Florida Expo Show Coverage Report: Loudspeakers, Tube Amps and Cables Oh MY!

[gene]

We were proud to be one of the sponsors and press along with other publications such as Stereophile, Soundstage, Enjoy the Music and others covering the debut Florida Audio Expo show last weekend (Feb 8th - 10th, 2019) that featured over 40 demo rooms focused on high-end two-channel audio. I took a closer look at demos that really stood out from Legacy Audio, Paradigm, MartinLogan, JBL, Carver, Von Schweikert and also noted the snake oil cable stuff along with a particular "high-end" tweak that I thought was long gone. Check out this report and be sure to watch our YouTube channel for additional coverage and interviews.

Read: Florida Audio Expo Show Report

Would you guys sign up for seminars if we hosted them pertaining to cables and amplifier power claims? I'm just itching to lay the gauntlet down on those topics in a public venue. Please let us know in this forum thread below and also share your experiences at the show if you attended.

 

[gene]

 

[GrimSurfer]

Great report, Gene. I saw those stupid cables too. It's embarrassing to see companies resort to this kind of BS. It undermines consumer confidence in their brands.

Good on Anthem and Paradigm for not resorting to this nonsense. I hope they sourced some 10 or 12 ga Romex from one of Tampa's Home Depot for speaker wire before killing the competition with their set-up.

 

[gene]

Great report, Gene. I saw those stupid cables too. It's embarrassing to see companies resort to this kind of BS. It undermines consumer confidence in their brands.

Good on Anthem and Paradigm for not resorting to this nonsense. I hope they sourced some 10 or 12 ga Romex from one of Tampa's Home Depot for speaker wire before killing the competition with their set-up.

They were using all Tributaries cables, nothing fancy, just proven and durable.

 

[davidscott]

Wow the Carver and JBL L100 names are back in 2019. What goes around comes around...
Great report Gene thanks! And thanks for the insight on those ridiculous cables.

 

[JStewart]

Paradigm was really good. ARC had to be working magic to get that kind of even bass inside that small room. Not boomy at all and with one song demoed either the concrete floor or the bones in my feet were vibrating. Mids and highs were also outstanding.
Favorite room overall was Classic Audio. Those T-1.5s were throwing a huge soundstage. Very dynamic and neutral too.
Many of the vendors remarked on the turnout being better than what they anticipated. Hope that bodes well for a bigger show next year.
Oh, and those cables, lots of examples of silly. I took a pic of what looked like a 4 gauge wired power cord plugged into an outlet. Really? Those few feet from the outlet to the device are that important? Who knew?

 

[JerryLove]

I agree. Paradigms were my first quality speaker but I moved away from them decades ago as I found better.

I was really impressed by the current offering being played during the event.
The Wilson's seemed solid in my short listen.
There were a pair of old, 80s looking JBLs that actually sounded great.
Muraudio had an interesting design with a ton of bass for their enclosure (like all panel speakers at that event, the sound wasn't quite there. I assume the rooms played a large part).
Legacy was a disappointment. Their mains were out of comission and their bookshelves, while not in any way "wrong", just failed to excite me. Pity. Loved the look.
Vanatoo has what will likely be my next computer speaker.

 

[GrimSurfer]

They were using all Tributaries cables, nothing fancy, just proven and durable.

Cool... pretty close to a local supplier (Orlando). None of that cryogenic directional crap. Multi strand wire, available by the roll, operating according to the laws of physics. Refreshing to see.

Thanks for the come back!

 

[Ridire Fáin]

Loved the coverage and insights. Would love to see the Carver amps reviewed and tested. Also would love it if you hosted an seminar on the amplifier and cable technology and the spurious claims some of these folks make.

 

[gene]

 

[JerryLove]

8 gauge is used in 240vx40amp designs. That's 9,600 watts. Can you suggest what subs would call for that sort of connection cable?

Also: that appears to use a standard 5-15P connector. A couple points on that. 1: The connector isn't designed for 240x40 (instead being designed to handle 120x15) and 2: the outlet (power supply fed to it, and wires connecting it) won't be either. It would be a violation of electrical code.

It filters... what exactly? Where can I hear the effects of this noise in the power line? It shields? Again what?

I agree with the use of shielding analog interconnects; but power cables appears to be snake oil.

It's interesting he mentions McIntosh as his background since Roger Russell is famously from there and has written stark opposition to exactly this sort of thing.

