[HAL]

At the Marriott and hanging out with friends before the show!   

[otto802]

I looks like Vapor just placed a set of Nimbus in room 1121!!!

[dminches]

For those who attended, what was your perception about the attendance (more or less as compared to prior years) of vendors and attendees?

[standub]

For those who attended, what was your perception about the attendance (more or less as compared to prior years) of vendors and attendees?

Down quite bit.

[OzarkTom]

Down quite bit.

By the crowd pictures, most of the attendees were baby boomers. These audio shows maybe in serious trouble after we all retire or die off.

[johzel]

By the crowd pictures, most of the attendees were baby boomers. These audio shows maybe in serious trouble after we all retire or die off.

Yup.  And not just audio.  Was talking to an antique dealer who noted that most all of their buyers have gray hair . . . he suggested that if you were holding onto an antique or collectible better to sell it sooner than later as the younger generation isn't interested in such things . . . of course, maybe he was just trying to get me to sell??   

[dminches]

By the crowd pictures, most of the attendees were baby boomers. These audio shows maybe in serious trouble after we all retire or die off.

I think the audiophile industry is in greater jeopardy than the shows.  Who is going to buy all this equipment when we are 6 feet under?

[OzarkTom]

I think the audiophile industry is in greater jeopardy than the shows.  Who is going to buy all this equipment when we are 6 feet under?

 

And since most of the manufacturers are in the same age bracket, they will fall by the wayside as they die off. The youth mainly buys head gear. One reason is that they do not own a home to make room for these large two-channel systems. They neither have the money.

[Tyson]

Attendance was down quite a bit.  People in the towers and main areas were very old and obviously dying off.  People in Canjam were young and much more excited.  In fact, Jason and I would joke when we saw a young person in the towers "Oh, they must have gotten lost on their way to Canjam".  The good news is that Canjam is HUGE and is literally spilling out of the big ballroom area they have traditionally occupied.  So there is a ton of growth happening in that area.  I'm sure none of these young guys will be interested in $20k speakers and amps, but would probably be VERY interested in the $279/speaker Elac F5 Towers that Andrew Jones just came out with.  Or the JTR towers that blew away both Jason (Pez) and I.

[vinyl_lady]

I agree that attendance was down. For those of us there, it was easier to get into the rooms we wanted to hear and stay as long as we wanted. This was my 11th RMAF and it seemed like there were more reviewers and audio media folks than in previous years.

[tonyptony]

+1. Ironically my friend who was with me thought that there were more people between exhibitors, press, and support than actual attendees. In the last several years the attendance seems to have gotten smaller year after year. Still, everything has its waxing and waning. After 12 years maybe it's Axpona's turn.

[Mike B.]

i wonder if all the new regional shows are causing the numbers of attendees to be down? I guess it could be a trend from shows in general also?

[Geardaddy]

Attendance was down quite a bit.  People in the towers and main areas were very old and obviously dying off.  People in Canjam were young and much more excited.  In fact, Jason and I would joke when we saw a young person in the towers "Oh, they must have gotten lost on their way to Canjam".  The good news is that Canjam is HUGE and is literally spilling out of the big ballroom area they have traditionally occupied.  So there is a ton of growth happening in that area.  I'm sure none of these young guys will be interested in $20k speakers and amps, but would probably be VERY interested in the $279/speaker Elac F5 Towers that Andrew Jones just came out with.  Or the JTR towers that blew away both Jason (Pez) and I.

Our hobby is spiraling towards redundancy.  That much is obvious.  The absurd price inflation does not help. 

[RUR]

i wonder if all the new regional shows are causing the numbers of attendees to be down?

Could be.  T.H.E. Show Newport reported 2015 attendance up by almost 20% vs. 2014.  It's become so large I just don't miss RMAF. 

[bladesmith]

Our hobby is spiraling towards redundancy.  That much is obvious.  The absurd price inflation does not help.

Couldn't agree more...but, history shows how these people don't last in the long run.

V...

[SoCalWJS]

Prices were definitely the reason for me to NOT attend this year, but it was the cost of getting and staying there that were the issues. I could find a good deal on a flight, but not on a nearby Hotel or Rental car for the duration.

Probably just going to hit T.H.E. Newport from now on. Just a few hours away by car and more than enough nearby hotels to keep the prices down.

I do enjoy RMAF though.

[gus6464]

This was my first time at this show and went with a buddy who is mostly in HT. It was fun listening to stupid expensive gear but in the end it seemed like manufacturers are way out of touch. The tower crowd skewed super old while canjam was where all the young people were. Speaker wise I think the only manufacturers to get it were Spatial, Elac, and weirdly enough Linkwitz. Elac's F5 sounded fantastic and the price was absolutely killer. The Linkwitz and Spatial rooms were super simple with only a computer, dac, speakers, and amp. The Linkwitz LXmini sound was scary good. Mr. Linkwitz even said that they splurged on the amps but are not needed in the slightest. They were running the LXmini off $2 radio shack speaker wire.

I ordered the Spatial M4 Turbo's at the show and the second I got back home I ordered the LXmini kit for my office. In the majority of the other rooms I couldn't even buy a cable for what I paid for 2 sets of speakers. I think I'll stick to Newport for next year since it's 1.5 hours away and the standalone CANJAM.

One thing RMAF did teach me though is that room and speaker correction is the way to go. For a living room setup treatments will only get so far with wives while a DSP will go a much longer way.