Bristol Hi-Fi Show, 22nd to 24th Febuary 2008

[leo:)]

Unfortunately I couldn't make it friday but managed to get yesterday

The rooms I enjoyed most was the Hi Audio and WD

I was very impressed with the WD88VA being played through which looked like WD25T's?
Source was Gregs TT, very nice indeed!
It was going great until Dr John gave a bloke a good telling off for messing with the WD88VA


One of the biggest disappointments to me was the AVI ADM9's not bad for a compact budget set up but I'd certainly never consider it to replace a full sized set up, did not live up to the hype unfortunately, both the WD and Hi Audio sound walked all over it IMHO

[Steve Grimshaw]

Many thanks for organizing lunch on Friday Greg. Very nice to meet up with you all. Seemed very quiet at the show this year compared to previous years, not so much pushing and shoving Neal, I heard the AVI set-up but was not impressed. It sounded to me just like I expect a low bit-rate mp3 to sound. Maybe with a decent source on the front it would sound much better.

Best Wishes

Steve Grimshaw

[Guy Pettigrew]

Good to meet you on Friday, Steve.

The AVI room was odd, wasn't it? Don't know who they are, but they musn't go to many live gigs!

For me the most interesting room was the Nordost one. Much has been written about their cables and mains conditioning, but to hear it for real was amazing.

It really works!

The WD room was superb, of course. Superb, but not surprising. All my electronics and 'speakers are WD or WAD, so I know what to expect. Nice Garrard, though Greg. Much tighter and more tuneful sound than anticipated.

Guy

[VantheMan]

Was the WD20T on show ?

[Greg.]

Thank-you for all your kind words. Organising lunches etc was a pleasure as it is always good to catch up with friends who share the same viewpoints on our hobby.

This show was the best since the launch of WD. I lost count of the number of visitors who came in, returned for extended listening later and concluded by commenting that WD had the best sound at the show regardless of price! Amongst these people were some very serious and intentional customers and I have no doubt that The WD crew are going to be busy in the next few weeks fulfilling those orders. There was also considerable interest from some of the most respected journalists in the business (in addition to HFW), so keep you eyes on the magazines.

Clearly the word is getting about regarding the benefits of WD products which concentrate on the music with correct sound reproduction rather than the commercial 'what sounds good in the shop secures a sale' approach. Furthermore, there was considerable interest in Slatedeck. Again it was clear that the word is spreading so I hope Darren will have swollen orders this month.

WD20T were not demonstrated. WD25TXL with the new cabinet are the flagship speaker product from World Designs and rightfully so. These were used throughout the show, being fed by and Astin Trew AT3500CD (which was awarded 5 globes in the Nov 07 HFW) or my Garrard 401 Slatedeck (with Slatedeck bearing upgrade) and Michell TecnoArm A and Ortofon MC30. I know this cartridge is old but this one is little used and in this application, demonstrates what an 'at the time' considered mediocre cartridge, can actually dynamically do. It was this fact and the presented sound quality that actually resulted in a sale! All this fed into the latest Series 3 Pre-amp units and onto WD88VA used as a power amp. It should be noted that the power-amp was the basic build and not the upgraded version. One has to question whether the upgrade is needed........oh go on then, you know you want it

For me it was a great experience, but be in no doubt, three days of intensive listening coupled with working out tweaks to ensure maximum performance and then engaging enthusiastically with potential customers is a fatigueing experience. Having said that, it was totally rewarding and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Role on next year

Best wishes,

Greg

[Mike G]

Greg,

Many thanks for the write up - for those of us that were unable to attend, it's great to read an overview of the event, and is always interesting to learn what equipment was used, and how WD faired against the other demo rooms.

Did you take any pictures this year?

Regards.

Mike.

[Shane]

Hi Greg, thanks for the write-up, I thought I was going to be able to make it but in the end I couldn't. Did you get the chance to visit any other rooms? If so, what were the highs and lows, in your opinion?

[Greg.]

Unfortunately, I have no camera at present as my lovely daughter has taken mine to Australia for her gap year experience. I briefly visited other rooms but with respect, I'll decline to comment and leave that for others to do. All I can say is that from what I heard, the WD experience was the most realistic, balanced, revealing and detailed sound at the show. An absolute bargain at a fraction of the price of others, sir. Furthermore one could listen to the system for hours without feeling with time you've been audibly beaten up. It really is a 'no brainer' you know

Best wishes,

Greg

[NealG]

Thanks for the write up guys and feedback on the AVI stuff, I trust Leo's and Richards ears and perhaps it confirms a preconception I had built up in my mind....anyhow I'm not in the market for such stuff!

[tomtidswell]

Can't wait to see WD products reviewed in Hi-fi Plush or Hi-Fi News (Do you think they will - I'm sure Ken Kessler would like the valve sound, he was very much in favour of the Andy Grove designed Quads, so maybe would like the pre3/phono3?).

Sorry that I wasn't there (working to afford the WD25A XLs), will WD be at Heathrow later in the year?

Tom