Had a great time at my first ever hi-end audio gear expo. Twas a great experience for me, as nowhere else would I ever be able to listen to such a varied assortment of hi-end gear all under one roof. I also enjoyed interacting with some of the FMs I was privileged to meet. Denom, Bhagwan, Magma and Arhantd. Its always great to have a face to a name, and all these guys are such gentlemen, so it was great to interact.
Having played the violin in my growing years, I was always musically inclined. This was then greatly nurtured by the older friends I hung out with in the 80s. These guys had large LP collections of artists as diverse as Robert Johnson, Allan Holdsworth, Dixie Dregs, The Sex Pistols, etc., back in the day when good music was hard to come by. Though I collected a large amount of music through travels in the past 20 years, I somehow never ever had the urge to seriously upgrade my audio equipment.
The WhatHiFi show really gave me the opportunity to hear what so many very respected loudspeaker manufacturers thought was the best sounding loudspeaker they could manufacture and offer at a given price point. If only a year ago someone told me how 2 speakers costing x amount could sound so different, I would not comprehend. Today I can. The show educated me in the sense that I should not pay too much attention to what others think or what others consider a great sounding loudspeaker. I mean the guys who manufacture these very expensive and popular speakers must know more than a thing about what a great loudspeaker should sound like, and if they were so different from each other in presenting the same song/piece, it vindicates the fact that what might sound pedestrian to me might sound heavenly to the next guy. Of course, generally speaking, I think all the companies at the show were of a very high standard, but thence, everything would be personal choice. And its so easy to be influenced by peer pressure, bragging rights and pretense. So Ill try to keep that in mind too before going too crazy...
Speaking of the various rooms, I did enjoy a number of them. Some of the more enjoyable speakers I heard were the Dynaudio Contour Series, the Bel Canto/Tannoy Turnberrys, Arcam/Dali Epicon 6? and the Bryston setup. The B & W Nautilus/800D rooms, the Burmester room and the Focal room overwhelmed me. I havent heard such a cathedral like sound in my life and it just dwarfed and engulfed the whole room making me feel like I was drowning in a vortex of a sound whirlpool. It was was so overpowering, I cant even describe if I enjoyed it or was just filled with shock and awe. Then there was stuff that just didnt sound right to my untrained ears. The Quadrals, the Triangles, etc.
Basically I was happy that I could tell the difference and was beginning to appreciate the various audiophile adjectives that I have heard in the last one year. So in summary, it was both educational and enjoyable.
Which brings me to my favourite room and my favourite guy at the show Khushrau Jilla. I met Khushrau maybe around 18 years ago when he first joined Cadence. And then I met him again around a year ago, when my quest for better sounding gear began. Khushrau has not changed a bit. Always smiling, truthful and honest and always agreat source of information. Like a Wikipedia on anything audio (for me at least). Thanks to Khush, I have heard some of the best speakers in my life. First were the Cadence electrostatics that Khush sold to a very dear friend of mine whom I had taken to meet Khush (he only recently told me that those were his first sale for Cadence) and now the PMCs. As soon as I heard them, I wanted them. They were love at first sound. The musicality, the clarity, the tonality, the soundstage, the quick and grippy bass....all the boxes were ticked. Though I bought my PMCs before the show, I am even more satisfied now, as the PMC room was head and shoulders above most of the other very respected brands. This again is my personal opinion and might be slightly biased as I own a pair of PMCs and Khush is a dear friend. But ever since the OB1is came over to live with me, I listen to music for 5-6 hours a day, and that should tell you something. The wife is NOT pleased.
One strange incident which happened to me at the show, was an incident with a man in the AudioVision Room. This tall lanky gentleman who was there at least on the first 2 days in a striped full sleeved shirt and always following Mr. Cooper around, asked me for a Rs 500 fee for entering their rooms on the first day of the show. I thought he was pulling my leg and I asked if he was joking. He replied NO with an angry face and so I went ahead, not because I couldnt afford 500 bucks, but I just felt humiliated. Somebody told me he owns Cream Centre. Maybe he saw the Russell Peters None of these are amounts I want to pay look. Anyway, I think he just displayed poor attitude.
Otherwise, a great show, that I thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you Denom, thank you Bhagwan and Magma, and most of all thank you KJ for bringing PMC to India. Hope to meet all of you again sometime soon.
