Selecting photographs for this year’s coverage of the Audio Video Show exhibition resembled the Massacre of the Innocents – I have chosen fewer than 150 from almost 1000 pictures that I took during the two days that I spent in the Radisson Blu Sobieski Hotel, Golden Tulip Hotel and at the National Stadium. Then, I had to eliminate even more photographs to make the report sensible and prevent it from becoming a garbage heap.

It is because what the organizer of the event (the Adam Mokrzycki Services company) had claimed before the AVS started came true. They informed the public that “the Audio Video Show has been growing exponentially. Although it is hard to believe, we have just broken the hardly beatable last year’s record of over 110 conference and demo rooms booked by our exhibitors. At this organizational stage, 141 rooms have already been booked and the number is still growing. This result only strengthens the Audio Video Show’s position as the second largest hi-fi exhibition in Europe.”

The organizer’s opinion was commonly confirmed by visitors, exhibitors and foreign guests experienced in visiting different shows of this type, often spending weeks and months travelling from one exhibition venue to another. Raveen Bawa, a representative of the dCS company, said that although Munich (which would be ‘the largest’ exhibition implied by the organizer) is still the most recognizable audio exhibition in Europe, the one in Warsaw is not inferior to it, but even more attractive in some respects. Gabi van der Kley, the CEO of Crystal Cable, had the same opinion. She smothered me with kisses, saying that the event was fantastic and that organizing it at the Stadium was a great idea.

I think I am not the only one who thinks that moving the event from the Brystol Hotel and organizing the opening ceremony at the National Stadium (I will call it ‘the Stadium’ from now on) has made the whole exhibition reach a completely new, very high level. Choosing this location had seemed to be a mistake to many exhibitors before the event. The pointed out bad room acoustics, large distance from the main event (Radisson Blu Sobieski Hotel which I will refer to as ‘Sobieski’), to the “incompatibility” of the place with the character of the exhibition, etc. I understand their doubts and objections – after so many years in hotels it was hard to imagine such a drastic change of the venue.

However, it was the most important and at the same time the best decision since it was decided that the Audio Show (the predecessor of the AVS) would start to be organized. To demonstrate the meaning of the “apology”, let me just describe the reaction of Gabi van der Kley who declared that she would lobby for organizing Dutch audio and video fairs at the ultra-modern Philips Stadium (built in 1913 and recently renovated), the seat of the PSV Eindhoven sport’s club.

The character that the event assumed at the new location is of the greatest importance here. Broad corridors, access to toilets, cleanliness and breathing space are the basic distinguishing characteristics of the venue. Then, it is important to mention the comfortable atmosphere of the place. We owe it to crowds of ordinary people who came with their whole families, young people who would spend hours in headphone sections, the presence of many record companies, as well as the aesthetics of the venue. Coming back to Sobieski, I felt claustrophobic – not only due to a lack of space, but also owing to a completely different atmosphere. I think it was the first time I had realized so clearly what opinion people from outside the audiophile industry have of us: we are concentrated on our problems and do not see anything else apart from them. However, there is a whole big world around us! The Stadium opened up our audio world and let fresh air enter it. That may be the best possible gift for the Polish audio market.

THE BEST OF THE BEST

High attendance rates, both with reference to visitors and exhibitors, have a specific impact on such events. For a journalist, the result is the excess of almost everything – places to visit, people to meet, systems to test and devices to describe. The two past years were already marked by cutting it fine, being on the run and hardly managing to do it all. This time I simply had too little time and energy to do everything that I had wanted. I think it is necessary to accept that I won’t be everywhere and won’t see everything on such occasions.

Therefore, the choice of systems that I present below, the sound of which, in my opinion, deserved special attention, is even more arbitrary. It was all very simple: I have chosen the systems in which everything was “all right” when I entered a given room and had time to sit in it for a while. It might have been different a moment after or before, with different music. However, at that given moment it was what it was and I want to emphasise the very specific moments that gave me most pleasure.