 

[everettT]

8 gauge is used in 240vx40amp designs. That's 9,600 watts. Can you suggest what subs would call for that sort of connection cable?

Also: that appears to use a standard 5-15P connector. A couple points on that. 1: The connector isn't designed for 240x40 (instead being designed to handle 120x15) and 2: the outlet (power supply fed to it, and wires connecting it) won't be either. It would be a violation of electrical code.

It filters... what exactly? Where can I hear the effects of this noise in the power line? It shields? Again what?

I agree with the use of shielding analog interconnects; but power cables appears to be snake oil.

It's interesting he mentions McIntosh as his background since Roger Russell is famously from there and has written stark opposition to exactly this sort of thing.

https://data-bass.com/data?page=system&id=131

 

[gene]

8 gauge is used in 240vx40amp designs. That's 9,600 watts. Can you suggest what subs would call for that sort of connection cable?

Also: that appears to use a standard 5-15P connector. A couple points on that. 1: The connector isn't designed for 240x40 (instead being designed to handle 120x15) and 2: the outlet (power supply fed to it, and wires connecting it) won't be either. It would be a violation of electrical code.

It filters... what exactly? Where can I hear the effects of this noise in the power line? It shields? Again what?

I agree with the use of shielding analog interconnects; but power cables appears to be snake oil.

It's interesting he mentions McIntosh as his background since Roger Russell is famously from there and has written stark opposition to exactly this sort of thing.

I agree any,gauge lower than what's in the wall is a waste but there's nothing wrong with shielding a power cable though the effectiveness of doing so is questionable.

 

[Photoboy34223]

Enjoyed your review but your ranting about cables reminds me of Hillary going on and on about Donald. Lol. I guess you are trying to warn newbees but since most respectable companies, for instances Tributares and Straightawire based here in Florida, offer free demos, why not find out for yourself. As for batteries, I think based on the average age of those attending Friday those batteries should be reserved for their hearing aids. Lol.

 

[everettT]

Enjoyed your review but your ranting about cables reminds me of Hillary going on and on about Donald. Lol. I guess you are trying to warn newbees but since most respectable companies, for instances Tributares and Straightawire based here in Florida, offer free demos, why not find out for yourself. As for batteries, I think based on the average age of those attending Friday those batteries should be reserved for their hearing aids. Lol.

I'd never need a cable demo, ever.

 

[JerryLove]

Enjoyed your review but your ranting about cables reminds me of Hillary going on and on about Donald.

And she was objectively correct.

We talk about cables because we've seen and heard it all a million times. We've also seen what both the science and real-world testing shows. Sufficient cables are sufficient and cannot be sonically improved upon.

 

[gene]

Enjoyed your review but your ranting about cables reminds me of Hillary going on and on about Donald. Lol. I guess you are trying to warn newbees but since most respectable companies, for instances Tributares and Straightawire based here in Florida, offer free demos, why not find out for yourself. As for batteries, I think based on the average age of those attending Friday those batteries should be reserved for their hearing aids. Lol.

Because sadly cables still gets more attention than actual audio components. Do an article on an amplifier, and you get almost no feedback (pun intended), do one on cables and you'll get 100+ comments. I'm doing a Donald, I'm giving our fans what they want MAGA - Making Audio Great Again

 

[little wing]

Enjoyed your review but your ranting about cables reminds me of Hillary going on and on about Donald. Lol. I guess you are trying to warn newbees but since most respectable companies, for instances Tributares and Straightawire based here in Florida, offer free demos, why not find out for yourself. As for batteries, I think based on the average age of those attending Friday those batteries should be reserved for their hearing aids. Lol.

Hillary going on and on about Donald, huh? Wasn't it him going on and on about her, a year after the election was over? LOL

 

[lovinthehd]

Enjoyed your review but your ranting about cables reminds me of Hillary going on and on about Donald. Lol. I guess you are trying to warn newbees but since most respectable companies, for instances Tributares and Straightawire based here in Florida, offer free demos, why not find out for yourself. As for batteries, I think based on the average age of those attending Friday those batteries should be reserved for their hearing aids. Lol.

Why on earth would one spend time traveling to a cable demo at all? Yeah the drumpf is the one who keeps going on about everyone else but the one he should be focusing the crazy on....himself.

 

[gene]

Wasn't it Donald that said if Hillary was elected, she'd be under constant investigation? If you watch Fox News, you'd actually think Hillary was President based on how often they keep bringing her up. But, I digress. We were talking about cable snake oil salesmen, not failed casino owners