Did I forget anyone? You bet - there's only so much one lone reporter can capture. My apologies to those overlooked and slighted. Plus, gotta leave something for the other guys, no? Thinking back, the two most exciting new product launches, on opposite shores of the money pond, were Gallo Acoustic's new Nucleus Reference III and the rumored, confirmed but not entirely specific-yet EMM Labs consumer model DAC. Then lightning struck. The phone. Why not call Jonathan Tinn who displayed two Meitner front-ends and squeeze him for detail? Duh. Turns out squeezing wasn't required at all. The classy while casual Vin Diesel look/sound-alike proved generous to a fault. He told me to have your people call his people. Not. The EMM Labs DCC-2 will be $9,995, combine the current Switchman Preamp and DAC8 MkIV in a common chassis downscaled for 2-channel operation and come with simplified wireless IR remote. And, the first production run is already sold out. Darn. And that sans a single review. Made me feel kinda useless. Sniff. Plus, the chances of scoring a test loaner looked bleak, too. Sniff sniff. Dishing out guilt by association, Jonathan must have felt like cheering me up with the promise to get one out to 6moons, ETA contingent on production schedule and sell-through. Regardless of when this transpires, I urge keen-eared listeners with the requisite resources to watch this firm closely. Despite being somewhat jaded from post-show sensory overload and the old been-there/heard-that mind set, this pending launch strikes me as the most riveting bit of news I can relay to you from San Francisco.
		Wearing my critical observer's cap one last time to hand out our final "Give 'em the boot" award to Primedia as the show organizers, I have to mention that many key players like the Harman Conglomerate with its Madrigal/Levinson/Revel brands; Audio Research; Jeff Rowland; Thiel and many others didn't attend. As a motorsports enthusiast going to a car show, wouldn't you feel bummed and cheated to not see Aston-Martin, Ferrari, Hummer, Jaguar, prototypes, show cars and other peak-performance attractions? Sure you would. Especially if you and your beloved other spent $35 each to get in, doled out $15/day for underground parking and forked over at least another $40/day for eats and drinks in a posh downtown location. At $100 - $200 the weekend, this required quite the commitment. In other words, it wasn't the kind of casual gesture (like attending a questionable $7.50 movie premiere for kicks and out of curiosity) that a not already bitten-by-the-HiFi-bug consumer was liable to make on a lark.
Why bring it up? Simply to point out that the extreme expense of chosen location for HE2003 conspired against crashing the doors wide open for exhibitors and attendees. Add to that the questionable merit of bottom-line justification for the manufacturers and you can appreciate why many firms decided against attending. A consumer show is first and foremost a good-will promotional campaign hoped to build brand equity, generate press coverage, test consumer response, interact with the end users and hopefully sow seeds for subsequent sales. But in many important respects, it's not unlike throwing a wild party. Everyone comes, eats your food, drinks your wine and has a merry old time. Meanwhile, you're left with dirty dishes up the kazoo and a hefty bill. Come again? Say Brand X had a reputable BayArea dealer. For well under $1,000, you could fly out your CEO and Director of Engineering to host a weekend dealer demo that introduced direct-mail customers to the principals; answered questions; offered a fully optimized active music presentation in an environment dedicated to sound; strengthened personal relationships with the establishment's owners and sales force; and directly benefitted your company's bottom-line. Remember that unlike CES -- international and thus attracting foreign distributors and national dealers to write business -- HE2003, by design, is a regional show only. It's puny by comparison. Perversely, cost of participation is significantly higher than Las Vegas - the old audiophile less is more.
Rather than lambasting Primedia for corporate greed and blatant disregard for the health of the industry at large (wherein the press, manufacturing and retail are seen as interrelated, not as the latter two kowtowingly serving the former's benefit), allow me to present another example -- the Montreal show mentioned in the opening the other -- that demonstrates how to organize a show in a friendly and affordable manner: VSAC 2003 (click banner for their site). Here's an enthusiast's show in support of vacuum tubes, high-efficiency speakers and kit builders that takes place in Seattle's suburb Silverdale, is hosted in the Red Lion Hotel and charges a $500 exhibitor registration fee plus $95/night for an 11' x 17' exhibit room. $50/weekend buys you a 6-foot passive display table in the lobby or ball room. Attendees wishing to pay less than $95/night? They can book in the adjacent hotel to toss and turn for $69/night. Granted, Silverdale isn't downtown Frisco, the Red Lion isn't the Westin St. Francis. Do showgoers truly care about that though? The Red Lion ain't no dump, Silverdale's no metropolitan slum. I'm certain that if the Home Entertainment Show cared to, they could model themselves after VSAC and the Montreal event to attract more exhibitors, more visitors, promote the industry and make a fair profit to boot. As it stood, exhibitors in San Francisco paid $40/chair and $150/table to rent "dry goods". This quickly added up to $3000 to seat attendees and passive displays in the larger exhibits, for auxiliaries you could pick up new at the Home Depot for less. Of course Primedia isn't interested in the health of our industry. They're in the business of selling magazines, killing off those who don't produce and trimming the fat on those who don't grow money fast enough. Too bad. That clearly makes them the wrong organization to host this event. Will I cover HE2004 in New York? Absolutely not. Should manufacturers continue to view attendance as punitive necessity? No answer. Will I cover VSAC 2003 that embodies the spirit the way I think it should be done? You bet. See you there.