Harbeth at the New York Audio Show

[cornelius]

I just noticed that Harbeth will be showing in NYC next week. Now, I'm going :)

I was wondering who from Harbeth will be there. Also, will any HUGgers be attending?

[cornelius]

Well... got back from the big show. I hope no one else here went there to listen to Harbeths - I really wanted to hear a pair of C7s, to compare to my P3s, but the presentation was pretty terrible. First off, it took a while to find the room - Fidelis was showing another brand in their main room - I had to ask them where the heck the Harbeths were and finally found them. There was a nice man running the room, but this was not going to ever be a good demo for the Harbeths. I learned a bit of audio show etiquette - first ask which gear the host is showing. After a couple of songs, I finally went up to him and started to talk about the C7s - his reply: "Never heard these before, they just lent them to me to play my equipment." To make matters worse, he played some terrible demo music - I came back to the room a bunch of times, hoping for better tracks, but it didn't happen.

I guess it was kind of funny that the point of his whole demo was this crazy D/A converter that he was showcasing. He kept switching between different filters, blah blah blah - ironic that he's conducting this through a pair of Harbeths, whose designer could care less about things like uber fancy D/A's... Oh well. Overall, the whole show was a bit of a disappointment. I've only been to one other show, back in 2005. It was also in NYC, and it was much better. A lot more vendors, and designers - talking to the designers is the best part, and I couldn't find any here.

{Moderator's comment: I'm really sorry. We have no direct control over overseas shows. We will immediately refer your comments in the spirit of improving future shows. Thanks for taking the trouble to feed-back.}

[A.S.]

Well... got back from the big show. ... I really wanted to hear a pair of C7s, to compare to my P3s, but ...

I just finished my Sunday lunch with the family and called Harbeth USA. They were just preparing for another day exhibiting at the New York show. I have some feedback for you.

• This is the first show by new organisers and there are quite a few rough edges. For example, the opening times are not printed on the catalogue!
• Many room numbers (incl. ours) have been mis-allocated, and the catalogue listing and the actual rooms are not in agreement. Incorrect door signs have by now been (mostly) corrected.
• The Harbeth rooms have been far better attend than the exhibitors (and we) expected. Consequently there are periods when rooms become overloaded with visitors and extremely stifling
• The rooms are of poor acoustic performance, and many exhibitors are doing what they can (without physically interfering with the rooms) to tune an acceptable sound
• The room sound dramatically alters depending upon the density of visitors in the rooms
• Harbeth USA is appearing in three rooms, but assisting in the management of six rooms
• There has been an unexpected (and most welcome) turn-out of Harbeth owners. Several have affirmed their intention to upgrade to C7ES3 from what they've experienced at the show
• Yes, you are right: once we have loaned speakers to co-exhibitors we have no control over their (unusual) musical choice. The DAC in question is, I'm told 'the hottest DAC on the market' so it must be good .....
• No public exhibition can do more than hint at a product's potential, and none are a substitute for a proper appraisal in a dealer's listening room designed to make listening enjoyable

That doesn't help you directly. This may though: Walter at Harbeth USA has told me to say that our New York dealer Sound by Singer would be very pleased to audition the C7ES3 to you in-store at your convenience. It that is not convenient, we will find a way to bring the C7ES3s to you. You just have to advise Walter at Fidelis (Harbeth USA) what is better for you.

Best wishes

[cornelius]

Thanks for the reply, Alan. I'm sure these events are difficult to handle, on many levels. I will say that the people from Fidelis were helpful and very nice. I had the same experience with them over the phone when I was looking for a pair of P3's to buy.

One thing I didn't mention from my prickly review: I still really enjoyed the C7ES3. I saw Andy at the show but he was pretty busy, so I didn't chat with him about Harbeths. I'll get in touch with him when I'm ready for the move up.

Thanks again - Neil