Once a year, the United Audio Distributors of Holland organize the VAD show at a former monastery in Veldhoven near Philips' hometown of Eindhoven. Taking note of the fact that the VAD was by now in its 10th incarnation, we checked ourselves into the Sofitel Dorint Cocagne hotel in Eindhoven. Never having been there before, our first impression of the hotel was one of stark un-Dutchness. An urban legend claims how the invention of copper wire was Dutch doing. Two men fighting over a cent were pulling so hard, the cent stretched into copper wire. The Cocagne is a very spacious modern hotel with lots of air. The interior is styled in minimalist simplicity that recalls a Scandinavian
aesthetic - lots of blonde wood and glass. The rooms were spacious and well lit without feeling cold or unfriendly. Located in the center of Eindhoven, plenty of restaurants would be available within walking distance - or so we had strategized. Alas, the hotel's Brasserie Bruegel mesmerized us with its culinary craft. Contrary to what the term brasserie suggests, Bruegel proved to be a top-quality restaurant with a very seductive menu that made choosing what to eat punishing. The staff of waiters was attentive yet nearly invisible at the same time - very friendly and highly efficient. The menu offered the freshest of the fresh in best East-meets-West tradition. The brasserie doubles as breakfast room where a gigantic buffet caters to truly everyone's tastes. Have you ever suffered a choice between continental, American, Indian or Japanese breakfasts plus any conceivable combination in-between?

With a hearty Asian breakfast in our bellies, off to Veldhoven it was where the reception hall was already packed with eager attendees. This former monastery was built around two courtyards like a figure eight, making orientation quite puzzling at times. The first two rooms we entered were occupied by KR Audio amplifiers, Von Schweikert loudspeakers and Harmonic Technology cables. The exhibitor had two market novelties in the larger of the two. The first was the KR Kronzilla SX. This power amplifier with its monstrous 1610 tubes is good for 50wpc of single-ended power, more than sufficient to control the other show attraction, Albert Von Schweikert's VR4-SR loudspeaker. This model we'd already heard on several occasions in the US and in this present combination and suitably large room, the sound was very satisfying. The higher sensitivity and new drivers take the SR to a higher level than its smaller sibling, the JR. In order to get the most out of the VR4-SR, however, a correct biwiring scheme is absolute essential. The speaker otherwise sounds lean and lifeless. A light touch too is required to set the correct loudness of the rear-firing mid/high drivers on the VR.

Next door Ars Aures held court in combination with Art Audio amplifiers and Stealth Audio cables. Once again, the Italian/American combination sounded very nice, however we also knew it could sound even better. We'd heard a similar setup at the Denver show where the same Midi Sensorial loudspeakers were placed on spikes to add noticeable dynamic range to their output.

We used to wonder whether Peter Lyngdorf of TacT spends any time at home as he is present at almost every show we know of. This time, he was demonstrating equipment under his own name, Lyngdorf. Assisted by the room correction system built into his TDA2200, the new CD-1 player put music into space. Two small loudspeakers assisted by two subwoofers in the far corners proved that full integration of the widely spaced 4-piece speaker system was possible without any audible evidence of separate subs.


So much atrocious nonsense circulates about cables that Edwin van der Kley of Siltech considered it high time to finally do something about it. He loaded a lot of his very special test equipment plus chief engineer Pascal into his car and drove to Veldhoven. Through various publications, Edwin had invited showgoers upfront to bring their own cables. The make wouldn't make any difference and even Siltech's own cables were welcome. Within minutes after arriving at their display, any given cable saw itself attached to the test gear. Its display clearly showed off what that cable was all about - the field a connected power cable emitted and how much an interconnect picked up from that. Impedance and resistance values were visualized as well. With sub-standard cables, the effects proved truly scary. Edwin and Pascal clearly explained what was shown and measured and what it all meant. This educational initiative deserves a standing ovation. Bravissimo!

The most extensive setup of the show was demonstrated in probably the most difficult room of the Veldhoven complex, a huge hexagonal space with a domed roof. The setup consisted of a Metronome Kalista CD transport and accompanying battery power supply, a Metronome DAC with outboard power supply, a VPI LRX turntable with Allaerts cartridge and amplification by way of a Lamm LP2 phonostage, Lamm L2 pre amp and Lamm M2.2 power amplifiers, with a pair of Venture Caractere loudspeakers projecting the sound into the enormous room. Sadly, only a few listening positioning rewarded the heroic efforts put into this display. And of course Uncle Murphy made an appearance and broke the Kalista.

In the area designated for magazines and CD/LP sales, who did we run in again but Todd Garfinkle. Would he be at the next show as well? A Dutch custom demands that when one meets someone three times in a row, one treats the other to lunch.


John Wood and Shawn Britton of Mobile Fidelity had flown in from Sebastopol and we discussed the future of CD, LP and other boring topics. Together we walked to the Linn room where a whole series of vintage and less-than-vintage LP12 turntables strutted their stuff. It was interesting to see how this statement turntable has evolved over time.


The visual highlight of the VAD show was the Classic Audio/Clear Audio exhibit. Johan Bezem & Associates did an absolutely marvelous job of transforming part of the large dining room into an art gallery. With professional stage-building materials and a few square miles of black stage curtains, they built a tabernacle for Clear Audio, with chandeliers lighting the heavily gilded frames with pictures of Clear Audio turntables. On pedestals, the real Clear Audio turntables lined up nicely in two rows. Everyone at the show was stunned by this display.

Back at the hotel and over a wonderful dinner, we recapitulated on a very heartwarming show with plenty of attendees, mostly good sound and here and there truly stunning setups.


The last show of 2005 on our personal docket now would be the Audio Forum Be show in Brussels. Audio Forum is a website and Benny Winnen and Marco Isli the engines behind the show. This year they opted for the Brussels Zavetem Airport as the location and identified two hotels that could provide the necessary rooms, with a temporary shuttle connecting both venues.


These days Brussels is considered Europe's capitol and home to many diplomats and politicians during the week. This means that on weekends, hotels are not fully booked and thus less expensive to stay at. For a couple of nights, we took fearless residence at the Conrad in the center of Brussels then. This is a classy statement hotel with wide corridors, extensive floral arrangements and a friendly staff. We arrived in time from Rotterdam to enjoy a late lunch at the hotel. And what a lunch it turned out to be. The hotel's Wiltchire serves a buffet lunch, something we're usually not into but one look at the loaded display of fish, crustaceans, oysters, tuna sashimi and salmon, lobster and assorted greens changed or minds. This was an epic feast that is herewith highly recommended whenever in the area on audio -- or other -- business and pleasure.