I also was there on Friday and met a few people I knew there above - and sadly seem to have missed a few others there. Very enjoyable and a rather local event location for me to attend.
I enjoyed it all really - the big ATC Speakers were fun - but since my own speakers are even larger I thought they were very reasonable-sized.
Kudos system was very enjoyable too - and had a very long chat with the Melco man to work out what was going on with their range of Servers and if the ‘Flagship’ was higher or lower than the ‘Reference’ and why it seemed to be one box then two boxes and back to one again…but very interesting on what and why things evolved in their range.
Those I missed meeting - I tend to go into my own little world sometimes at these events, but it was good to chat with several people I know.
The main problem with good hifi these days is cost, plus the fact you can get a half decent sound out of say a muso or equivalent, and for 99% of people that’s good enough.
Also as someone above said, spend 2k on secondhand gear and you start to get a much better system, and after that things can really start to get expensive and the gains not so much.
Add to it, the cost of living, house prices/mortgages, and everything else, and expensive hifi or even a £5000 total system is just not on an option for many. As they are more than happy listening from the tv sound bar.
It’s mainly the 50 plus that are into all this, and unfortunately we are getting less and less each day
Aren’t there more 50 year olds not less as a population we’re ageing? Isn’t the issue that a smaller proportion of 50 year olds are buying HiFi, as those of us (I’m not quite 50, but close enough X) ) who grew up when having a decent stereo was something aspirational will get fewer and fewer. @JonathanG 's point is that if the youngsters of today don’t get into HiFi, when they’re older they’ll be even less likely to want a good system.
I wonder if the focus for younger listeners (I cringe when I write that, as I realise I’m a long way from that now!!) is headphone systems? I wonder if part of Naim’s rationale developing the Atom HE was a recognition of the change in focus?
Absolutely GT hack, it’s not that any youngster can afford an SME arm for example but the desire was there in me from the age of 18 when I read the HFN review of the Series V. I was 51 when I bought one but for thirty years I never stopped dreaming and that’s the point…
When I used to go to hifi shows it was very male-orientated then (1980’s/1990’s).
Women like music, but generally just aren’t interested in all the gubbins in the way that blokes are. There will be exceptions, but men like “stuff” in a way that women seem not to.
Vinyl sales are up, but perhaps the chap I saw in HMV on Saturday with, I think,a Sony bluetooth record deck, may provide one clue as to the disjunction between media sales and the apparent relative lack of interest in “hifi” from young(er) people.
In our experience, every year, new people reach an appropriate age where they have some disposable income and a desire to get a decent music system. Sure, they are not die hard ‘hairshirt’ enthusiasts, but the products Naim (and some others) are making these days are exactly what is required.
The Unitis have been a gateway drug for many and the new 200 / 300 series is hitting the spot. A lovely post from Livingston on another thread puts it perfectly.
Anyway, I just wanted to post our thanks to all who came along and who were involved in our recent show. Help at set-up and break-down was greatly appreciated. The twenty five or so representatives of the various brands worked tirelessly and I was inordinately proud of the now burgeoning signals team. I could not ask for better.
On Saturday, a guy called Leo (who had booked) turned up on his Brompton. The video he has posted was completely unexpected and could have been planned by the Ipswich tourist board. I hope it’s ok if I share the link here.
I saw the video yesterday, the guy from Chord/ATC/Kudos room was very serious for the demo , @ 21.00 I felt very bad for the poor guy filming the video.
I have a 4 tier av stand by lateral audio and it works very well with Naim and my LP12. I have not compared it to a Fraim as I needed a double width stand to fit in the gap my HiFi sits in and two Fraim stacks would have been too wide. A big step up from the Quadraspire rack I was using and it looks like a good peice of furnature.
On the video above: Could someone tell me what music was playing in the Naim/Dynaudio demo and in the Naim/Focal demo. The latter sounded a bit like Stevie Ray Vaughan, but not so much the vocals. Thanks
There is a great review by @JonathanG on soundstage of the Signals Audio show……i’ll let him post it and he should take the credit for a very professional review.
, @ 21.00 I felt very bad for the poor guy filming the video.