A first-timer's perspective

I talked to an audiophile who is just starting out – though he seems to be a very quick study, and knows a lot of the ins and outs already. I’m afraid I wasn’t much use to him, asking him questions instead of imparting advice [not that I ever impart advice, I am more comfortable guiding people and letting them hear for themselves and discover their own preferences, not mine].

His perspective on spending 4 hours at RMAF, his first show, was the following:

* Overwhelming

* There are a LOT of brands

* There are a lot of innovative and just plain WEIRD designs

I think he enjoyed his time there, but it didn’t really bring him closer to finding which speakers he wants to get [and me asking him 20 questions didn’t help much either :-)].

Perhaps there needs to be a printed guide, dividing up the rooms into price categories… but then show goers would miss out on hearing more expensive systems that might help them refine their preferences, and less expensive systems with stellar performance.

The real answer is friends. Friends can guide other friends…

And maybe the show needs to conduct guided tours – not of any price category, but floor-by-floor say, giving people an independent perspective on what they are seeing and hearing.