Each month in 2024, it seems like I have been to another audiophile show. The Tampa show was in February. Dallas was in March. AXPONA was in early April, and soon, I will park my wide-load in a seat and travel 13.5 hours to Munich for what is considered the world’s best audiophile show. Don’t get me wrong: I am happy to be traveling again, and I love seeing my friends, clients and readers at said shows. As a publisher, my business model makes it such that if I have one or two good conversations with any new clients at an audiophile show, that it is well worth my while to travel to get such quality time with potential new clients. For consumers, there is a different standard, but breaking out your Global Entry card for some TSA-PRE love still might be very worth it. Let me explain…
What Shows Could an Audiophile Travel To?
There are so many that I likely will miss a few, but here’s a limited list.
Tampa (Fla. International Audio Show): A hotel-based show that’s gaining more of a national following. They are looking to move to a better location in 2025. This is normally a February show.
Dallas (Southwest Audiofest): From the Capital Audiofest guys, this show was brand-new, but looks like it will grow in 2025. This show was scheduled for March.
Chicago (AXPONA) : AXPONA is now the best show in the United States. In a 16-story hotel with a big exposition space that hosts million- and multimillion-dollar demo rooms, AXPONA used to be at the end of March, which brought with it some ugly weather. Now, the show is a little bit later, but conflicts with The Masters, which is tough for this golfer, but luckily, I have a 4K DVR and know how to use it.
Munich (Munich HIFI): This is the biggest of the big shows, but far away from many in the U.S. This global show takes over for CES, since the CTA wasn’t interested in hosting audiophile companies in Las Vegas anymore. Munich is always in mid-May.
Seattle (Pacific Audiofest): Another new show in its second year, the venue was a little haggard but the attendance was pretty good – especially from dealers. This show is from the same folks that bring you Capital Audiofest. This show was in June, before the audiophile industry tends to go dormant between Fourth of July and Labor Day.
Irvine (T.H.E. Show): While branded as a Los Angeles show, T.H.E. Show is one of the smallest audiophile shows in America right now, but the rooms are big and the venue is suitably nice. This is a much more manageable show than, say, AXPONA or Munich, and is also a summer show, which makes it a perfect getaway for those who live in really hot summer locations, as Orange County is great at this time of year.
Raleigh (Audio Advice): AV retailer Audio Advice has taken a page from Definitive Audio in Seattle, and put together a consumer show in the summer that is growing with more and more brands exhibiting – even if they aren’t sold at Audio Advice. This is a later-in-the-summer show.
Bethesda (Capital Audiofest): Capital Audiofest has been around for a while, and has a solid, established audiophile following. It is an old-school audiophile show that has a lot to see and hear. The venue is a bit tired, and parking outright sucks, but good flights to Dulles make this a tempting show for people as far away as the West Coast.
Others: There is a Toronto show, as well as a Montreal show. Gone are popular shows like Rocky Mountain Audiofest in Denver in the fall and Consumer Electronics Show to start the year. CES isn’t canceled as a show, as much as it has no audio, despite having 50 years of being the biggest and most important audiophile show in the world.
What Is the Upside of Today’s Modern Audiophile Shows?
- With more and more traditional audiophile salons and/or hybrid brick and mortar AV dealers closing, the volume and diversity of the gear that you can hear at these shows is a definite draw. There will be new companies, playing new gear in unique, new configurations that will give you new ideas and pathways for your audiophile journey.
- There are classes that you can take and lectures that you can attend where you might learn something new that likely would never happen at home. At the recent AXPONA show, I saw legendary speaker engineer Vance Dickason signing his latest version of his speaker design book. I can’t think of a better person to ask a speaker question to before you pop for some new transducers. Dr. Sean Olive (former president of the Audio Engineering Society and executive at Harman) gave some educational lectures at AXPONA that were pure gold. You can learn a lot just by asking questions at these shows, but the lecture series can be even better.
- You will meet people in the audiophile community who are like-minded and often willing to shoot the shit over audio topics for hours. Maybe you are member of a local audiophile club (not a bad idea) and know some local audiophiles, but the hobby often can be a little lonely. Putting faces to names is always fun. I met some serious audiophiles at the bar in the Embassy Suites at night who told me all about what they heard and liked (and especially what they didn’t like), which was great feedback. We didn’t always agree, but mostly we did, and it is reassuring to know that others hear things in a similar way to you. We also have our favorite brands and things that we heard that caught our attention, and these leads were freely being shared, which was a lot of fun.
What is the Downside of Going to an Audiophile Show?
- Not everybody is in love with being in large crowds, and these shows tend to lead to lots of people (nobody wears a mask anymore) in small places. If somebody had COVID, a lot of people would catch it. I guess that goes the same for a cold.
