Categories
AV News Reviews

FOREWORD TO THE 11TH EDITION OF WHAT HI-FI? SHOW 2019 – HYDERABAD

When an AV show takes place for the first time in a part of the country that has never experienced one, the hopes of one and all are high. Hyderabad is considered as the ideal city to have such a show what with the target audience being extremely fond of their music & movies. The majority of these enthusiasts also have the where with all to spend and also have the luxury of real estate to do justice to their spending, which is quite rare these days in general. Hence the show should ideally be a huge hit.

From what we saw from Thursday afternoon to the late evening on Sunday, it was by all accounts a relative success but there is always room for improvement and that is where we shall focus on in this piece.

Starting from the venue, which is well known in the local circuit to be one that is pretty much a nonentity these days as far as being one visited by the local well heeled populace, it became pretty apparent from Thursday itself as for why this was the case.

Secondly, we have pretty much given up on trying to promote the show as time & again, our pleas to get the information on who is exhibiting which brands & their specific models, goes on deaf ears & now it has become a truly futile attempt to get the desired information from either the show organisers or the exhibitors, who by their behaviour with regard to sharing the relevant information, appear to be still in kindergarten & believe in keeping everything a secret! How does it help to grow the audience of such a show if you do not believe in divulging any information to the target audience, therby making it not a priority for them to attend & look at other things to do during the weekend of the show? We are constantly provided with such feedback from disgruntled AV enthusiasts, who now don’t even bother to think about visiting the show. It is sad to see the enthusiasm being killed by such childish mentality of the exhibitors and being disrespectful towards the target audience as well. Ok, so then the show is targeted towards the industry itself as it becomes more of a B2B, than a B2C show. If that is the case, then it should purely focus on this aspect & put an end towards AV enthusiasts, prospective buyers, end users as being the targeted audience for the same. There is no point for the show organisers to spend tidy sums by means of advertising in local newspapers, digital media & other such avenues, which am sure they wouldn’t mind as their profits will no doubt be much more if they went down this path.

Another recurring issue is that of static displays, which inspite of doing no favours to the visiting audience yet the trend continues, which is disappointing to say the very least.

Overall, the show could have been much better, more involving & get much more traction, had the organisers & exhibitors being more enthusiastic towards achieving the common goal.

We hope that our observations are taken into consideration positively and they help in improving the quality of the shows in the future to ensure growth for  the AV Industry & Target Audience.

Categories
AV News Reviews

What Hi-Fi Show 2019 Hyderabad Show Coverage Report – Part 1

The 11th edition of the What Hi-Fi? Show 2019, took place at the Trident, Hitec City, Hyderabad, from the 30th August to 1st September 2019. We were present from the day before the show started right till it was pack up time on the last day, to cover the event as well as assist a few of our friends from the AV Industry, who were participating in the show.

We will therefore cover each of the rooms that we entered and provide our audience with the details of the brands and models show cased, room wise.

We start with the 2 Ball Rooms that were taken by the following:

Preeti Trading Corporation (PTC):

The main sponsors of the What Hi-Fi? Show were as is customary for them present by means of showcasing their wares in a Ball Room, but this time, they had been very smart and used the size of the room to ideally showcase their Home Theatre Demo, which consisted of the under noted:

Static Display –

Monitor Audio

Tower Speakers (Monitor 300 & Silver 200) Series

In Wall & In Ceiling Speakers (Iw460x and cpct380idc)

Denon –

AVR’s (S series 650, 750 and 950)

Demo Setup –

Pro Audio Technology

LCR SCRS 12SM

Surrounds SCRS 6iwp

Atmos Speakers – SCRS 25ica

Subwoofers – SCRS 14sm

Amps –

Pma9942

Pma4242

Dma1508

Retail price – 49 lakhs

We were extremely happy to hear and see the outcome as we were pretty disappointed with their efforts at the last show and were not at all complimentary in conveying the same to the big boos at PTC. Our constructive criticism seems to have worked as the outcome of their approach with respect to this show was totally different and one that worked positively in their favour.

We particularly enjoyed their home theatre set up which whilst not only had the impact and punch that one expects from a install in a large room but one that also gave the visiting hyderabadi people, a sense of scale that can be achieved, what with them being blessed with large rooms & real estate available to do justice to a home theatre scenario.

Good Job, team PTC, you guys definitely surprised us with your room this time!

BENQ :

BenQ used the entire room area to demo the range of models they have and also a few on static display. Details of all the models are provided in the pics attached.

12TH FLOOR

1217 – MONEE & CO

The range of KLH speakers in Book Shelf, Tower, Surround, Inwall & Inceiling speakers were showcased, in stereo, home theatre & static display.

1219 – VINSHEK

Elan Home Automation products and accessories, Rako Control Panel Switches & Fusion Research Audio Server were showcased here.

