Branko

<Shudder> One of the rudest people in hi-fi I've ever tried to deal with.

Togil
14-09-2008, 19:30
Indeed ! and very defensive so that anything you say is twisted in its meaning to make it look as if you'd insulted him.

As a result it's not possible to buy some potentially interesting products.

Marco
15-09-2008, 07:25
<Shudder> One of the rudest people in hi-fi I've ever tried to deal with.

Indeed. As I've said before, he's known as "Branko the wanko" ;)

Marco.

MartinT
15-09-2008, 07:53
It'll be good to have another KAB 1210-er on board

KAB SL-1210 now ordered (I've gone for the works on a MK5G including the Isonoe feet).

Marco
15-09-2008, 08:22
Nice one, Martin. Welcome to 'da club' :smoking:

Word seems to be spreading nicely... I'm sure it will become even more so after we (AOS) demo a system including my KAB 1210 at the forthcoming Manchester hi-fi show in January ;)

Congrats, and let us know when the baby arrives!

Marco.

Cotlake
17-09-2008, 21:48
Yes, this week-end, World Designs and HFW are hosting a demo room at the Heathrow Audio Show.

Open to the public from 2pm Friday to 4pm Sunday.

We'll be demonstrating quality kit and also presenting lectures on audio topics.

Please log into http://www.chestergroup.org/ (http://www.chestergroup.org/) to obtain a £2 entrance fee discount.

Find us in the big Bleriot 2 Suite in the Business Centre of the Park Inn Heathrow Hotel, UB7 0DU

Make a point of introducing yourself and saying hello. Remember that your forum tag may be more readily recognised over your proper name. Just be sure to identifying yourself. We're very much looking forward to meeting you all.

Best wishes,

Greg

bhasi
20-09-2008, 20:25
Was rather underwhelmed by the show this year. As usual, mostly loud, bang-bangy demos and too many reps more interested in talking to each other than the punters. Still, good to see/hear unusual Electrocompaniet and AcousticPlan equipment, Jelco arms and the Dr Feickert turntable.

A money-saving hint for anyone going by public transport on Sunday: ignore the helpful advice - printed on the 'Privilege' ticket - to take the Hotel Hoppa from Terminals 1-3. It costs £4 each way! Instead get the FREE hail-and-ride red bus from/to Hatton Cross underground. No 427, I think, but best ask.

MartinT
21-09-2008, 00:01
I also heard little to impress, but then that's been the way of it for years as my own system has improved. The sound of the show for me were the Wilson Audio Sophia speakers, a surprise as I've always been underwhelmed by Wilson speakers in the past. Also good were the little Usher Dancers (I have the big Be-20). I was disappointed with the media on sale, being mostly vinyl with very little in the way of CD/SACD/DVD-A specials that I enjoy looking through.

You're right about the reps having loud conversations in the back of the room, it seems they have forgotten their reason for being there. It's ignorant and it doesn't impress the largely enthusiast audience at all.

Marco
21-09-2008, 09:53
Hi Martin,

Sorry I couldn't make it. I was too busy entertaining Anthony TD and Ian Walker, who came to visit, and playing with valve amps :)

Was the show really as crap as people are making out?


You're right about the reps having loud conversations in the back of the room, it seems they have forgotten their reason for being there. It's ignorant and it doesn't impress the largely enthusiast audience at all.


You see, I'm the sort of person who just wouldn't tolerate that. It's totally ignorant, so I'd just turn round and tell them, politely but firmly, to shut up!

They usually do as they are told ;)

Marco.

MartinT
21-09-2008, 12:11
They usually do as they are told

:-)
You're not a big bloke by any chance?

Marco
21-09-2008, 12:25
Reasonably. 6ft 2, 14 stone. But it's more the way you put the message across that matters ;)

Marco.

Marco
21-09-2008, 13:35
Did anyone take any photos? :)

Marco.

jandl100
23-09-2008, 06:43
Was the show really as crap as people are making out?



No - some folks just like to whinge, I think ;) - I really enjoyed it.

Some dire sounds, as always - but some really nice stuff, too.

My dislikes were big Klipsch squawk boxes (2 sets in different dems), 2 sets of big Tannoys (after all these decades they still haven't got that horn-loaded tweeter sorted :( - decent sound overall but treble transients leapt screeching into the room), several sets of dull, bland Avalon speakers, including the Isis (diamond drive units everywhere but I really don't hear the point of these silly priced speakers).

My likes were Magico V3 speakers (but at £27.5k .... :(), Heco Statement speakers (first time I've liked Heco's - the £3k+ Statements were very nice to listen to indeed - nice one, Guy/Pure Sound :)), and the little Sonus Faber Minima Vintage (small speaker, huge sound full of vitality and pizzazz), VMPS ribbon hybrids (great clarity but just a little too leading-edge biased for me).

Lots of other interesting stuff, but those were my best/worst highlights.

Of course, I am sure that many folks would interchange my best/worst lists, but that's all part of the fun!

Yup, I really enjoyed the Show and also meeting up with a few hifi buddies - some for the first time. I look forward to the next Shows from Chester Group - not huge, but all serious companies - no AV crap or low-fi rubbish!

Togil
23-09-2008, 07:11
No - some folks just like to whinge, I think ;) - I really enjoyed it.

Some dire sounds, as always - but some really nice stuff, too.



My likes were Magico V3 speakers (but at £27.5k .... :(),

Oh so they've already gone up from £ 24,900 ?

