The UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2019 Complete Coverage!!

A hi-fi show at a racecourse? If the Warsaw show (coming up the weekend of November 8th-10th, 2019) can be successfully held at a football (soccer) stadium, why not have one at a racecourse? Especially the UK’s premier horse racing venue, and home to Royal Ascot. The UK’s largest and most iconic Grandstand is an innovative venue for a hi-fi show and, blessed with a dedicated electricity substation, is capable of delivering great sounds once the exhibitors have tackled the room acoustics.

This was the show's first year in this new venue organized by Hi-Fi News editor and EISA President Paul Miller (who is obviously a very busy guy!) and as is usually the case, participants sometimes have difficulties figuring out speaker placement. Some rooms sounded very good, some not so good. No doubt all exhibitors learned much so that next year's show sound will be even better.

Most importantly show attendance both days appeared to be strong. The size of the venue meant dispersed crowds so it seemed "sparse", but poke a head into any and every room as I did, and the chairs were all filled, sometimes overflowing and often with people waiting outside the popular exhibits.

While I tried to visit every room, I regrettably missed a few key analog manufacturers including Acoustic Solid, Aesthetix, Audia Flight, Brinkman, Dual CS, Kronos, OKKI NOKKI, and a few others (mostly located on the 3rd floor) that I somehow missed. The escalators and the venue floor plans were kind of confusing especially to the spatially challenged (me), so apologies to those left out of the video coverage that runs an hour plus. The only good news here is that I don't think much that was new was introduced here by those companies.

AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer played "special" records in three well-attended sessions that you'll see here, but you won't hear the records to avoid copyright strikes and outright international blocks. In fact, this video was originally blocked by SONY Music because of a short snippet of Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up in Blue" playing on a turntable sourced from Mobile Fidelity's "One Step" box set. Apparently Sony Music opposes our industry's advocacy of music ownership and if not, why not change the damn algorithm? Donald Fagen's publisher blocked the video as well for a snippet of "Security Jane" from his album "Morph the Cat", though "Deacon Blue" from "Aja" just got a "copyright strike", which means the video is monitized by the "offended" parties. We are okay with that but full blockage? Algorithm BOTs are strange creatures.

Enjoy the video! It's more an overview of what was there (a lot!) than a microscopic exam. Hopefully by the end you'll come away feeling as if you had been there yourself.

COMMENTS
cdvinyl's picture

What the music was you were playing at the end of your video?

Toptip's picture

But what was the classical / violin music prior to it, on reel?

Michael Fremer's picture
I don't know... it was recorded by the room's organizer...in Toronto
Toptip's picture

Music and cello player. Not the same recording though:
https://youtu.be/R5r8O3oH2zc

JEllis77's picture

on Sunday - unfortunately I missed you LP session (I walked in just as you finished). I also was too shy to say hello and thanks so I'll do it now - thank you for all that you have done and continue to do for vinyl. I never went away from it although it was touch and go in the 90s. Never thought I would be buying amazing reissues nearly 30 years later.

The show was good but a bit spread out so I also missed some stuff I wanted to see but yes first year teething problems - I will definitely go again

garyalex's picture

I was fortunate enough to hear the lacquer of this recording at the Innovative Audio event in NYC recently. I hope those listeners at the show appreciated the greatness of that recording. Excellent coverage of the show.

I really wish a fix could be found for the music copyright issue. It's become intrusive and silly. Of course artists should be properly compensated for their work. But I just don't see how blocking a few minutes of playback at an audio show helps at all.

GFaulk's picture

Another great video. Is there any chance Analogue Productions will be able to license Who's Next at 45 RPM? That would be very special.

Ivan Lietaert's picture

What make/brand is the gear in the picture? It looks similar to the gear in the tv show 'Sharp Objects' featuring Amy Adams. The red display must be pretty unique.
https://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/vulture/2018/07/23/23-sharp-objects-m...

Ivan Lietaert's picture
alucas's picture

in the big picture with all her fingers spread out and touching every song. i almost lost it! the guy said she was real???? take her equipment away till she learns how to handle the lps. as soon as your camera tilted up to her , i couldn't believe what i was looking at! lets mover back down to cd's till she learns...lol.lol.lol.
thanks for the video, i needed something to take up my time resting in bed from a heart procedure.

MonsterMawd's picture

They look like these custom anti-vibration isolation feet https://mnpctech.com/turntable-feet-replacement-isolation/

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