1221 – CINEBELS (JAMO)

The Jamo range of subwoofers, tower speakers and book shelf speakers greeted us at one side, garden speakers on the opposite with plywood wall of inwall & in ceiling speakers on static display. The other end of the room had a home theatre demo of Jamo speakers and the adjoin suite room had a full blown THX certified Jamo Speakers 5.1.2 Atmos enabled set up on demo. The side area of the room had some static THX certified speakers along with in ceiling speakers on display.

1223 – RECLINERS INDIA

The new range of recliners from Recliners India were on demo/display here. Most people visited this room and it was always full. Recliners India also had a placard placed outside their room stating their achievements, service criteria amongst their other USP’s.

1224 – VINSHEK

Waterfall Audio Speakers in floor standing, in wall/in ceiling & subwoofers, were on demo and static display here.  The Victoria speakers were very attractive to look at but sadly the room acoustics did not support the speaker’s performance in the truest sense, as they sounded their best at lower to moderate volumes. It was good to see them nonetheless.

1225 – RIVERA INTERNATIONAL

Amina Invisible Speakers and Audio Vector QR Series in home theatre application. We were pleasantly surprised at the performance of the Amina Speakers in this configuration and commend team Rivera International for managing such a impressive result. We are sure that most visitors must have been impressed as well.

1226 – NUCLEUS AV

The Lyravox Stereomaster SM3-150 & SM2-170 were showcased to good effect, targeted to the well heeled HNI looking for a truly hi-end stereo solution.

1227 – NEXUS AUDIO VIDEO

The combination of PMC IB1S Transmission Line Speakers with Octave V80SE Integrated Tube Amplifier & AVM MP3.2 CD Player with Streamer were well matched & delivered the results in an emphatic manner. There was no contest once again though the set up really came into its own from Saturday onwards. Yes, the man behind Nexus AV always finds the proverbial pin of a hand grenade, which he pulled off masterfully to showcase his talent into the art of setting up a kick ass system in a horribly designed hotel room. No fancy acoustic panels, isolating devices, power conditioners nor any gimmickry involved here! Some incredible music heard once again, thanks to the CD collection that accompanied as part of the playlist.

Sadly, the setup involved doesn’t come cheap & is privy only to those who can afford the same!

1228 – VIEWSONIC

Another room used to cram as much product as possible, what with Projectors firing to Screens in every possible space of the room. Quick click of pics will show the needful.

1229 – LUXURY PERSONIFIED LLP

Devialet Phantom Reactors belting out loud sound throughout the day, every single day, without fail. Bang, bang & more bang!

1230 – M Z Audio

Q Acoustics Concept 40 in a 5.1 home theatre set up with Marantz Pre/Power were showcased in the main room of the suite. The adjoining room had Q Acoustics Concept 500 with Marantz PM10 & SA10 hooked up, which sadly the majority did not even hear thanks to the notion that only home theatre demo was possible in the said room. An even bigger pity was the presence of the new Concept 300’s albeit on static display at the event registration area. One big opportunity missed to show case these raved about speakers, which sadly we won’t have a chance of listening to thanks to various reasons involved.

1231 – SURROUND SWAR

XTZ Speakers, subwoofers & PSA Subwoofers were on demo in a dolby atmos 5.2.2 configuration, along with Eltax 5.0 Speakers & Tangent 3.0 Speakers Sets, as static displays in the room. The good folk behind Surround swar tried their best to dial in the monstrous subs throughout the show & what we heard gave us enough to rate their set up as that being highly capable to deliver the goods to a movie crazy enthusiast craving for good quality bass extension. We hope to review some of the XTZ speakers in the near future.

On demo were the following:

XTZ

Cinema M8 Tower speakers

Cinema M8 Center speaker

Cinema S5 Surrounds speakers

Cinema S2 Atmos speakers Upfiring Modules

DS12.17 sealed dual 12” Subwoofer (Debut at the show)

D12.17 sealed side firing dual 12” Subwoofer (Debut at the show)

PSA

PSA V1510 15” Ported Subwoofer

1233 – SOUNDTRAILS

Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs Inc., are now officially represented in India by Soundtrails, which was a good surprise to us & to those who visited their room. Mofi Electronics by way of the Ultra & Studio Decks & Phono Stages were on demo along with Vinyl Accessories & Vinyls displayed alongside. We look forward to reviewing the Mofi Electronics in the near future.

1234 – MUSIC & MOUNTS

Axiom Wireless Speakers, the M5HP & M100 were on demo along with numerous inwall & onwall speakers on static display, with Clicktronic & Goobay Wires. The source was compromised hence we could not really get a good idea of these Axioms. Hopefully these will be sent for review to us in the future.

1235 – SIGHT & SOUND INDIA PVT. LTD.

Aero Digital products were showcased which consisted of Mirror TV’s Digital Displays, Digital Standees & 2 Way Digital Displays. We are always impressed by the price to performance ratio that Aero Digital Products deliver upon and definitely see them growing in stature as the years go by.

1236 – ACOUSTIC PORTRAIT

It has been a long while since we heard Acoustic Portrait products and that too consisting of the entire chain, which certainly was a bonus for us as we have always felt that their synergy is best achieved when they entire chain involved consists of their own products. On demo were the new speakers called Naadam, along with Thiyaga DAC & Thiyaga Power Amplifier with Volume Control.