I'd really like to hear them, as they are claimed to reproduce the sound of a violin accurately - I've never heard a speaker that can manage it, so as the reviewer in Hifi+ says the price doesn't matter if it's that good.

MartinT
23-09-2008, 09:54
My dislikes were big Klipsch squawk boxes

Those Klisch speakers were truly awful - horrible shouty midrange and no bass.

Ali Tait
23-09-2008, 10:06
Jerry,did you visit the WD room?

jandl100
23-09-2008, 22:48
Jerry,did you visit the WD room?

Briefly. Huge room - small-ish speakers ... didn't really work for me so I didn't really look at the kit .... daft of me really, but with so many interesting things to see & hear ....

jandl100
23-09-2008, 22:51
Those Klipsch speakers were truly awful - horrible shouty midrange and no bass.

Yup, these have been really hyped up on one forum recently - gawd knows why! But I must admit I was very impressed by their imaging ability - a real 3D soundstage hanging between the speakers - so credit where credit is due - but all the other aspects of the sound were truly shite though!

Marco
24-09-2008, 07:28
Did no-one take any pictures then? I thought Greg was taking some...

Surely someone must have taken a few shots with their phone!

Marco.

jandl100
24-09-2008, 08:39
Did no-one take any pictures then? I thought Greg was taking some...

Surely someone must have taken a few shots with their phone!

Marco.

Lots of good photos on the Wigwam forum. ;)

Marco
24-09-2008, 08:58
LOL. Yeah, that's 'cos folks here are all lazy arses! ;)

Marco.

Cotlake
24-09-2008, 19:26
Hi Marco,

Sorry, no pics. Basically I was too busy and my daughter has the camera anyway. Phone camera I don't consider for quality reasons.

The WD demo was in a big 90 sq m room because it was also the venue for two lectures each day. We demo'd WD PSU/PHONO/PRE3, WD88VAxl, WD25Txl fed by my 401 Slatedeck or a Shanglin T80 CDP (hardly used). We also used the WDKeL84 and WDHDS3 headphone amp on request. Both main amplifiers through the WD25's were able to drive the room satisfactorily.

The sound was very different from most of the other rooms and frankly needed a bit of a listen to familiarise. Those who took this process seriously frequently commented that once adjusted they found the sound much more natural and unfatiguing in comparison to other demonstrations. It was interesting how many hi-fi journalists were rather taken with our presentation.

We took several orders and some serious interest that I have no doubt will lead to orders in the future. This was a bit of a surprise as it's not happened the same way at previous shows.

Best wishes,

Greg

Marco
25-09-2008, 08:06
No worries, Greg. The cameras on some phones can be good, though!

The WD room sounds interesting, although I can't help but feel it would have even more interesting had there been a big pair of Tannoys on the end ;)

Marco.

lurcher
25-09-2008, 08:29
Last time I went to a show, the Tannoy room was using WD amplification, so you got the best of both worlds :-)

pure sound
25-09-2008, 10:29
Some pictures of our room.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh107/pure_sound/statementrchannel.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh107/pure_sound/A30andA8000.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh107/pure_sound/system.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh107/pure_sound/P10andSP10.jpg

A friend took these. I didn't have a camera with me or even the time to get out for a proper look around.

The speakers are the Heco Statements. These use quite a novel mid driver, open backed. It has a Kraft paper cone, an alnico magnet (newly developed after many failed attempts, I saw the long line of prototypes!) and a nice concertina surround. There are twin 8" bass drivers and a soft dome tweeter. Sensitivity is about 93 dB/W so the A30 triode connected (18W) was plenty. I made use of the same friends speaker bases. These are mdf shells with foam underneath and they help larger speakers such as these give decent, clean bass performance in smaller rooms and on various types of floor. The Statements with their supplied cones did not work as well in this particular room. I'm not sure cones/spikes allow the energy imparted to the cabinet to be released properly. Certainly the bases make everything clearer & tidier. Goes against my understanding of Newtonian physics somewhat but definitely has worked for me on several occasions. That was about the limit of our 'room treatment' but it seemed to all sound ok.

Steve Toy
25-09-2008, 10:44
The Statements do look very nice. My Heco 700s sit on the same speaker bases although I've yet to try them without.

Neil McCauley
26-09-2008, 17:03
http://www.chestergroup.org/index.php?option=com_shows&task=detail&Itemid=31&id=8

Are any forum members planning on attending the show?

Greg

Looking at the comments, I'm glad I was here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skagway,_AK) instead. Believe it or not, much more fun.


---//---

Marco
26-09-2008, 17:31
Looks great, Howard! Have you got family there, or if not what made you go there specifically? :)

Marco.

Neil McCauley
26-09-2008, 18:00
Looks great, Howard! Have you got family there, or if not what made you go there specifically? :)

Marco.

Nope, no family. However - they don't have any audio shops there either! Joking apart, a sort of savage beauty, coupled to infinitive varieties of grey in the scenery (I rather like grey) plus the fact that they shut down for a few months out of every 12 due to extreme climate conditions made it very appealing. Mine was the final passenger ship to stop there this year. For those of you that might feel that Margate in winter is, err, rather bleak - well it can't hold a candle to this place.


---//---

jandl100
01-10-2008, 06:36
The speakers are the Heco Statements. ....... it seemed to all sound ok.

In a Wigwam forum poll, the Pure Sound room was, in effect, voted Best at Show. I voted for that setup too - very nice sound indeed! :)