The Pacific Audio Fest 2024: Photo Essay!

In the old days of audio shows, like decades ago when I was attending the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the shows were for press and industry only, and were not open for public attendance.

It sure has been nice to have regional audio Fests that the public can attend to see & hear the multitude of audio kit that they wouldn't otherwise have access to.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of the regional Fests is how uniformly good the sound quality is in the exhibitor rooms.

In the old days - like at CES - it was fun to see all the audio kit in exhibitor rooms, but the average sound quality was pretty poor. There might be a couple of rooms out of the many with good sound quality, but how that is changed with the regional Fests, where the majority of the rooms are sounding great!

A photo walkthrough of exhibitors' rooms & displays:

I always start in the Audio Note (UK) room to set a benchmark for music playing ability & sound quality at the show.

Audio Note (UK) exhibited with Erik Owen's Gig Harbor Audio. Erik provides full service installations of audio and audio-visual systems, and where Pacific Northwest enthusiasts can see and hear Audio Note (UK) audio systems up close.

Not only is Gig Harbor Audio a superb audio store, but Erik also owns the Cuvée Wine + Vinyl Bar located in downtown Gig Harbor, where you can stop in, taste some featured wines and champagnes, stock up your wine cellar, and listen to some great music on vinyl - how cool is that!

Gig Harbor Audio (Facebook link HERE), and the Cuvée Wine + Vinyl Bar (Facebook link HERE) - check it out - these are cool destination visits for us audio nuts and wine lovers!

As an aside, Erik and I talked about me doing a road trip to visit him in Gig Harbor, so I can interview Erik about his Gig Harbor Audio business, and his very cool Cuvée Wine + Vinyl Bar, for an article here at Jeff's Place / Positive Feedback.

Most all of you know about the endearing Japanese Jazz cafes, that have nice audio systems you can listen to, and where you can unwind after a hard day while enjoying a favorite beverage.

That's what the Cuvée Wine + Vinyl Bar is like, a place where you can drop by and listen to your favorite vinyl records, and enjoy a glass of fine wine or champagne while you relax.

I wish every community had a Cuvée Wine + Vinyl Bar - more to come!

The focus of this year's Audio Note (UK) room was an affordable system, and like always, they were getting some of the best sound of the show regardless of price: TT3 turntable + Arm 3, CD 2.1x CD player + DAC 3.1x Digital to Analogue converter, the Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier, and ANJ-LX Hemp loudspeakers.

I might add that the Audio Note (UK) room was one of the few rooms that offered to let you play your own music - CDs and LPs - this year. The Audio Note (UK) kit plays all music very well, from any recording era, audiophile or not, and they aren't afraid to let you listen to your own music.

It seems quite a number of the rooms went with curated playlists in an attempt to show their systems in their best light with cherry picked music selections, and for the sake of convenience. Most did not have CD players, and some did not allow the playing of attendees' LPs.

That's not a trend I like, and it made me think that their systems might not be very versatile in the kind of music - and the range of fidelity of the music - they are capable of playing in engaging fashion.

Exhibitors take note, you might not be sending the message to show attendees that you intend to when you take that approach.

A couple of attendees vociferously complained to me about this limitation of hearing their own music on exhibitor systems, so I sent them to the Audio Note (UK) room where I knew they could hear their own music CDs on an exhibitor audio system.