It was also a pleasure to meet the people behind Acoustic Portrait, namely Jaya & Siva, who were very warm and gave their audience ample time to listen to their products. Acoustic Portrait also had the Kavi Active Studio Monitors at hand with their outboard Electronics, which sadly we could not hear due to being busy during the time they were brought into action. Nevertheless, the setup we heard that costs just under Rupees Ten Lakhs (excluding cables) was in our humble opinion a true winner and undoubtedly the star of the show.

The icing on the cake were the Indian Classical Music CD’s that Acoustic Portrait have for sale under their own label. These are some of the best recorded CD’s once can currently find in the market & are a real source of pleasure to those who love this genre of music. Acoustic Portrait also offer MP3(320 kbps) Studio Master FLAC Digital Downloads(24bit/192kHz) of the music via their website.

For those looking at investing in a quality stereo setup that will last a long time without the need for upgrading, then we highly recommend you visit Acoustic Portrait in Bangalore to get a first hand experience of what they have to offer. The only caveat being that you have to buy all the links of the chain to get the desired results.

Categories
AV News Reviews

What Hi-Fi Show 2019 Hyderabad Show Coverage Report – Part 2

1419 – NEDIS & AWAN INDIA

Nedis, Sweex, Bandridge & Profigold Cables Stacks were on display along with Thonet & Vander Koloss Speakers, Dunn Sound Bar & Outdoor Speakers were on demo.

Bandridge Speaker Cable Wire Spools, Apart Audio Speakers & Sennheiser Microphones Boxes were kept as static display.

1421 – CINEBELS (KLIPSCH)

As one entered the room, there were a stack of sub woofers placed on of top of the other, with a line of Klipsch RF Series Tower Speakers lined up post which there was a Forte III set up with Roksan DAC & Prima Luna Amp, playing music through a laptop. The adjoining room had a 5.1.2 home theatre set up along with a static display of sound bars and powered speakers.

As one left the room, the opposite wall of the room had a in wall / in ceiling speakers display mounted on a plywood wall with a small garden speakers corner assigned right near the room exit. We liked the effort taken to display the garden speakers in their natural habitat scenario.

1423 – EPSON

The room had the newly launched TW9400 projector on demo and the EB-700U ultra short throw projector kept at another side of the room.

1424 – SIDH INTERTRADE PVT. LTD.

Origin Acoustics Inwall/in ceiling speakers along with outdoor garden speakers were on demo along with their respective amplifiers. We were asked to listen to their outdoor garden speakers, the Bollard LandScape Design LSB64RD360k(Rs.1.45L ea), which were paired to the origin acoustics amplifier with DSP,  the DSP3-700 (Rs.2.57L ea) and were creatively placed amongst plants to create the intended atmosphere & environment into which they are to be placed. We spent some time listening to the speakers & were impressed with their performance, which was very good indeed but then at their respective pricing, these speakers better sound great! They also had more of the inceiling speaker & subwoofer models on static display along with a SB3 sound bar.

1425 – BASS N TREBLE (PIEGA & DEVIALET)

The following Piega Speakers Models were on demo

COAX511

Classic 7.0

Classic 5.0

Classic 3.0

Premium Wireless 301 with Connect Module

Coax 311

TMicro Subwoofer

The Devialet Amp used for demo was the Expert 440 Pro Dual

1426 – LITTLE NAP RECLINERS

Another recliner company showcasing various combinations possible with recliners, including two which were capable of doing more than just recline! They also showcased a new model that they have bagged an order for an upcoming elite multiplex cinema in Srilanka.

Pictures attached have all the details and a video as well.

1427 – BASS N TREBLE (LINN)

We were surprised to see Linn products at the show as we have now forgotten the number of times this brand has changed distribution(more of representation than true distribution) in India. On demo were the Majik 140 Tower Speakers with Selekt DSM, with a Roon Server.

We were happy to listen to the Majik 140 & Delekt DSM, but we felt these were new out of the box & hence the very much essential breaking in hadn’t taken place to truly showcase their potential.

On static display were the Majik 109 Book Shelves, Majik DSM, Inwall & Inceiling Speakers. Also on static display were a number of furutech products.

1428 – PROFX (KEF)

A number of KEF speakers were on static display from the RSeries namely the 3, 7 & 11 Book Shelf & Tower Speakers, Q950 Tower Speakers, Kube Subwoofer, along with THX & QR Inwall & InCeiling Speakers. The solitary Denon PM2500NE Stereo Integrated Amp accompanied the above speakers as static display.

The LS50 & LSX Wireless Speakers were on demo playing music via Bluetooth paired with cell phones.

1429 – BASS N TREBLE (AUREA BY LW)

A 5.1 home theatre set up with Aurea Coaxial 8 as LCR & the Coaxial 6 as surround speakers and Lucas Sub 15 DSP subwoofer were showcased from the VIP Theatre Commercial Cinema Series & Lucas Home Cinema Series respectively.