BEST OF THE BEST AUDIO VIDEO SHOW 2015

I. Studer + Chord + Cabasse + Pro-Ject + Cardas + Rogoz Audio

However, what I have written above does not apply to the three main awards. The Voice system with a copy of a master tape played with the Studer 807 tape recorder was a revelation. While listening to the Beatles, it was possible to understand why some people complain about digital technology – so far, the same effect has not been achieved in the domain of digital records.

It is one of the “sounds of the exhibition” – a system created by the Voice company, based on Chord products that we have tested, including the CD RED Reference One MkIII player (to be tested in December). Speakers – Cabasse Pacific 3 SA. Source: three devices – the Pro-Ject RPM 9 Carbon turntable, DAC Chord DAVE and the Studer 807 tape recorder. It was all placed on a Rogoz Audio table.

II. Ayon Audio + Lumen White + Siltech + Transrotor

This is the absolute forefront of the “sounds of the exhibition” – the Lumen White “White Light Anniversary” speakers with Ayon Audio electronics and a Transrotor turntable, the test of which you were given in a printed form with catalogues at the entrance to the exhibition venue. Music was played from a file player.

It does not mean that you cannot play music on a very high level from a file – for another year in a row, we could hear magic in the Nautilus company room, in a system prepared in cooperation with Gerhard Hirt. Demonstrations took place in a room in which concerts were organized in the previous years (because of that this year’s concert was cancelled by the organizer of the exhibition), which is very difficult when it comes to acoustics. People from Nautilus put a lot of effort to alleviate the problems. The “canopy” over listeners looked strange but fulfilled its role.

Master of the ceremony – Gerhard Hirt, the owner of Ayon Audio.

III. Destination Audio + Entreq

However, it was not the only flawless system with files in the main role – Destination Audio is a tiny Polish “boutique” company. The sound that I heard from its horn speakers was outstanding. Niemen’s voice that I know inside out was incredibly natural. Additionally loaded low midrange did not spoil anything, but added realism to the whole thing. That was incredible pleasure!

Horn speakers with a wooden Destination Audio midrange horn. It was possible to achieve this effect thanks to company electronics with 45 tube power amps (1.5 W per channel!), and also – perhaps above everything else – Entreq cables and conditioners. A lot of wood, tubes and a fantastic effect.

BEST SOUND 2015 AUDIO VIDEO SHOW 2015

TAD + Naim + Wireword + Chord

One of the best-sounding systems of the exhibition – TAD Compact Evolution One speakers with Naim electronics, including, among others, the NAC-N272 streaming preamplifier and the NAP250 DR power amplifier.

Melodika + Indiana Line

An excellent-sounding inexpensive system placed in the corner of a room, based on Melodika speakers (prototype), with the company’s Brown Sugar cables (our Award of the Year 2015) and Indiana Line Puro electronics. Bravo!

Audiomachina + Einstein Audio + SME + RCM Audio + CEC

Just like many other visitors, I was looking for a subwoofer or large speakers when I entered the RCM room, but I saw tiny Audiomachina CRM II standmount speakers. A test of the Pure NSE model will be carried out in HF in December. The system was based on Einstein Audio electronics, the SME Model 15 turntable and the CEC CD5 CD player. Most of these brands have been given the HF Award of the Year 2015.

Amare Audio + Harpia Acoustics + JR Audio

The Amare Audio room with Harpia Acoustics speakers. Among novelties, you could see an unusual DAC – upsampling all signals to DSD and then just an analogue filter, i.e. a DAC without a classic digital-to-analogue converter. A test soon in “High Fidelity”.

Equilibrum + Enerr + Atoll

I spent more time listening to this system, as it was worth it – the sound was extremely full and “analogue”, although the source was a file player. In the system, there were Equilibrum Athmos S7 speakers and Enerr Transcenda power cables. The source was an Atoll player/preamp and a power amp of the same manufacturer.