- The cost of travel, especially airfare, can be prohibitive. For example: a United Airlines Polaris Class sleeper seat from Los Angeles to Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C. costs about $1,100 to $1,500 for a business class ticket, and brings a level of comfort and luxury to the event that makes it a lot more appealing if you can swing the budget to fly in the front of the bus. I simply couldn’t justify a business class ticket to Munich last year, so I couldn’t attend the show. On Lufthansa (from L.A.), a business class ticket started at $8,650. Nope. Not going to happen. I found ways to connect through Istanbul (kinda cool, right?) that was a fraction of the price for the flight on a 787 Dreamliner, and had the option to spend a day in a new city when connecting. This year, I am connecting through Frankfurt. When push comes to shove, this is a very, very expensive show, but everybody says it is worth the time, money and effort, so I am all in. Thank you, Capital One miles. I save you for a good reason.
- Hotels at audiophile shows don’t tend to be the types of hotels that people who can afford $100,000 components would frequent. Staying in the actual show hotel is tricky, too, in that you might have issues with noise during setup and breakdown. There are always other hotels nearby that you can stay at, which tend to be middle-of-the-road business hotels, which are fine and help keep your budget in line. One industry icon told me a story of him bringing back bedbugs from one of the better show hotels. Needless to say, he didn’t return to that show this year, which was a loss for all involved.
- Empty hotel rooms aren’t always great-sounding audio rooms. They can get dialed in, but they tend to be small, crowded and hot. Moreover, you need to learn how to listen “critically” in a hotel room, as the background noise can be high, or people can be in a conversation within feet of you while you’re listening. At one CEDIA (a trade show for custom installers held after Labor Day in various cities like Denver and San Diego), a top speaker company was measuring 75 dB of background noise in their rented audio room. One client of ours measured 82 dB of noise in the atrium on the fifth floor of the AXPONA hotel by O’Hare Airport in Chicago. While you will hear plenty of quiet audiophile music, that’s not a good demo in a room with 75 dB of ambient noise.
- Currently, there isn’t much in the way of affordable gear at U.S.-based audiophile shows.There is some (think: SVS’ room), and they are PACKED with people listening, because those people can actually afford said high-performance audio gear. Other rooms like ELAC tend to have the same draw. Orchard Audio, ADCOM and Magnepan come to mind, too. For advanced audiophiles, hearing exotic and expensive gear is super-fun, but if you were just getting going in the hobby – it can make you feel like you can’t afford most of what you are seeing and hearing.
Tips on How to Do an Audiophile Show Like a Pro…
- Wear comfortable shoes. This way, you can take the elevator to the top floor and use gravity to allow you to work your way down.
- Plan your pee breaks. One of the smartest things that AXPONA did was to take one of the sleeping rooms used for storage on each floor and make it into a unisex bathroom. While there are few women who go to these shows, it is older men (the dominant demographic at audiophile shows) who have to pee every 30 minutes, and not every show can accommodate your pee schedule as well as AXPONA.
- Wash your hands. I’ve been to many of these shows with actual medical doctors. Many of them only “fist bump,” which I am perfectly OK with, even with the pandemic over. Washing your hands is just good, healthy behavior when in a group. They suggest not to touch public fixtures like door knobs and glass doors, but that is pretty hard advice to follow.
- Bring you better half. Use good psychology, guys. If your audiophile hobby gets your partner in crime/life a chance to go to a nice location, they might be a little bit more understanding of your trip. Would your wife like to go to Orange County and stay at the five-star Montage Resort in Laguna Beach? I bet she would. The spa and pool there are epic, as is the resort’s beach access. Maybe a day at the audio show for you while she’s at the spa, and then dinner together at Salanne’s Steakhouse (remember Teemu from the NHL?) and then maybe art shopping by the ocean the next day? You will be a hero, and you don’t even need to tell her that you spent $50,000 on a pair of speakers.
- Make offers on gear. Many of my clients would rather ship you the products in their room than ship them back to the factory. I know many that try everything that they can to sell the demo components right from the show – sometimes at very low prices. Let them take care of the local dealer (they better and almost always do), but you might just have a chance at a once-in-lifetime purchase opportunity. Some people don’t know to do this, or are shy. Don’t be. The worst that somebody can tell you is “no,” and that is rarely the case.
- Ship back some music. There are always great vendors selling vinyl, SACDs, music memorabilia and more. Don’t miss out on these guys, but don’t drag the stuff home. Many of the hotels have shipping options in the actual hotel, but even if not – ship your purchases home versus checking them. The last thing you want is to wait for your new LPs to come out in your checked bags and God forbid that any of them are broken. Plan ahead and figure out where there is a good box and ship place that is open for you to send back some goodies.