1430 – PROFX (DENON, HEOS & POLK AUDIO)

This suite had the front part with static displays of Denon AVR’s, DP450 Turntable & the Polk Magnify Max SR Soundbar which was on demo intermittently.

The inner room attached had a full blown 5.1.2 home theatre set up consisting of

Polk Audio

Signature S50 Tower Speakers

Signature Centre Speaker

Signature S10 Surround Speakers

Subwoofer HTS12

Denon AVR-X

1431 & 1433 – EIGHT AUDIO

On stereo demo were the Satori Ara Be Book Shelf & Satori Rinjani Tower Speakers, along with the newly launched Platina B17 Book Shelf Speakers.

For the adjoining home theatre demo, the following configuration was used

Agate Series

F26 Towers + A13 Dolby Atmos Upfiring Speakers

C35 Centre Speaker

B13 Surround Speakers

S10 Ultra Thin Subwoofer

Categories
AV News

What Hi-Fi? Show 2019 – Hyderabad (Exhibitors List)

As received from the show promoters, finally we are able to share the list of the exhibitors taking part in the What Hi-Fi? Show 2019, taking place at the Trident, Hitec City, Hyderabad.

What exactly will be showcased by the exhibitors, in terms of brands/models and so on is not yet known hence the only way to learn would be to visit the show.

For passes to the show, contact us.

Categories
AV News Reviews

WHAT HI-FI? SHOW 2019 – MUMBAI (SHOW COVERAGE REPORT / PART 3)

15 FLOOR

1501 – NUCLEUS AUDIO

BRAND SHOWCASED: LYRAVOX

Once again the Lyravox SM3-150 was showcased by Nucleus Audio, although this year with some new clothes (Centre Grill). Inside also there were changes in the form of a revised amp module software that has resulted in the Lyravox SM3-150 shining to an even higher level now, thereby making what was a great piece of kit even more amazing. We felt the dynamics are now even larger and when the volume was increased the Lyravox SM3-150 turned into a party animal with EDM music being belted out at full tilt but never as jarring as some of the other rivals at much lower price points end up doing. Having said that, the Lyravox SM3-150 at 16L isn’t for the average Joe, so the target audience is one that we feel won’t be visiting such a show in the first place, but rather would be advised about its presence by dealers, advisors and influencers who would be part of the inner coterie of the said clientele. The Lyravox SM3-150 is definitely a product that demands attention from the rich & famous.

1502 – OKAS

BRAND SHOWCASED:

OKAS

Excerpts from their website:

“OKAS a Sanskrit name for home or a place where you feel peaceful inspired the idea to create a solution that makes you feel more connected to your home. While designing OKAS, we understood that home is an exceptional space for people with class or taste for exclusivity. Also, each member has their preferences and feeling of living. Keeping all this in mind we integrated Artificial Intelligence with User persona to create the world’s first human-centric and user-driven home automation system with quintessential design features.”

As per our understanding, OKAS is a tailor made software that not only does everything that a automation software should do but it goes further by constantly tweaking the settings via artificial intelligence thereby suggesting the end user what he/she may like at the given time of their presence in the various zones of their home.

OKAS has smart controllers that function either for a single room or could multiply the same for larger spaces with integration of​ lighting, music, video, climate control, security and more into one simple system—a system you can access and manage from anywhere in the world. The user ultimately determines when, where and how things and actions should happen. The salient features of OKAS are as under:

  • Multi-Room Music – Play music from almost any format, in any room, any time.
  • Lighting – Save energy and enjoy the perfect ambiance in every room.
  • Interface – Enjoy control from anywhere-online or on your smartphone.
  • Security – Experience peace of mind with features that enhance your home security.
  • Artificial Intelligence System that is Human Centric.

We were given a remote tour of what OKAS does and how it can be implemented into the automation platform. The OKAS team advised us that the same will be ready for purchase in a couple of months’ time, during which they will also announce the pricing of the same. In the current scenario where there are already a lot of players offering various options and solutions, it will be interesting to see how OKAS gains a foot hold into this crowded market and notably at what price. We shall observe their progress nonetheless as the concept is interesting and challenging to be accepted by one & all, to say the least.

1503 – SONY INDIA PVT. LTD.

BRAND SHOWCASED:

SONY DOLBY ATMOS SOUNDBAR

SONY HEADPHONES

In typical Sony fashion, there was an exhibition vibe associated to their room, with one part showcasing the much talked about Dolby Atmos enabled sound bar – HT-ST5000 and in the other part were the headphones on display. Sadly, the way the demo of the sound bar was given, much was left to be desired and frankly speaking it wasn’t done in the right manner to showcase the Dolby Atmos effect. Hopefully, the others who visited the room did not think that Dolby Atmos is a gimmick as that would surely do more harm than good to the Dolby Atmos format in the long run.

1504 – NAGAOKA TRADING CO.