Atohm + Atoll

One of the best-sounding systems of the exhibition – Atohm GT 2.0 speakers driven by Atoll electronics: the CD400 player and the IN400 integrated amplifier. The sound was dynamic, clear and full. Fortunately, accurate and empty sound can be heard less and less often at exhibitions.

AVCON + Trafomatic + Triode

Wood, tubes and style – everything that I like. AVCON Avalanche Reference Monitor speakers on AVCON stands, with the Trafomatic SM-300B amplifier and the CD Triode TRV-CD4SE player. Beautiful, noble sound.

Sveda Audio + Jadis + Verictum + Audio Research

Yes, I enjoyed being there a lot. Excellent saturation and resolution. Sveda Audio speakers (home audio version, as Sveda Audio is a “studio” company) accompanied by the Jadis I-88 amplifier, the CD Audio Research player and Verictum accessories.

A novelty at the back – the Verictum Demiurg power cable. Its test will be published in HF in December.

Jadis + Franco Serblin + ReVox

Another system with Jadis I-88 and excellent sound again – calm, saturated and full. The source was the ReVox PR99 MkIII reel-to-reel recorder and there were Franco Serblin Ktêma speakers.

Ypsilon Electronics + Magico + Kronos Audio + Tara Labs

To be honest, the Magico company does not usually make a very good impression on me during exhibitions. They manufacture very demanding speakers that need time to adjust to a given interior. However, the S7 model delivered excellent sound, at least in my opinion. It was driven by Ypsilon Electronics, with a Kronos turntable as the source.

THE END

“High Fidelity” has been a media partner of the exhibition in Warsaw for years. This year’s edition of the exhibition was special. For the first time, it was organized not only in hotel rooms, but also in conference rooms of the national Polish football stadium. What is more, instead of two days it lasted three (on Friday it was possible to start the ‘tour’ from 4 p.m.). The promotional activity of the organizer was incredibly intensive – 150 large-format banners were put up in Warsaw. News informing about the event was shown by 9 TV stations and some of it was broadcast live on breakfast television. During the broadcasts, celebrities such as Marek Sierocki, Smolik, Hirek Wrona, Paweł Edelmann and many others encouraged viewers to attend the exhibition. On Polsat TV, the exhibition was one of the three main topics of the evening news.

This resulted in an influx of people who were looking for good sound, design and music but were not audiophiles and do not intend to become audiophiles. It was a fantastic experience – I did not feel like leaving the Stadium as all these people brought very good vibrations to the place.

However, Sobieski will remain the main venue of the Audio Video Show, as no other place has so many available rooms. Compared to the Stadium, the hotel lost a lot of its charm, but this may result in something good – it is enough to take better care of cleanliness and the aesthetics of rooms, think of good lighting and information for the press a long time before the exhibition. It is a hotel which will remain the “cave” of audiophiles, but one supplied with “young blood”.

The most intimate place, with only eight rooms, was the Golden Tulip Hotel. However, it is where I found as many as three systems that produced simply beautiful sound. Three in eight! It may be a place to talk, meet and celebrate in peace.

I kindly thank those of you who came to the 100th meeting of the Krakow Sonic Society. Let me remind you that we compared subsequent versions of records by The Beatles – a Japanese version with an older remaster, an European remaster of 2009, a Japanese version with the same remaster and finally the SHM-CD version, also with a remaster from 2015. At the end we decided to conduct a blind listening test of a song from John Lennon’s Double Fantasy album: a Japanese CD version, a SHM-CD and a Platinum SHM-CD. A report from the meeting will be published in “High Fidelity”.

It was nice to meet you, that was a very positive experience! Congratulations to all the exhibitors – the amount of work put in the event is unimaginable – my back starts to hurt me when I think about it – respect to you all. In December we will publish more accounts of the exhibition, also written by our readers. See you next year!