Peterayer, I understand your comment but I supposed I was not really trying to explain why the sound is bad at show. Just general observation that the sound is bad. Even equipments that I am familiar with and know what they are capable of, having heard them either at home or elsewhere usually sound worse at show.
I am not sure what the main culprit is. Rooms may not be ideal but again, I heard a lot of systems that are not in dedicated listening room, my system included, that sound better than at show. Wall construction of usual hotel room is probably not ideal for stereo equipment either. Lots of demanding equipments sucking all the powers from multiple rooms at the same time probably does not help.
Generally I just feel that a show can only give me a glimpse of what the system is truly capable of. If they sound acceptable at show, they are likely to impress me a lot in another environment. Even system that sounds downright bad usually sound better elsewhere.
It is fun visit a show but it is not the place I would make my final judgement on the quality of the equipment for sure. I have not attend shows in the US for a long time so I have no idea how the rooms that get voted best sound at show etc really sound like or if they are much better than what is heard over here. However, for what's its worth, a friend who attends CES every year told me that at CES, the sound is not any better than what we hear at a local show here.
I am not sure what the main culprit is. Rooms may not be ideal but again, I heard a lot of systems that are not in dedicated listening room, my system included, that sound better than at show. Wall construction of usual hotel room is probably not ideal for stereo equipment either. Lots of demanding equipments sucking all the powers from multiple rooms at the same time probably does not help.
Generally I just feel that a show can only give me a glimpse of what the system is truly capable of. If they sound acceptable at show, they are likely to impress me a lot in another environment. Even system that sounds downright bad usually sound better elsewhere.
It is fun visit a show but it is not the place I would make my final judgement on the quality of the equipment for sure. I have not attend shows in the US for a long time so I have no idea how the rooms that get voted best sound at show etc really sound like or if they are much better than what is heard over here. However, for what's its worth, a friend who attends CES every year told me that at CES, the sound is not any better than what we hear at a local show here.