Bristol Show - First Time

Morning Rob. I’ve been a couple of times now with wenger2015 and we’ll be there again this month. Book your ticket online and get in the prepaid ticket line outside the hotel. Entry is much fast that way! There are a few demos you’ll need to get tickets for. They are free. The Naim demo is by far the most impressive and tickets are in high demand but readily available. Get a ticket from the naim area, usually at the top of the main staircase as you enter the hotel. Not sure if that’s where they are again this year?? Other demos are what hifi, chord, and I’m sure a few more, that need a ticket. I found the higher the floor, the less there is to see. 

I’ve been and as well as Naim have always enjoyed Neat, Harbeth, Kudos, sometimes Dynaudio amongst others.   It gets very busy and hot.   Can be a pain getting a coffee or some lunch.    Parking next door is convenient if expensive.   Normally bump into a few other nerds.

Regards,

Lindsay

1. Get there before 10 and join the queue.

2. Take your own sandwich/drink/snack and eat later in the bar area.

3. Having deposited your coat, go up to the top and work your way down. If you go down to the lower ground bit you end up spending two hours looking at cables, cleaning machines etc.

4. If you can't get a ticket to Naim's demos (I haven't been to one for some years) there's plenty of Naim about, e.g. Dynaudio and Proac.

I am going on the Friday which will be the first time since the late 1980's!

Will try my best to get a ticket for the Naim dem so may see some of you there although not sure how we would recognise each other 

Richard

Leave the back pack and flask at home. It’s too warm and crowded in there to be carrying that around all day. I’d treat myself to a nice lunch if I were you. There is a small selection of hot food in the restaurant at lunchtime with tea and coffee available anytime from a couple of places nearby too. Cabot circus is just round the corner so you can eat anything you like there. It’s a day guys, treat yourselves!! 

You’ll get tickets easy enough Richard. The Naim demo is repeated every 30 mins or so I think and runs most of the day. 

Don’t go on the first day when equipment isn’t warmed up. By lunchtime on day 2, amps should be nicely warmed up and staff have had a chance to tweak their setups if needed. If they still sound bad then, there are plenty of good pubs in Bristol. 

Some helpful tips and pointers here. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread; think I might give it a visit this year.

I’ve been going most years since the 1980’s and the routine that works for me is:

1. Get there for 9.15 and get a decent spot on the lower floor of the car park next door. (It used to be free to park on the road opposite the hotel on a Sunday, but I’m not sure if that’s still the case)

2. Breakfast and a large coffee at the nearby McDonald’s before the show opens.

3. Five minute walk up to the hotel for 10am avoids having to queue in the cold.

4. Get the Naim demo tickets first, then start from the top and work down, keeping an eye on the time for the Naim demo.

5. Stay focussed on what really interests me - the time flies by.

I usually pick up a few leaflets for the recycling bin, wish I had more disposable income, develop a headache and wonder why I keep going back year after year...

Its exciting to see all the gear. I went last year and apart from advice already given, try obtain the lay out of the brands in each room and floors.  That way you can plan out a sort of military campaign by deciding which floor you will start with, choose the brands you want to see and locate their rooms.  Of course there will be unexpected delays (to see certain brands) so the planned tour will end up somewhat different and more erratic.  However at the end of the day when I viewed and listened to most of the brands I felt like an American giving a fly visit accross Europe. I felt to get to know each component one needed a lot more time to acclamitise to the sound.  There was no ATC representation last year which was a big disappointment for me however there was the ATC SCM 40 passive speaker in operatiount.con I think connected to some expensive Chord DAC.  The Naim show was exciting and also the Hegel room was interesting and I got to meet the representative for Hegel (a face I consistently see on Youtube in relation to Hegel gear)  In a short space of time at the show the one component which made a quick impression on me was the Music Fidelity Encore (a sort of CD ripper/Amp & maybe streaming also) which had a type of confident spacious sound and a strong output to drive a few speakers.  I wonder how this machine will fare with Naim Unti Star, I know that Music Fidelity Encore has a 1tb storage hard drive built in the component which is very practical and reduces the box  count.

If you get tired and need a nap, I would suggest the Harbeth room....... you can hear the snoring from the car park next door....

The Neat room usually has the best sound (IMO) and is powered by naim amps, Dynaudio too. I guess the naim demos will be uniti focused which may be a good Thing or not.. I struggled with the naim demos in the past as I've never got on that well with their speakers (inc. focal) or music choice for that matter.

All academic this year, I'll be in town for a 40th and live music but skipping the show.

Hi Fueller,

i am looking to check out some live music Thursday/Friday evening, any suggestions?

Richard

FangfossFlyer posted:

Hi Fueller,

i am looking to check out some live music Thursday/Friday evening, any suggestions?

Richard

I live between Bristol and Bath and just looked on a website ,quite a selection of music going on all very close to the City Centre. If you like Jazz I would visit The Old Duke always rated very highly.

I'd second the Old Duke for Jazz, otherwise Bristol is blessed with quite a few smaller venues all fairly central, check listings for Tunnels, The Fleece, Louisiana, SWX, Marble Factory, Fiddlers and not forgetting the boats, Thekla and Grain Barge. There's also O2 Academy for bigger bands. Enjoy!

Does anyone have knowledge of (or and educated guess) what Naim might exhibit this year (particularly at the higher end of the product range)?

500 series streamer......but we could all be wrong

PCD, Fueller and Gavin

Thanks..... will check them out.

Richard

And if you need time out don't queue at the hotel bar to pay over the odds, a 5 minute walk through Counterslip rewards you with the best pubs in Bristol like the Cornurbia, Seven Stars or Bridge Inn, all IMHO of course..

Gavin L posted:

Does anyone have knowledge of (or and educated guess) what Naim might exhibit this year (particularly at the higher end of the product range)?

We can all dream!

They will be showing the ND555. £13,000. 

Don,t forget a power supply at £6599, and you will need a preamp as well...as it’s not a Nac572.

Hungryhalibut posted:

They will be showing the ND555. £13,000. 

No doubt you will soon be upgrading from your humble 272?

Hungryhalibut posted:

They will be showing the ND555. £13,000. 

Interesting. Where did you see the announcement. I can see the US public unveiling listed on the 8th of March but nothing else ?

Gazza posted:

Don,t forget a power supply at £6599, and you will need a preamp as well...as it’s not a Nac572.

Wouldn’t mind betting it’ll need 2x 555PS... So maybe make that £26,000? Kind of in keeping with 552 and 500 pricing I guess.