CEDIA EXPO 2006 review (long
okiepolkie
Posts: 2,258
For the most part, the trip went off without a hitch. I'm sure there are some things left out, but this is most of it:
Wed: Arrived in Denver approx 10:00 local time.
Picked up our rental car without any problems-even upgraded us to a Pacifica
Made to our hotel about 11:30. Overbooked, so they send us down the street to a sister hotel. Guy at the front desk can barely speak English, so he finally get his manager out of bed to find the paperwork. Manager is ticked because our paperwork was on top of the stack.
Thurs: 10:00-11:30. Met with my Cambridge Audio/ Mordaunt Short/YBA representative. Discussed new products and ways to integrate current offerings.
11:30-1:00. Met with Shunyata sales representatives. Continued discussing products and possibilities of becoming a dealer.
1:00-2:30. Datatcolor training-discussed benefits of video calibration. Discussed Spyder2 Pro calibration tool/software.
2:30-4:30. Walked the floor.
Evening: Drove to Silverthorne to meet relatives. Ate at Dam Brewery-best burger Ive had in a long time.
Fri:
9:00-11:00. Walked the floor
11:00-12:30. Velodyne-subwoofer setup training. I can expound on this if needed.
12:30-3:00. Walked the floor.
Visited Polks booth. Talked with Paul D, and spent a few minutes talking with Mr. Polk. This was almost the best time I had a CEDIA. The booth was very nice. Uncluttered, yet informative. The subwoofer line looks very promising. The new THX in-ceiling speakers were magnificent. Apparently, they had Lsi25s at the front the first day, but not hooked up. Several people commented how good the 25s sounded, and had trouble believing they were in-ceiling speakers. The other in-wall offerings look very nice as well. They have some in-wall/ceiling bi/di-pole LSi speakers utilizing a 0.75 ring-rad tweet.
3:00-4:30. Sencore
4:30-6:00. Met with sales manager from Thiel, and looked at James Loudspeakers.
6:30-7:00. Attended reception with C.A.,M.S.,YBA, and Focal importer.
I sat at the same table as Mr. Jacques Mahul (J.M. Labs/Focal). I didnt talk with him much, but spent a good bit time talking with some of the gentlemen from YBA. This is a very interesting company as well and they look to have some very interesting products available in the near future. One of them is a 7.1 channel integrated amplifier(receiver) that looks more like a sleek piece of art, rather than an A/V piece. It is housed in the same chassis as the integrated amplifier reviewed in last months TAS.
Sat: 9:00-1:00. Walked the floor
1:00-4:00. Attended Learn to Listen Class
Very informative. The instructor discussed how to listen by playing un-calibrated music/movie tracks, then listen to the same thing after it was calibrated. He used an RTA, but relied on his ears to see if it really sounded right. At one point, he calibrated the system as most people would set everything(including most of us here on the forum), but then tweaked the system to better simulate an actual theater. Some of the tips were increase the delay time for your front two speakers by a couple milliseconds to give the center a slight boost, without increasing the actual speaker level, lengthen the delay time for the sides and rears, so it sounds like your room is larger than it really is. Also, and many do this already, increase the subwoofers level 2-3 dbs. Effectively, the room will be bowed out on the sides, and the front will be bowed towards you.
7:00-10:30. Dinner with Dali. This was my first experience with this company, and I hope it is not my last. I contacted Dalis U.S. sales managers approximately two weeks before CEDIA. They did not have a booth listed, but said there would be a dealer/prospective dealer dinner on the Saturday evening of the expo.
This evening was very interesting. I sat at the table with Mr. Spearit, of Spearit Sound in Boston, and two gentlemen that worked/owned Park Avenue Audio. Simply put, there was a lot of passion for audio around the table.
Overall, this was a very good show. I probably wont get to go every year, but Ill probably start integrating this into my schedule every other year. The next two years will be in Denver, then it changes to Indianapolis or Atlanta after that. I will definitely go to Atlanta.
I would recommend almost anyone go if they can. I know it is primarily for dealers, but the training classes are nice and you get to see an almost overwhelming amount of new products.
From a business perspective, I didnt find anything that would change my mind about my current offerings. For the most part, the good things from my research were confirmed even more.
Showstopper (for me):
- McIntosh XRT2K speaker system with appropriate amplifiers. We talked about this one after CES, but it did sound very good. All together, the system retails for approximately $195,000.
Interesting products(ones that I would like to try in the near futre):
- Velodyne in-wall subwoofer
- RTI remote controls the TC2 looks very interesting. Ill probably try the T2+ shortly.
- Harmony 1000 remote control. Very similar to the 890, but as a touch screen.
- More to come
Uninteresting products:
- Crestron
- AMX they do cool things, but I dont of many people that actually use them on a regular basis.
- Ill think of more later
Wed: Arrived in Denver approx 10:00 local time.