BRAND SHOWCASED:

NAGAOKA PHONO CARTRIDGES

NAGAOKA RECORD CLEANING ACCESSORIES

NAGAOKA ISOLATION ACCESSORIES

NAGAOKA HEADPHONE

A rather young gent was in charge of the room, who incidentally is also the newly appointed distributor for the Nagaoka brand products, notably their very popular range of Moving Magnet Phono Cartridges, which currently are the rage the world over. Along with the range of these Moving Magnet Phono Cartridges, were samples of the Nagaoka brand of Vinyl playback related & storage accessories such as Record Cleaning Brush, Cleaning Sprays, Inner Sleeves. Besides these, Nagaoka’s Isolation Devices were also on display and so were their Head Phones. The distributor kept changing the cartridges for demo purpose, amongst the range to showcase each ones sonic capabilities as well as show the visitors how to use the cleaning sprays and brush. Other than Nagaoka, the gent also is the distributor for a couple of record labels (World Circuit & Jackpot Records), of which he had on display as well as played most of the titles, for the benefit of the visitors. A team of Nagaoka representatives had also come down especially to be part of the show and to gauge the market response of the same for their products. We were very happy to meet them and interact with them, in regard to the Vinyl scene in general not only in our country but the world over. We hope that the distributor does justice to the Nagaoka brand and is able to keep the prices that are in keeping in accessibility to the Vinyl Aficionados across all walks of life and wish him the very best for his endeavors.

1511 – NEXUS AUDIO VIDEO

BRAND SHOWCASED:

PMC

One of the rooms that always is one of our favourites, not because we are good mates with the Nexus Audio Video Bossman, but because he has that ability of making his brands sound top notch almost every time he takes part in the show. He is one of the very few gents in the AV Industry Distribution business that is firstly a die-hard audio-video enthusiast and that truly reflects in not only the brands he represents but also the way he does so. This time, he showcased PMC’s newest line of ‘budget’ speakers that too active ones and currently are the flavour of the audio circuit world, be it home or studio. The PMC Result 6 are aimed at the prosumer segment, meaning they can fill in the requirements of not only a home audio enthusiast but also that of the professionals in the recording studio industry, notably those that are just getting into the business. A tight rope walk as we would imagine but something that a company like PMC is very much so capable of pulling off effortlessly and that is exactly what the PMC Result6 do!  The new Business Development Manager for PMC – Asia Pacific, was also at hand to experience the show and gauge the reaction of the visitors. Personally speaking, the PMC Result6 aren’t very much so in the realm of what may be called as typical ‘PMC Sound’. In fact, we feel that the boffins at PMC have taken a very different approach with these speakers. We even stick our neck out when we say that the way these speakers deliver the LF, is very different to that of a traditional LF response of a PMC loudspeaker. That itself made us sit up and take notice of the Result6. Coupled to this aspect the MF & HF’s also are so well integrated and pleasing that one thinks that these surely are very different speakers. The PMC Result6 have this uncanny ability to sound musical, precise and accurate whilst still providing a clear insight into the blemishes that might be present in a less than stellar recording, which itself is such a great asset that one can even listen to the poor recordings and not feel agitated to the extent with speakers which make them totally unlistenable. This is one very difficult feat that needs to be complimented to the fullest. At 2.5L, the PMC Result6 still aren’t cheap but yet when one pays attention to how they were showcased, minus any paraphernalia in the form of special cables, isolators, stands, acoustic treatment, etc., one wonders how much more can be gained if one decides to go down that path. Yes, a good source was used to pair the speakers with (AVM CS3.2 – 4L), but then the quality of a source can make or break the outcome of any set-up. Suffice to say, that we are very much so impressed with the PMC Result6 and would heartily recommend to those looking for a musical yet accurate active speaker. We would like to rate this room as the ‘Most Aspirational’ Room of the show.

1513 – ABSOLUTE SOUND

BRANDS SHOWCASED:

KII AUDIO

SOtM

ROON

TRANSPARENT AUDIO

EMOTION & KRAFT

STILL POINTS

SET-UP INFO:

Kii Audio Kii Three Active Loudspeaker

Kii Audio Kii Control

Kii Audio Kii Stand

SOtM sMS-200ultra Roon Streamer

SOtM tx-USBultra USB Regenerator

SOtM sPS-500 Regulated Power Supply to power Streamer and USB Regen

SOtM sCLK-OSX10 Master Reclocker

SOtM sPS-500 Regulated Power Supply to power Master clock

Roon Nucleus Roon Server

SOtM sPS-500 Regulated Power Supply to power Roon Server

Transparent Audio Premium Line Power Cables and Conditioners

Bamboo platforms from Emotion and Kraft

Stillpoints Aperture Acoustic Panels

Apple Remote

Total Cost of all the Equipment Showcased – 27.5L

Absolute Sound once again showcased the gear that was done the year before and we can state with confidence that this was going to be spectacular irrespectively. To say that the ‘Audiophile Crowd’ was happy is a forgone conclusion as JK, the set-up guru and owner of Absolute Sound always does his best to satisfy this crowd to the hilt. Having said so, we still have a lot of questions that need to be answered with regard to the Kii3 speakers as we have never heard them without the associated paraphernalia attached to them. How do they sound as is? Why can’t we hear them as is? What would be the outcome of the Kii3’s if they played without these attachments? Would they still sound as good? So many questions that aren’t being answered at the moment and we for one would love to learn the answers but only IF the opportunity so presents itself. Maybe, we need to speak with JK, to make this happen.

