We checked out the annual Heathrow Show this year and found it in somewhat poor shape compared to years past. Previously, it took over two sites near the world' busiest airport - the main one in the Renaissance hotel and the other ten minutes down the road in the Park Inn hotel.
This year however, for somewhat murky reasons, there were two shows operating in seeming opposition to each other - IPC's established Hi-Fi News Show in the Renaissance hotel and a new London Sound & Vision Show in the Park Inn, with no complimentary shuttle bus between the two, and no apparent consensus on prices for each - if you paid for the Sound & Vision show you weren't guaranteed entry to the Hi-Fi News show.
This was a sorry reflection of the state that the hi-fi industry currently finds itself in. The irony is that for consumers, there's probably never been a better time to snap up quality kit at affordable prices - if you know where to look. Hi-fi shows such as this offer an increasingly rare outlet for manufacturers focussing on audio to present their wares and explain their methods. It would be a crying shame if one good show is replaced by two underpowered shows, which will inevitably lead to no shows.
They should either merge, or one should get out of the game. At AVReview we don't favour one or the other, but we do think they should sort out their differences, and quick. What's your opinion? Let us know below.
 | | Panasonic were demonstrating their new Blu-ray player, the DMP-BD10 (£900), which certainly looked good, though they didn't offer a direct comparison with standard DVD.
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 | | Roksan Caspian integrator (£995) and power amp (£795) in new 'platinum' versions, due in November.
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 | | Musical Fidelity had some slightly bulkier but better looking replacements for its midrange CD player and amp with the 192kHz upsampling X-Ray V8 CDP (£799) and X-T100 60W integrated amp (£899). There's also the Triplex PSU (power supply unit).
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 | | Cornwall-based speaker firm Revolver made a departure from their usual entry level and midrange boxes with the £6,000 Cygnis stereo speakers. It has a 254mm mid/bass driver in the separate lower cab, with a 130mm midrange unit and 26mm tweeter in the time-aligned top section.
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 | | We liked the look of the Duevel Planets (£800 a pair) - omnidirectional home cinema speakers with stainless steel balls that reflect the sound in all directions. Expect a review soon.
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 | | MJ Acoustics showed off their new Pro 50 mkII sub. It's a compact 280x280x320mm with a downward-firing 250mm driver. With 120W its three times as powerful as its predecessor, has twin variable crossovers and it's the same price at £300.
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 | | The Pro 50 mkII is much more manageable than MJA's mighty £3,000 Reference 800 subwoofer.
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 | | The monumental Clearaudio Statement (£60,000 - that's all of it by the way, there is no stand) features very dense, bullet-proof wood and stainless steel in its stacked plinth and sits on a gyroscopical bearing that automatically adjusts to dead flat level with the aid of the pendulum hanging beneath it. This one was just for show however (at least they weren't playing anything on it).
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 | | The Clearaudio Ambience offers less of a statement but a much more practical vinyl source at £2,000 including tonearm. It utilises the same shielded magnetic drive as its big brother for minimum friction - ten times less than a standard bearing, apparently.
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 | | Quad's new electostatics are the ESL 2905 (£6,000) and the smaller 2805 (£4,500).
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 | | Linn was demonstrating the latest incarnation of its flagship Komri five-way loudspeaker, now fully active with electronic crossovers.
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 | | Creek showed off its rather tasty Destiny CD player (£1,200) and amp (£1,100) which tastefully augments the usual minimalist Creek look and promises high-end sound at a (just about) affordable price.
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 | | Canadian high-enders Gershman Acoustics demonstrated their Black Swan ($36,000 - no UK price yet), a speaker in two parts, with the woofer completely separated in its own cabinet from the midrange driver and tweeter.
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 | | Quadraspire's Acrylic Reference shelf rack (£850) boasts of having no parallel surfaces, with decoupled connections that allow the shelf to wobble gently like those buildings designed for earthquakes, thereby reducing the build-up of vibrational energy. The centres of the shelves have been removed for the same reason. Sounds weird, but in a demo, there was a noticeable increase in clarity and transparency.
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 | | Cain & Cain's statuesque single driver Abby speakers (£1,600) certainly cut a dash, as did the accompanying 150W Bailey subwoofer. The Abby is essentially 1920s technology given a noughties spin, and both looked and sounded wonderful.
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 | | The Angelsound Audio Almarro is a Japanese 18W valve amp expected to go on sale for around £1,300.
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 | | The ALR series of speakers from überphon sounded impressively tuneful and range from the Entry S (£250), through the Classic 1 (£500) to the Note 3 (£1,350, pictured).
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