- Support your local shows. T.H.E. Show is small, but it is only 50 miles from where I live in Los Angeles. Both senior writer Brian Kahn and I brought our older sons to that event. Everybody had fun and much was accomplished in a quick day trip. Even if you have to fly The Company Plane (Southwest), you can still do some of these shows in a day. I did Los Angeles to Seattle for that Pacific Audiofest show, but that was too much. I didn’t get home until 1:30 AM, and I was wiped out for the next day and even a little longer. Clearly, there is a limit, but support your local shows while considering possibly traveling for bigger, more national or international shows.
Final Thoughts on Today’s Audiophile Shows
They aren’t perfect by any means, but the upsides far outweigh the downsides at today’s modern audiophile shows. You will know more and have had more unique experiences in the hobby from going to one or more of these shows each year. Expect to build a group of friends, and that these shows will be a little part of your social life, which is always cool. If you can double down and get some points for being a good spouse – then consider yourself an audiophile love ninja, because you are winning on all fronts there, friends.
If you can be like Brian Kahn and I and bring younger people with you to the show to introduce them to the hobby, you can win the FutureAudiophile.com Audiophile of the Year Award. These shows, just like the hobby, need a younger and more diverse demographic, but they all tend to do very, very little to market their events, even locally, to new audiences. If you can deliver that, we think you are a champion.
The best reason to go to an audiophile show is to have fun. Never forget that. Getting to experience the world’s biggest stereo store (even if it is only true for a weekend) is a blast. Audiophile companies roll out the red carpet with their displays. Their executives will willingly engage with you over any audiophile topic, as they are super-approachable. Beyond fun, expect your enthusiasm for the hobby to grow if you make the effort to attend one or more of these events. It is one thing to see all of my crappy photos on Facebook (or Eric Forst’s actually good photos on Instagram), but we would rather see you at one of these shows in person. We are always there – look us up and we will say HI!
Have you been to any of the more popular audiophiles shows? What did you think of them? What were your upsides and downsides? Were they worth traveling for? Did you hear/experience anything that was specifically good that you never forgot? Share with us below in our moderated comments below.
T.H.E. Show began in Las Vegas after CES failed to announce to attendees the Howard Johnson hotel was a venue for high-fidelity audio manufacturers.
It was Mike Maloney, who in response to this failure (and was one of the exhibitors at the HJ), decided to put together a competing event–and the following year THE Show opened at the San Tropez, next door to the Alexis Park.
THE Show opened their doors to trade and consumers alike and spearheaded the movement for more consumer oriented events.
It was Richard Beers who grew THE Show to the point where it appeared to pose a threat to CES as an alternate, competing venue.
In response to this, CES moved their high-end venue to The Venetian–which may have spelled the beginning of the end for the presence of high-fidelity audio at CES.
Richard expanded THE Show to include THE Show-Newport, and held a single event in Denver at the Denver Athletic Club.
THE Show(s) Las Vegas & Newport served both consumers and trade (local and international) until the unfortunate passing of Richard Beers, an individual who was gifted in managing the diverse personalities within the high-fidelity/high-end audio community (and as a genuine public servant will hold a special place in my heart, always).
Today’s THE Show, while smaller, continues to remain my favorite and I wish only the best for Emiko and her crew.
I’ve been to AXPONA several times and love it. It’s close enough we usually road trip up. You get to hear gear you wouldn’t normally have access to, gear you may not have ever heard of, I remember the first time I found and heard Thrax or Karan Acoustics, for example, and so many more
Another thrill is meeting and talking to the actual industry folks and designers. I met Ron Sutherland in the hall mentioned I had one of his old units, he took me into his room and showed me his new boards to a new phono stage. My friend and I met Jeff Rowland, we were sort of excited when we found out who he was, I think he was like what’s wrong with these guys, really nice and humble. I’ve met Lukas Fikas several times. Richard Schram some years back. Many others but the point is this type of interaction can be possible when visiting shows. And who better to answer questions about their products.
Inevitably we find one or more people with prototypes of products. I’ve found products I didn’t know existed like a company that makes platforms for turntables but come with a dust cover killing two birds with one stone if you have a turntable like me that cost good money but comes with no dust cover.
I think if you can swing it a show is a must, but I love everything audio.
Hi, first a disclaimer. I don’t live in the States or Europe. I also hate conferences and trade shows. So why am I commenting? Because I have some observations to make. I also love your articles and I love Hi-Fi. I’ve been enjoying music for over 60 years. So here I go.
1: Covid is still a pandemic. Travelling to shows, especially by Air, and being in crowded spaces is a high-risk activity. Covid is not a cold. There is a global surge happening right now. People are still dying.
