[jsalk]

We just returned from the Capital Audiofest.  No, we were not showing.  It was the first audio show we attended as consumers, so I got to see the show from another viewpoint.



This was a great opportunity for me to explore vendors I had never heard before as I was not stuck in a room.  There were several things I noticed that escaped my attention as a vendor in past shows.

First off, there were many more manufacturers exhibiting than I realized in the past.  I saw and heard more speakers than I knew existed.  Same with amps, preamps, DACs and turntables.  I guess I never realized how much competition existed where speakers were concerned (many of which were not very good). I came away feeling lucky we were able to survive for 22 years. 

I always knew we didn't charge enough for our speakers.  But when I saw the prices on even mediocre sounding speakers, that message really hit home.  Compared to what I saw at the show, we were basically giving speakers away all these years.

I was sitting in one room when three young gentleman sat in front of me.  One of them turned to me and said, "there is something definitely wrong with the sound."  He asked me if I knew what it was. I had no idea as I thought the sound was pretty good.  I told him I was in the room.  He said, "exactly, the room is missing Salk speakers."  He said it didn't sound bad, but the sound was not as good as when our speakers were in that room at past shows.

The second thing I noticed is that it was possible to spend significant amounts of money on "snake oil."  The claims that were being made for some of these products were simply over the top.  But I suppose if you spend $1000 on speaker cable elevators, you would probably hear a difference (due to congnitive dissonance). One speaker company representative showed an outboard box that "aligned the electrons" going to the speakers resulting in superior imaging (which wasn't all that good, so the box must have been defective).

Some of the pricing seemed a bit high considering the audience attending the show.  I didn't see many attendees who looked like they could afford (or would purchase even if they could) a $70,000 tone arm.  But who knows.

Another thing I noticed that was different from past shows is the smell of cannabis.  I had heard that Maryland had just passed recreational use and people were taking maximum advantage of the new law both inside and outside the Hilton.

All in all, it was a fun experience.  We were able to touch base with a lot of friends, old and new.  And not having to tend to a room meant we were free to explore to our heart's content.  I don't know how many shows we will attend in the future, but I'm glad we decided to attend this one. 

- Jim

[Phil A]

Thanks for your observations.  I haven't been to audio shows in about 3 years (due to various reasons mostly unrelated to audio).  I do, however, watch various content online and I agree that the ultra high end has gone pricier.  While us baby boomers probably will not have our hearing get any better, there seems to be a trend to get the latest in the greatest with some audiophiles.  It's been that way for quite a bit.  I had a friend who worked at a high end shop many moons ago and for about a six year period I did virtually all his installs and set-ups with him.  A good percentage audiophiles barely owned 100 albums (some less) and seem to just want the latest and greatest (good marketing I guess) and to me seemed more interested in the audio chain vs. just enjoying music..  I do understand that costs have gone up on materials and transportation (which is not the fault of manufacturers or dealers).  I also understand that some of those factors have thinned out dealers (and shows allow for the audition of items which in some cases are not obtainable in particular markets).  Those factors have caused many of us to look at companies which sell direct to consumers or the used market.

[mix4fix]

You don't have to spend a ton a money to get good sound. Salk is in that list.

We were talking about the very first CAF, at the mansion. I still remember were the room you were physically located in, and you had Song Towers.

 

PS: one of this years speakers were a three-way powered monitors with stands. $22K for it, or $16K for the passive version.

 

[TerryWI]

I was so glad I attended Axpona all 3 days last April.  It was my first audio show since the old Stereophile HiFi ’97 Show in San Francisco.  We listened to many systems and speakers, some good, some not to our tastes and a few outstanding that I could see owning.   Pricing on many products was discouraging or even silly.  But I was there to just hear a bunch of equipment to get me primed for the May delivery of my BePure 2s!

After living with the BePure 2s for 6mo now, I concur that I got a real deal and made the right choice.  Axpona drove home what an honest and high-end value Salk products are!

[Bubba12]

Some of the nonsense of the business makes me feel like a damn fool for being interested in it at all. The Salk Song3 are still a perfect speaker for the room I'm in. I have had and still have MUCH more expensive speakers yet prefer the Salks.

[artofaudio]

Jim,

This show was a lot of fun.  I normally compare your speakers many that I hear at these shows. Yours speakers sound better than most that I hear, especially considering the prices.  The BEATS & the BE Pure sound good with tubes & solid state, and match up well with a variety of cables.  I even tried them with a $400 Vista Audio amp and it still sounded good.  Kudos to you! 

[jsalk]

We were talking about the very first CAF, at the mansion. I still remember were the room you were physically located in, and you had Song Towers.

I remember that well.  The room was finished with marble all the way around.  You could have used it as an echo chamber.  Gary Gill sent someone out to purchase a large woven rug to cover the floor.  It helped a bit, but not all that much.  When I saw other vendor rooms, I was happy we had the "ballroom."  The other rooms were so small, they hardly had room for attendees.

