T.H.E. Show has had an interesting history over the last couple of years. After being held every year for several years in Newport Beach (not really in Newport, but that’s what they called it) it moved to Irvine in 2016. In 2017 there was a competing LA Audio Show (LAAS) held near LAX airport and T.H.E. Show was cancelled. This year LAAS was cancelled and T.H.E. Show was held at the Marriott Hotel in Irvine. Confused? I am. I don’t know anything about the conflicts and/or politics behind the two competing shows, but I hope that in next year everybody can focus their energy on a single great show in the LA/OC area. With 15 million people or so there should be enough people and purchasing power here to warrant a great audio show.
The Marriott hotel is very nice. Parking was full when we arrived on Sunday, but we were able to park a block away. The hotel has a very modern design, including a restaurant/bar/lounge area that’s open out to the outside pool. Very SoCal – and very inviting.
T.H.E. Show this year was quite small – a couple of rooms and a marketplace-like area on the ground floor plus only two floors with what I would estimate to be around 20 rooms. On the plus side we were able to visit all of the rooms easily, but I hope that next year will bring more exhibitors.
OK, so what about sound impressions? First, I didn’t see a single headphone anywhere so these are all two-channel systems. Nonetheless we visited a few enjoyable rooms that stood out:
The Marriott hotel is very nice. Parking was full when we arrived on Sunday, but we were able to park a block away. The hotel has a very modern design, including a restaurant/bar/lounge area that’s open out to the outside pool. Very SoCal – and very inviting.
T.H.E. Show this year was quite small – a couple of rooms and a marketplace-like area on the ground floor plus only two floors with what I would estimate to be around 20 rooms. On the plus side we were able to visit all of the rooms easily, but I hope that next year will bring more exhibitors.
OK, so what about sound impressions? First, I didn’t see a single headphone anywhere so these are all two-channel systems. Nonetheless we visited a few enjoyable rooms that stood out:
- Scott Walker Audio (I think that was the dealer’s name) featuring Burmester pre/power amps with ELAC Adante speakers. I think Burmester is one of the most lust-inducing brands around. I love the design and build quality. This room sounded very good, although I don’t like the sharp bite in the lower treble from the ELAC Adante speakers. This is something that I don’t hear from the lower-priced Debut and Uni-Fi models.
- Cambridge Audio Edge streamer/pre-amp and power amp with B&W speakers. I’ve read about Cambridge Audio but this is the first time I’ve heard their systems. They showed the new top-of-the-line Edge series with a nice streamer/preamp and separate power amp connected to a B&W speaker. The B&W speakers are a bit too dry-sounding for my taste, but this system sounded really good. Also, super-kudos to the Cambridge team for playing music that I actually listen too rather than standard audiophile demo tracks. (I lost count of how many times I heard ‘Take Five’ at this show – can we please try to play something else from time to time?)
- The Gryphon amps and speakers. I saved the best for last. The Gryphon is a Danish brand that I’ve read about but never heard before. This was one of those experiences when you just relax and get lost in the music. You forget to listen to what the systems actually sounds like – it just sounds right, which for some reason causes me to just relax and enjoy. They played some Leonard Cohen tracks that sounded like he was in the room playing just for us. Amazing. I didn’t ask about the cost of the system – I’m sure it’s astronomical, but man it sounded good!