2: From the show reports I read most are featuring $1K – $200K equipment. The mid to top end may be “loose change for billionaires” but is out of reach for many people. It’s pretty much Hi-Fi porn.
3: Climate Change and Global Heating. In Mexico recently monkeys were falling out of trees, dead from heat stroke. Birds were falling out of the sky for the same reason.
4: Aviation is a major contributor to climate change. This is a huge downside to visiting Sales Shows.
5: The Sales Model needs to be changed in my opinion. The Hi-Fi/Audiophile business needs to adapt.
If the Hi-Fi business does not adapt it will cease to be relevant.
Sorry to be a bit negative, I’m just saying what’s so for me.
Thanks for everything.
Keep writing great articles.
I’m just getting over Covid and it was horrible but I won’t let it keep me from enjoying life.
And it’s warm for a real reason.
https://www.nasa.gov/earth/tonga-eruption-blasted-unprecedented-amount-of-water-into-stratosphere/
I agree the cost of high end audio has become outrageous.
The only audio shows I’ve been to, so far, have been in New York. Originally they were run by Stereophile magazine. Of late they have been run by the Chester Group. The next one isn’t until October 2025, though. I’ve seen Steve Gutenberg at a number of them.
New York City is a 2-1/2 hour train ride for me. One year the show was held in nearby Westchester County. I liked that venue the most: larger rooms, and a pleasant drive in autumn on the Taconic Parkway. Then some rich fan demanded it go back to Manhattan, where it has mostly been since. But the 2025 show is supposed to be in New Jersey, which I will see if I like.
I always have a blast at these shows. On display ranges from audio pornography all the way down to nifty amplified speakers. I’ve never bought a big ticket item at a show, though I’ve made purchasing decisions based on my visits.
I’m retiring soon, and may consider a trip to Chicago or elsewhere.
Domestically, AXPONA is the show that you likely want to travel for from NYC. I don’t miss it. They have it all. Lots of diversity in terms of brands. Big $$$ stuff that most dealers couldn’t afford to show.
Another good thought-provoking article by Jerry Del Colliano!
To me CES was never a good match for high end audio and this became more and more apparent as the years moved forward. But on the other hand, I remember a year when CES located the high-end audio exhibits at the Alexis Park Resort on Paradise Road. That was a great location with a good vibe that made it possible for many smaller companies to participate on equal footing as some of the larger ones. The first years CES moved the high-end exhibits to The Venetian towers was excellent as well, but it was easy to see how the smaller exhibitors were becoming less common due to the higher cost of exhibiting. Still, it seemed like there was more international participants which I think went over very well. So, the rapid decline of high-end exhibits at the Venetian in 2016-2017 was very saddening. Being able to see the huge breath of electronic equipment at CES and then dedicating a day to see the high-end audio in dedicated rooms at the Venetian along with being able to visit the Casinos of your choice for dinner made the trip to Las Vegas very affordable for us budged constrained attendees not attending at company expense.
But there is still hope, recently I have been reading that in May of 2025. Lone Star Audiofest and T.H.E. Show will collaborate to host a new event, “T.H.E. Lone Star Audiofest, to take place in Austin, Texas. This is expected to attract a diverse group of HiFi designers, DIY-builders, artisans, and engineers, along with more main stream companies. They seem to be focused of preserving the heritage of both organizations, and making it affordable to attend.
And to the question posed by Jerry. Yes, attend all the Audiofile shows you can, for all the reasons in this article. It is so inspirational to see first-hand all the unique contributions being made to the field of audio your outlook on this great hobby will be changed. And this effect on you will last will last many days after the event.
This guy is a Jerry “super fan”…
No. 1 favorite reader of the day!!! 🙂
I’ve gone to the Tampa show every year since it first began in 2019 including the covid years but with an N95 masking what was mostly smiles (I live about 1.5 hours away). The show organizers keep improving the show every year. There is always a worthwhile surprise…maybe a person I get to meet, maybe a shocking and affordable piece of gear or maybe some new music.
My advice…it is worth investing at least a day and the odds are pretty good that you will have fun…bring some snacks and some water and don’t be afraid to engage people. I plan to keep going…even when I’m not planning to buy something new.
Hello, the best thing about audio shows for me is finding out that my gear stacks up pretty well against gear up to (in some cases) 10 X pricier than mine! Cool as well to be amongst so many folks who care as passionately as do I about audio gear – from amps to whatver gear starts with “z”, and everything in between. Indeed, the sheer amount of gear out there is staggering! …As well, with each show, my WAF goes way up – as my wife, Karyn (who attends every show me), sees first-hand just how much more I could be spending on my system!