Anyone here going Florida International Audio Expo Feb 20-22 in Tampa Florida?

treitz3

I just booked my flight and hotel reservations. If anyone here is going, let's meet up. This will be my first time at this one.

Tom

HzTweaker

So far doesn't look like it.

Are you thinking about going? If so is there a specific product/manufacture that peaks your interest or would you be going just in general?

treitz3

Oh, I am going. I'd like to finally meet the man who gave me such joy along my audio journey...and it's not Bob Carver. I have already met him (and his lovely wife) and can already call him on speed dial.

BTW, he's getting rather old...y'all may need to start praying for him in advance. (secretly for now)

Tom

HzTweaker

Nice! Report back with lots of pictures and thoughts.

treitz3

I gotta be honest...

This is not an event I plan on reporting on. I am going there strictly for MY enjoyment and experience. If I end up commenting on something? Consider it a bonus for those that don't attend.

Tom

HzTweaker

Copy that.

pitdogg2

Might have to reach out to @Mikey081057, he lives in Tampa. I've got his digits if you need them.

treitz3

Well, admittedly, I missed the post to contact @Mikey081057. If you were there, I sincerely apologize. My bad.

That said, I went and had a F'n BLAST!

This show was much more, "Corporate", if you will compared to the Lone Star Audio Fest. The show was probably 6 times larger as well, not including the car audio show going on at the same time, right outside of the hotel. I never made it out there.

I was able to FINALLY meet Jonny. For those who don't know, he is the owner and designer of my favorite cables. I am sure that many of you are familiar with my ramblings about said cables. It's not like I haven't mentioned them before....Also met many industry insiders, ambassadors, manufacturers and folks I never expected to meet.

It was a completely different experience than the LSAF that I have been privy too multiple times.

We started at floor 4 and worked our way down.

There were many major players in the high end audio scene, along with many players that you never heard of and also many low cost players that were there to show off their gear. To make a very long story short? Floors 2 through 4 were child's play, with the exception of one speaker company.

They were not a full range speaker, but I knew, walking in that this was gonna be something special. They did not disappoint.





We obviously listened to the floor standers. They were thin, not too deep and stood about a half a foot above belly button in height. This setup stole the show on floors 2-4. Given the width of the room and the depth (probably 17x30 to 35), they COMPLETELY filled the room with such wonderful sound....and you could tell as soon as you walked into the room, even though it was filled with people every time we walked in. After all of the sub-par systems I had heard up until this point? It was truly a breath of fresh air to hear something worthy of listening too. It ended up being quite the treat too. We came back to this room 3x, even though we were in a hurry to move on to the next. Every time, it did not disappoint.

If you have not ever heard of this speaker company before? I would recommend to check them out. They punch WAY above what they have to bring to the table. You think they wouldn't bring jack ****? You would be wrong. That said, let me remind you again that they are not a full range speaker. But for what they offer? I could live with it comfortably. I was very impressed. Keep an eye on this company.

That said, how about some photos of some of the other rigs...

Cont'd...

treitz3

^^^ I will tell you about these later. VERY interesting product! Did I mention "VERY"?







^^^ Not a system, but the ceiling was pretty phat. It looked better in person.







So, this was a brief snapshot of the limited photos I took at the...



I'll cover the lower floor later. This is just a teaser.

Tom

treitz3

This was nice. Anyone recognize her? She appears on albums.....some might say that they are sought after.

Tom

treitz3

Surprisingly good sound. The issue was that the REL room above had the dreaded "boom" that resonated beyond belief, so nobody could really get a true taste of the speakers. Still, with the obnoxious boom coming from the REL room above, it provided some damned fine sound. Great sound stage and acoustics (that were not masked from the room above).

The show was weird. We walked through the inside car audio marketplace and the cat I was with wanted to actually speak to where we could hear each other, so we walked down this obscure hallway. We took a right, then a left and stumbled upon this room that we both didn't even knew existed. I recognized the speaker from photos, so we went in and listened.

Yes, it had some things that I did not prefer, some things that really impressed and even the obnoxious sound coming from the REL room above? I walked away impressed. I would like to hear them again, in a more refined environment.

