Just to add my thoughts and my perspective and experience here from a manufacturer / exhibitor viewpoint, especially since it was so different than Montreal, HET, or the other high end shows:.
- Timing : the show is too close to the Montreal show. After 2 weeks gone, just had a couple of days for business as usual before getting out to Lime on Thursday.
- Good: Lima is only 3 hoyrs drive away.
- Bad: No access into the convention center rooms at night, so up up to the sleeping room the gear goes at 3 am. Next morning down down into the exhibit room. Ridiculous.
- Really, really bad: the rooms in the cc. The worst I've ever had after over 70 shows and seminars. Idiotic shape, one full, solid wall of glass, and a rattling air conditioning.
Really funny / and sad: Talked to the super about shutting off the air conditioning to avoid the rattling, then left for Walmart. After coming back, Marbles and I got into the room. Yep, the air conditioning was off, the rattling still there, and the freaking room was a sauna.
Really bad: Initial sound of the room afer first setup. Ordered 8 more drape areas to put in front of the glass. Helped, but the cc wanted to see serious green for their "services"
The best: One by one seeing and meeting all the guys. There was a universal "let's have fun" atmosphere without a single guy screwing up the fun and the mood of anyone. Big props. Marbles, well, Marbles is Marbles, hehehe. MGalusha, great to put a face to the voice, and to see that there are guys bigger than me, hehehe. Mike is great. Jason, well, Jason asked for it all Saturday night. Wanted to get into his fight club routine until I finally said ok to an arm wrestling match, hehehe. All others are cool as heck as well, I truly had fun and felt comfortable in each one of the guys company. The group was mostly Wayne, Jason, Chris, Marbles, Rich MaxCast, Joe DOC Photo, Mike Galusha, Scott from TNT, and me.
Bad: Those guys came over to my room a lot, but they %^#$%$^@*& partied in Wayne's room all the time, and left me stranded downstairs in the CC. Why ??? Marbles smuggled his Kegs of beer past security into Wayne's room. Any idea of the contrast of what this room was like when at the same time some sober and serious people try to demo in shitty rooms ????
The "competition": Let me put it this way: Wayne, so helpful and very sweet. You gotta love him. Chris, very thoughtful and gentleman like, M.Barnes, Very sweet, much more open and genuinely friendly than expected. These AC'ers all fit into the same, wonderful mold of great guys, which helps me as well. As I always said, a job well done by anyone of us direct companies is a direct help in legitimizing each one of our businesses.
Sounds: Don't really know. As a one-man band I didn't get around and seriously listened to lot of systems, but my general idea: I'm still not a horn-freak, but it was interesting. Generally, liked the small horns better, as in the Madisound room next door. Obviously, I have no clue as to the other components anywhere and the synergies.
Wayne's room was nice, and the Teres table rivals the SL RG 6 in looks, no question. Love these platter choices. NOrh's room was interesting, not set up for any high end music, but to show technology, and I'll buy the Soundcard thingy from M.Barnes this month. Looks promising, and I'll try it. Other than that, I did a 10 minute quick run through several rooms while Rich and Marbles took over the Odyssey room. Oh yeah, by the way, those 2 are really shitty salesmen. Offered them big incentives, and when I came back / no sales.
Anyway, to have a more realistic opinion, I should have taken more time to listen.
Barfing up your breakfeast ridiculous: The Chicago horn club. Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez, these guys are nuts. In a good way, I think ????
They were on the main lobby floor, and when I came down from my room, they've had the door open. Nevermind that you could hear them running their 2500 inch sub system so loud that you could hear them in my sleeping room upstairs, clearly. You get into the elevator, down, and slowly increase the volume. Out the elevator, around the corner, and you have to shield your ears, 10 doors down. Going by the room, I swear, you felt the floor moving. Looking at the door, it was open, and it moved. That freaking door moved with the air, and we're not talking aboiut a Lowe's $ 30 bathroom door here. that thing moved !!!!!! In these 5 seconds or so that I stared into that room in disbelief, I felt my breakfeast coming up, that's how much bass there was, and it was easily 110 - 115 dB. Easily, and I'd belief 120 dB +.
There I am, green in my face, holding my stomach and ears, still looking at the frigging door moving in the wind, then glancing over into the room. A bunch of guys smiling and high - fiving. What ???? Unbelievable. Talking about love for a hobby. Those guys had a great time, and they deserved it. Easily the most interesting show experience in years.
Non-existing, well, sort of: Nightlife. Enough said.
Food: The bistro restaurant was actually fantastic. As long as you've ordered something that was still available. The availability of menu items was reminiscent of East Germany in the 80's. Poor Mike Galusha got stiffed 4 or 5 times with "Sorry, we're out".
The most amazing: The room's AC voltage. Through Friday, the system didn't sound anywhere near normal. The worst I've ever heard it. Couldn't pin it on the room,or the warm-up of the amps. Was totally different, recessed and choked. Not controlled, and solid state like. So, checked the AC, and these nut cases at the Lima cc ran the ac at 136 Volts. 136 !!!!!!So, cover off, meter out, rebiased, and voila, I've had normality after rectifying a 50 + % bias swing. 136 Volts !!!!!!! 136 , that's in the danger zone for most amplification's power supplies at full tilt, but it proved to be a cool acid test for me.
Thanks again for everybody's help, especially Joe and Rich. And I'll have to get to Denver one of these days. these guys are great.
So, in retrospect, it was interesting. Very little traffic compared to the bigger shows, which had it's pro's and cons. Less business potential, of course, but on the other hand, you have peoples attention. They listen for quite some time since there were only 20 rooms total, while at the bigger sghows you're lucky if you have somebody's attention for more than a minute due to the sheer number of rooms. At the MAF you have the luxury to talk to people and vice versa without time pressure. And you have the big luxury of listening for hours at a time. I've had quite a few people come back for 4,5, or 6 sessions. You can't do that at the bigger shows.
As for the business side of it, it was the cheapest show I've ever done. that's the big advantage of the hobby m inded setup and the Lima location of the show. At the end of the day, I've had an amazing amount of sales that I didn't expect.
All in all, this was so completely different, and mostly more fun than all the other shows and seminars. Part party and twilight zone with a dose of music reality, hard to explain. I'd definitely tell all you guys to somehow make the trip next year, at least for the atmosphere and meeting place function of the show. As for me, I already signed up for next year.
Good night,
Klaus
