we approached the show looking for something that would wow us.
This is the first audio show I have attended. It must be very difficult for the show vendors to create great sound at a show. The rooms are of varying dimensions, construction and isolation and none seem ideal to sound reproduction. For vendors/dealers representing multiple manufacturers the task must be even more daunting. A good sounding system put together with care at a different location may fall flat on its face at a show. Bryston must be doing something special to receive so many show kudos.
We weren’t wowed by anything we heard at the show. We were wowed by some of the equipment prices and it was sometimes hard to reign in our cynicism. However we realize that the market is the market and will bring what it can bear.
It was a very enlightening, fun, yet tiring day. In the end we decided that the difference between "better systems" and the rest was a matter of scale, dynamics, and an even, natural tonal response.