Tom

skipshot12

Awesome, thanks for the pics and review.

bcwsrt

Can’t wait to hear what the Star Trek-looking thingies are …

treitz3

bcwsrt wrote: »

Can’t wait to hear what the Star Trek-looking thingies are …

https://estelon.com/speaker/forza/

They are almost as tall as I am. Pics don't really do it justice. In person, they look fantastic. Kind of like a work of art.

Tom

Viking64

I thought "Star Trek" was a reference to those pendants (?) that say "LOEWE" and "Klipsch".

treitz3

Oh, those? Those are sweet. If I find the time tonight, I'll fill you all in.

Tom

treitz3

So, that's the T-10 Bespoke headset. Probably the world's most unique and intriguing set of ear buds. I was lucky enough to have a full demo from Bear Clark the first night I showed up after hours at the bar. I'll say one thing, Bear is a funny as they come. We laughed both nights we were at the bar. He's just a freakin' TRIP!

Anyhoo, it has noise cancelling that drops noise around you significantly. So, he put the earbuds into my ear (I barely noticed they were in there) and he dropped it down some. Then some more, and even though the bar was extremely loud, I could barely hear anything when it was set to zero. This is partly thanks to a silicone slider he put on that is specially fitted to your ear canal. It brought the noise from the bar down to an estimated 35dB, which is pretty quiet, especially considering my surroundings.

Then he played some music. When the music started, I no longer heard anything from the bar, just the music. The separation was outstanding and the bass was actually pretty daggum good. Better than I ever expected. The level of detail these things put out was surprising. Even the smallest hint of sounds came through with ease. Like listening to a rather refined hi-fi rig. Not bad at all.

He told me so much about all of the features this thing does and I'll be honest, it does more than I remember. The technology that is in these things is unheard of. You can take a call by nodding your head up or down, not answer a call by shaking your head left to right. The earbuds outer side supports touch, double touch, touch and hold, swipe forward, swipe rearward, swipe and hold forward, swipe and hold rearward, toggle forward, toggle rearward, toggle and hold (both directions), all gestures (for each ear) independently assignable in-app.

Everything about these things are totally and completely customizable. Just scroll through the gallery and you will see some examples. I am not kidding about everything being customizable either. He had about 25 examples of these things with him and everyone of them were the same shape, but they were all completely different. From Blue ray skin to alligator skin to diamonds, emeralds, 3D metal shapes, 3D family crests, literally anything you want? They can make. The only limits are your wallet and your imagination.

They will hold a charge for something like 9 hours and if you place the buds back in the charger for 5 minutes, it is charged again for another 4.5 hours. If memory serves, you can take it hiking and listen for 45 hours without ever having to plug it back into a power source.

This is not for most people. This is for the discerning customer who is into very unique, luxury items and high fidelity music. They range from anywhere between 3K to 120K. The pricier ones have been sold to some to sports figures, princes and foreign leaders. Snoop Dog even has one. It's definitely for a niche market, but believe it or not? I am actually considering getting one down the road. It would be great for mowing the lawn, privacy and great tunes while on an airplane, camping, bike riding, listening to music while at work or simply enjoying some great music right next to your wife while she is watching her chick flicks. She won't hear you and you will definitely not hear her or the chick flick.

If you are worried about hearing traffic, an ambulance or a car horn when riding your bike, the noise cancelling feature is also fully customizable. You can adjust it for a good balance between hearing outside noises and music. Or you can just turn off the noise cancelling feature.

This was hands down, the most unique thing I saw at the show and I honestly never even knew they existed. Not only that, I made a good friend with Bear. We closed the bar both nights, along with Jonny from Snake River Audio, who already bought one. Bear sold 7 at the show, and he still had a day to go (I had to leave Sunday morning, so I could get back to work today). If anyone ever goes to a show and wants to meet a character, walk on up and introduce yourself. He's not pushy and his sense of humor is top notch. This T-10 Bespoke will definitely impress you. I am still in awe at all the things this can do.

And then their is the fine detail and quality, that one would only see in fine jewelry and watches. The detail is extremely impressive. Everything about these things are impressive.

Anyhoo, that's what the Star Trek-looking thingies are.

Tom