We can safely award this room as the winner of the ‘Audiophile’ Room of the show.

1514 – ELITE SCREENS

BRAND SHOWCASED:

ELITE

2 Screens, 1 with a short throw projector with some clips played in a loop, the other screen being a static display and one very disinterested person in charge of the room. That’s it folks!

1515 – LUXURY PERSONIFIED LLP

BRAND SHOWCASED:

MARSHALL

A complete illuminated wall of various Marshall Wireless Speakers of varying sizes dominated the room, along with a wall of Marshall Headphones were on display. We rather liked the sound of the Marshall speakers and would definitely love to hear a few of their models as & when we get the opportunity to review them if at all it happens. Prices were not advised to us so unfortunately we cannot state the same in this write up.

1516 – LUXURY PERSONIFIED LLP

BRAND SHOWCASED:

DEVIALET

Stars of the room were the Devialet Phantom Reactor 600 & 900 Ultra Compact Wireless Speakers, which are priced at 99K & 1.2L respectively. Also on display were the carry cases called Skin (30k) & stands called Legs (20K). As is with the bigger Phantoms, the Reactors go very loud and that is their claim to fame. Whilst it’s all good and fun for a while, one gets the feeling that fatigue sets in rather quickly with all this high SPL shining. Not to our liking to be very honest.

1518 & 1519 – BENQ INDIA PVT. LTD.

BRAND SHOWCASED:

BENQ

A couple of projectors showcased in each room, darkened rooms due to lights being shut off and again a couple of attendants walking around like zombies. The W2700 was the notable new model being showcased and on demo.

1520 – EIGHT AUDIO

BRANDS SHOWCASED:

EIGHT AUDIO

SB ACOUSTICS

Eight Audio is established in Hyderabad Telangana, and has brought in revolutionary designs of Danesian Audio (Denmark).

Manufacturing & Supplying Partners – SB Acoustics (Sinar Baja Electric Indonesia), Scan-Speak (Denmark) & Jantzen Audio (Denmark)

Eight Audio also design, develop and manufacture high-quality Audio Amplifiers, Pre-Amplifiers, Speakers, DAC’s using high-grade components. Eight Audio have been designing and building hand crafted high-end audio amplifiers and speakers for about 8 years. Eight Audio’s pricing is also rather very reasonable with the prices of the models showcased at the show as follows:

SATORI ARA BOOK SHELF SPEAKERS: 1.25L

SATORI RINJANI TOWER SPEAKERS: 1.5L

NOTE: 10K EXTRA FOR GLOSSY FINISHES (BLACK, WHITE)

Both the above speaker models were paired with Parasound Z Series Pre+Power Amps, with a Marantz CD Player. Why they did not showcase their speakers with their own amplifiers is a question mark though.

For the price, we rather liked what the ARA & RINJANI had to offer and surely look forward to hearing them in the near future as and when they arrive for a review. The attendants manning the room were young and dynamic which is always a good sign of an up and coming company.

Categories
AV News

AERO DIGITALWORLD AT WHAT HI-FI? SHOW 2019 – MUMBAI

AERO Digitalworld, India, have advised us that they will be showcasing the above noted products in the What Hi-Fi? Show 2019 – Mumbai, at the St.Regis, from the 1st-3rd March 2019. We will be covering the details of the same in our post show coverage report, stay tuned!

Categories
AV News

FOCAL AT WHAT HI-FI? SHOW 2019 – MUMBAI

AK International, the new distributor for Focal Loudspeakers have just advised us that they will be showcasing the range of Focal Loudspeakers at the What Hi-Fi? Show 2019, to be held at the St.Regis Hotel, Mumbai during the 1st – 3rd of March 2019. A storm will be kicked up in the form of a new surprise that will be revealed during the show, yes, Focal are bringing something interesting to showcase in this show, be there to witness the same!

We will provide the coverage of the same post completion of the show, stay tuned!

Categories
AV News

WHAT HI-FI? SHOW BANGALORE 2018 – SHOW COVERAGE

Here is our coverage of the What Hi-Fi? Show 2018, Bengaluru Edition:-

Naturally the AV distribution heavyweights based out of Bengaluru were present in full force, starting off with:

Cinebels:

 

Cinebels had taken 2 giant state rooms, one of which was showcasing Klipsch – Stereo, Home Theatre, Portable and Outdoor Speakers.  Also on display were Vivitek Projectors.

There was a complete Dolby Atmos setup of Klipsch speakers with a 4K Vivitek Model No. HK2288 projector producing crisp pictures in a partially lit room.