- Jim

[abd1]

Jim, love hearing your perspective of the show as an attendee. I'm sure as an exhibitor you are locked in to your space with limited awareness of what else is going on. I will say prices for some of these products defies logic. When some components cost more than a car and systems cost as much as a house it just doesn't make sense, other than its pure supply and demand. I know a lot of labor goes into the design, testing, manufacturing, selling and supporting of these products, and everyone is entitled to making a living which I support, seeing things like cables that sell for $$$$$$$$ doesn't make sense. Unless they're full of precious metals and gems and even then it looks like there's very healthy margins....

I will say that the cheapest, easiest and fastest upgrade to my listening experience is a couple puffs of marijuana before listening (I live in a state where it is legal). While I don't condone that for everyone as marijuana can produce anxiety for some and have other negative effects, for me it is a nice way to relax in the evening and really enhances the sound. Everything becomes more 3D, more textured, more detailed, and I am able to focus on lyrics more while they are more emotionally engaging. Just be careful to anyone looking to experiment, because the stuff they're selling now is not the marijuana I grew up with as a teen and young adult! It can be very potent so beware.

[DMurphy]

Hmmmmmm    The plasma tweeter didn't work out because it emitted ozone.  If I can just find a tweeter that emits cannabis, I'll be riiiiiiiich.  And it's a growth industry. 

[genjamon]

Who knows, maybe THC doped tweeters will outperform beryllium?

[Phil A]

Hmmmmmm    The plasma tweeter didn't work out because it emitted ozone.  If I can just find a tweeter that emits cannabis, I'll be riiiiiiiich.  And it's a growth industry.

Dennis - have you tried contacting these people?  https://www.tonetubby.com/#:~:text=Made%20from%20natural%20and%20organic,are%20good%20for%20the%20environment.    Maybe they can do a custom driver

[DMurphy]

Well, I guess a woofer would work as well as a tweeter.  I will have to burn down the living room, but that might be an improvement. 

[Rshorb]

Well, I guess a woofer would work as well as a tweeter.  I will have to burn down the living room, but that might be an improvement.

Don't do that you have the perfect space set up !

[Letitroll98]

CAF won't be the same without Jim Salk.  Like Phil I haven't been there for a few years for various reasons, mostly moving further away.  But it's very interesting reading the perspective from a former exhibitor, I assumed you all snuck out to spy on the competition, I know of several manufacturers that did.  Having set up and run exhibits at many shows in a completely different industry I know how it's hard to find time for lunch and then dinner is always with your best customers.  Not much time to look around, glad you got a chance to sight see.

[RonN5]

My question for all of the people that purchase the uber expensive gear is if when they put it in their homes, they were required to "hide" it with an acoustic screen and were Never allowed to talk about the price of it....in other words, if all they could do was listen...would they still make the purchase...I suspect in many cases, the answer would be no...that a big part of the purchase satisfaction comes from bragging rights and showing off.

[Rocket]

Hi Jim

Yes your speakers were too well priced but you have given so much pleasure to people on a modest budget and even some of us like me shipped few pairs all over the world .

I always knew we didn't charge enough for our speakers.  But when I saw the prices on even mediocre sounding speakers, that message really hit home.  Compared to what I saw at the show, we were basically giving speakers away all these years.
/quote]

Cheers

[RonN5]

Rocket....I couldn't agree more.  Loved my Veracity STs...and my son loves his HT1-TLs.  I think in some ways...the finish brings almost as much pleasure as the sound.

[hawkeyejw]

Dang… I just became aware that Jim closed up shop when reading through this thread. Very sad to not have a chance to buy a pair of your speakers new in the future but happy you are able to step away and embark on something new Jim. Guess I’ll have to prowl the classifieds if I want to get a listen to Salk speakers!

[Rocket]

Hi,

I've seen some good deals especially if you locate one and have a listen. I can heartily recommend all of Jim's speakers.

Cheers Rod

[Zuman]

Even though I've enjoyed high-end audio for more than 40 years, CAF 2023 was my first-ever hi-fi show. I traveled from the midwest and used the trip as a reason to visit my brother in Pennsylvania, who then attended the show with me. He's not into 2-channel at all, but enjoys home theater.
The thing that struck me the most was the almost complete inability to experience the subtleties that make high-end audio so satisfying and enjoyable. I know, "If it's too loud, you're too old," but the playback levels of most demos was way higher than what I use at home, and it was hard to find the nuances that we are willing to pay dearly for. When I frequently asked the room host if they would mind turning the volume down they were usually surprised and the people sitting near me were usually grateful.
I did find prices very high for the most part, but one of the reasons I wanted to attend was to hear systems of the highest caliber. Unfortunately - largely due to the great difficulties of setting up complex systems in challenging spaces and presenting them to a revolving-door audience - I couldn't really discern significant differences between exhibited systems priced at more than $500,000 and my own "modest" but carefully-curated and set-up system that comes in well under $40k.
Finally, while my brother and I attended college in the 1970s, neither of us noted any strangely-sweet odors in the hotel. Our noses must be suffering the same effects as our aging ears...