Picked up our rental car without any problems-even upgraded us to a Pacifica
Made to our hotel about 11:30. Overbooked, so they send us down the street to a sister hotel. Guy at the front desk can barely speak English, so he finally get his manager out of bed to find the paperwork. Manager is ticked because our paperwork was on top of the stack.
Thurs: 10:00-11:30. Met with my Cambridge Audio/ Mordaunt Short/YBA representative. Discussed new products and ways to integrate current offerings.
11:30-1:00. Met with Shunyata sales representatives. Continued discussing products and possibilities of becoming a dealer.
1:00-2:30. Datatcolor training-discussed benefits of video calibration. Discussed Spyder2 Pro calibration tool/software.
2:30-4:30. Walked the floor.
Evening: Drove to Silverthorne to meet relatives. Ate at Dam Brewery-best burger Ive had in a long time.
Fri:
9:00-11:00. Walked the floor
11:00-12:30. Velodyne-subwoofer setup training. I can expound on this if needed.
12:30-3:00. Walked the floor.
Visited Polks booth. Talked with Paul D, and spent a few minutes talking with Mr. Polk. This was almost the best time I had a CEDIA. The booth was very nice. Uncluttered, yet informative. The subwoofer line looks very promising. The new THX in-ceiling speakers were magnificent. Apparently, they had Lsi25s at the front the first day, but not hooked up. Several people commented how good the 25s sounded, and had trouble believing they were in-ceiling speakers. The other in-wall offerings look very nice as well. They have some in-wall/ceiling bi/di-pole LSi speakers utilizing a 0.75 ring-rad tweet.
3:00-4:30. Sencore
4:30-6:00. Met with sales manager from Thiel, and looked at James Loudspeakers.
6:30-7:00. Attended reception with C.A.,M.S.,YBA, and Focal importer.
I sat at the same table as Mr. Jacques Mahul (J.M. Labs/Focal). I didnt talk with him much, but spent a good bit time talking with some of the gentlemen from YBA. This is a very interesting company as well and they look to have some very interesting products available in the near future. One of them is a 7.1 channel integrated amplifier(receiver) that looks more like a sleek piece of art, rather than an A/V piece. It is housed in the same chassis as the integrated amplifier reviewed in last months TAS.
Sat: 9:00-1:00. Walked the floor
1:00-4:00. Attended Learn to Listen Class
Very informative. The instructor discussed how to listen by playing un-calibrated music/movie tracks, then listen to the same thing after it was calibrated. He used an RTA, but relied on his ears to see if it really sounded right. At one point, he calibrated the system as most people would set everything(including most of us here on the forum), but then tweaked the system to better simulate an actual theater. Some of the tips were increase the delay time for your front two speakers by a couple milliseconds to give the center a slight boost, without increasing the actual speaker level, lengthen the delay time for the sides and rears, so it sounds like your room is larger than it really is. Also, and many do this already, increase the subwoofers level 2-3 dbs. Effectively, the room will be bowed out on the sides, and the front will be bowed towards you.
7:00-10:30. Dinner with Dali. This was my first experience with this company, and I hope it is not my last. I contacted Dalis U.S. sales managers approximately two weeks before CEDIA. They did not have a booth listed, but said there would be a dealer/prospective dealer dinner on the Saturday evening of the expo.
This evening was very interesting. I sat at the table with Mr. Spearit, of Spearit Sound in Boston, and two gentlemen that worked/owned Park Avenue Audio. Simply put, there was a lot of passion for audio around the table.
Overall, this was a very good show. I probably wont get to go every year, but Ill probably start integrating this into my schedule every other year. The next two years will be in Denver, then it changes to Indianapolis or Atlanta after that. I will definitely go to Atlanta.
I would recommend almost anyone go if they can. I know it is primarily for dealers, but the training classes are nice and you get to see an almost overwhelming amount of new products.
From a business perspective, I didnt find anything that would change my mind about my current offerings. For the most part, the good things from my research were confirmed even more.
Showstopper (for me):
- McIntosh XRT2K speaker system with appropriate amplifiers. We talked about this one after CES, but it did sound very good. All together, the system retails for approximately $195,000.
Interesting products(ones that I would like to try in the near futre):
- Velodyne in-wall subwoofer
- RTI remote controls the TC2 looks very interesting. Ill probably try the T2+ shortly.
- Harmony 1000 remote control. Very similar to the 890, but as a touch screen.
- More to come
Uninteresting products:
- Crestron
- AMX they do cool things, but I dont of many people that actually use them on a regular basis.
- Ill think of more later
Tschüss
Zach
Zach
Post edited by RyanC_Masimo on
Comments
-
That Harmony remote looks pretty cool. I'd feel pretty lame, however, if my remote control were the most expensive component in my system.
-
Sounds like you were a busy guy! Let me know if you get a Harmony 1000 in, I'd like to see it
What did you learn with the Velodyne sub setup training? -
The Harmony 1000 has a retail of $499, so it isn't out of control(pun intended).
I will expound on the Velodyne setup suggestions later this weekend.Tschüss
Zach