The vintage looking Klipsch Forte III heritage speakers coupled with Primaluna tube amp sound was crisp yet edgy and loud with punch. The experience of heavy but tight bass!

Klipsch ‘The Sixes’ powered speakers had very impressive sound for their size. Garden / outdoor speakers were also on demo. There was a nicely arranged wall of Kilpsch speakers on static display. Various in wall / in ceiling speakers, bluetooth speakers were also on display.

 

 

The other room was a Jamo room – showcasing a big variety of speakers on demo. Of course the most eye catching pair were the flagship R909’s that too in Rosso Red! Unfortunately, the R909’s were only on static display.

Jamo is currently doing something on the visual front too as we liked the grey grill on white speakers. Similar to the Klipsch speakers layout, Jamo speakers were showcased and on demo in a home theatre, stereo environments. A soundbar and some bluetooth speakers were also on demo/display.

Pro-FX:

Pro-Fx showed it’s presence with a state room and 2 other rooms. Loads of gear from Denon, KEF and Polk audio were on display. There was really too much to see and experience. We were surprised to see a  Denon Turntable Model:DP 300F connected to the KEF LS 50 powered speakers. Also on demo were a Chord Chordette DAC, Denon PMA 2500 NE amplifier and Denon DCD2000AE CD Player.

There was a live demo of Zipato home control and automation. Plenty of models from the likes of Denon AVR’s, KEF and Polk speakers range were on static display. A Polk Audio sound bar and wireless home theatre were also on demo.

Headphone Zone:

Headphone zone was given lobby space in between state rooms and they made good use of it! It was most demo heavy space with a large amount of headphones covering in-ear to over the head, small to big, conventional to open back. Also headphone accessories, DAC’s and special headphone amplifiers were on display. It was one of the most popular exhibition areas of the show.

The Soundsmiths:

There were 2 distinct demo’s happening and highlight was Meridian digital speakers. Music was fed via ipad, still it sounded really good. There also was a demo of Domotz Pro Remote Network Monitoring Software and Network Management System. On static display were Barco home theatre projector and networking equipment of Niveo. Artcoustic and Nordkraft speakers / audio equipment were on static display.

TCS AG:

TCS AG is a German hi quality manufacturer or switches, safety and related products. On display were switches with number of finishes options, as well as digital locks.

 

Nexus Audio:

The usual suspects (Brands) were present and showcased yet again. PMC twenty5.24 Speakers with Octave V40SE Integrated Valve Amplifier + Octave Black Box Outboard Power Supply and AVM CD 5.2T CD Player. Keeping the horrible room acoustics accompanied by the added ‘Noise Floor’(Pun heavily intended), the Nexus Audio team yet again pulled out the veritable rabbit out of their hat, which we are now so accustomed to. We appreciate their ‘out of the box’ thinking(yet another pun heavily intended) and hope that they continue to maintain their lofty standards in future as well.

Little Nap Designs Pvt. Ltd.:

Many comfortable recliners on display. New finishes mimicking luxury car seats were on display.

CasaDigi:

India’s home grown home / hotel automation giant. It was only presentation room very few products on display. They had a nice presentation of Casa Digi capabilities by their team.

Rivera International:

One room had Amina invisible speakers and Acoustic Energy speakers on display. What we were impressed with was the very tiny Acoustic Energy powered satellite subwoofer. It is designed to be placed on a table top and for it’s size and footprint, dished out full bodied sound.

The second room can easily be recalled as a muscle room as it had Bryston gear powering Audio Vector towers. The set-up consisted of Bryston – BP17³ Preamplifier, 4B³ Power Amplifier and BCD-3 CD Player were paired with Audio Vector SR3 Avantgarde

The ever enthusiastic demo personnel was keen to showcase what this set up could do as far as spl delivering capabilities are concerned and truly turned up with volume on a Rammstein track. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves to say the least, much to the chagrin of the big boss of Rivera International. This was one crazy setup showcasing what amplifier power and it’s grip on speakers is all about!

MZ Audio Distribution:

MZ audio was present in 2 adjacent rooms – one for home theatre demo room with Marantz AVR and Q acoustic speakers. Morel speakers were on static display. The other room was a dedicated stereo demo room where the flagship Taga harmony bookshelves were displayed with flagship Marantz CD player and Amplifier. On static display were Audica multiroom solutions and in wall / on wall speakers.

Sennheiser:

Possibly the most talked about room as they displayed a headphone system costing ‘hold your breath’ 45 lakh rupees! The demo was availed by prior appointment only. We agree that it was one of the most relaxed demo ever. The headphone amplifier was mystical with automatic opening headphone cover and retracting valves. The sound was fantastic, but did it justify the price? That is the moot point and we leave it to being as subjective as ever!

La-Z Boy:

The name synonymous with recliners, demoed a couple of luxury recliners. The price was high but real supple leather was really showcasing quality, feel and comfort.

Milan Sales Corporation:

The Indian screen specialist. There were 3 screens on which stunning visuals were projected. There was an innovative concept of the art screen, which basically is a retractable second screen on screen that you can custom print any image of your choice. It adds aesthetic appeal as well as help protecting the ‘real’ screen.

Reflex Audio:

Reflex Audio is speaker manufacturer based out of Kolhapur, Maharashtra. On demo was a 7.2 demo kit comprising of satellite speakers with two subwoofers. This is what most of the HT buyer wants, decent sound with PUNCH at a going to be announced very attractive and VFM pricing. We shall update on the pricing once the Reflex Audio team provides the same to us.

LG:

The LG room was at the extreme end and probably hardly visited due to it’s nondescript location/lack of signage, packed surprising visuals. On demo were 2 OLED flagship TV’s equipped with AI, offering jaw dropping stunning visuals.

Audio Note India:

Audio note is an audio manufacturer from UK making all the components used in their products in house, including some the capacitors and resistors used. This is attention to detail of highest order. Here, the demo was mostly aided by a Turntable and this was one of the best sounding rooms of the show.

Luxury Personified LLP:

Portable audio and headphones is one of the hottest category in audio growing at a phenomenal pace. Luxury Personified LLP was present in four rooms with 3 rooms being dedicated to portable audio. Highlight of these rooms was the Devialet room which was decorated like a hi- end club in which the white phantom speakers were dishing out high levels of ‘club’ sound. There was one room for Ultimate Ears bluetooth speakers and what we liked was that they actually immersed one speaker in water to show it’s waterproof capability! The third room was dedicated to Marshal bluetooth speakers and headphones where the retro themed scenarios were a treat to watch. The fourth room had some good looking audio from Piega on demo, which sadly we could not get an opportunity to listen to.

Recliners India:

As in every season, newer and more comfortable recliners were showcased. What we really liked was a recliner couch with individual adjustments.

BenQ:

There were two adjacent rooms and many projectors on display. Highlight were the 4K projector models W11000H and X12000 with crisp pictures.

Pandam Professional Audio:

The majority of Genelec brand of speakers were showcased, notably the G Series and the newest series ‘The Ones’ along with their range of complementing subwoofers. We have heard them plenty of times and so nothing much to say other than if you know how Genelec speakers sound then you know what these speakers are capable of.

Pilakal Home Cinemas:

Being Bengaluru based dealers of Definitive Technology and Parasound brands, they showcased an HT demo comprising of these brands.

Awan India:

Distributor of Profigold, Bandridge, Valueline, Thonet & Vander, Sweex. Thonet & Vander speakers were on display, offering good sound for their price.

Epson:

There were Full HD and 4k projectors on display, notably the TW650, TW5650 and LS10000, which incidentally is soon going to be replaced by the LS10500. The TW6700 model as seen in the picture was on demo.

KEI:

KEI were ‘present’ at the show by means of a solitary standee that was strategically placed as well as having their rep doing the rounds at the show. We liked this ‘invisible yet visible’ presence of theirs!

DNI:

Bengaluru’s and neighboring areas HT chain of stores was there with a strategy of showcasing as many products as was possible in one room. It was a litter of Focal speaker’s models at varying price points with an Accuphase amplifier being the jewel in the veritable mish-mash of equipment. Visitors (primarily existing customers of DNI) were impressed by HT demo as well as soundbar demo.

With that, we end our show coverage of the What HiFi Show 2018, Bengaluru. As is our perennial practice of covering each show taking place in India, we always state the facts, first and foremost as AV enthusiasts and second, as being part of the media responsible for providing an impartial coverage of what we experienced at the show.  We would also like to add our observations of the show as the final curtain drop on the show coverage, as under:

Overall, the current Bengaluru What HiFi Show was better than the last one, though the number of end users including HiFi/ HT enthusiasts was remarkably less than what was desired by both, the show organizer’s as well as the exhibitors. We nonetheless appreciate the efforts of the show organizer’s team for ensuring a well organized and managed show.

We find it very strange that on one hand we have end users bitterly complaining on AV forums of the lack of avenues to see and hear various brands officially available in India but on the other hand these people do not attend such shows arranged specifically to cater to them. Due to this worrying aspect, we really do not see the viability of having such a show taking place in a vibrant city like Bengaluru in the future.

The hotel used as the venue of the show is quite good and relatively easily accessible to visitors, which is good but we noticed a couple of the rooms assigned to the exhibitors had peculiar issues with regard to the flooring. Having creaking and noisy loose wood planks was a huge irritant not only for the exhibitors but also to the visitors to those rooms as they robbed the pleasure of listening to a particular set up sans any ‘background’ sounds.  A total disaster for the intended purpose of an AV show!

We were also expecting more exhibitors taking part in this show, notably the distributors of certain brands that are based in the southern regions of our country. A plausible reason for their non participation could be due to the fact that another competing show was to take place in Chennai later on in September this year. Nonetheless, we hope to see more exhibitors taking part in future shows so that the brands usually not visible other than the comfort zone areas of their distribution companies are visible and experienced by one and all attending such shows.

We now look forward to the next What HiFi show, hoping it to be even better than before! Thank you.