PFO Oasis Award

Let’s face it, audio shows can incredibly stressful – not only for the exhibitors, but also for the attendees.  In trying to visit as many rooms as possible in such a short time, attendees often are overwhelmed by noise and hyperbole and welcome rooms that offer a respite from the craziness.  Positive Feedback Online created the Oasis award to recognize rooms that do just that and exemplify the best of what people come to an audio show to hear.

We are pleased to have been chosen by Positive Feedback Online to receive an Oasis award for day three of The Home Entertainment (T.H.E.) show held recently in Newport, California.  Why just for day three?  Well, frankly, because days one and two were nothing to write home about.  We completed the basic set-up only about an hour before the doors opened due to the fact that most of our equipment was lost in shipping or at least misplaced until the 11th hour.  This left no time for dialing in the system or for break-in.  We were still adjusting VTA and tracking force as the first visitors walked through our door!

As an experienced reviewer, David Robinson, Editor-in-Chief of PFO, is well aware that what you hear on day one or even day two may not represent the best sound a system is capable of.  In his show report, he writes, “many times, you don’t really have a room hitting its stride until the third (or last) day of an audio show. In fact, I’m convinced that many reviewers and show-goers who make up their mind about the quality of the sound that they heard based on the first… or even the second… day of a show are missing the boat. Worse yet, they may share evaluations that are simply inaccurate.”

He continues, “When I made it back late on Sunday morning (to the Walker room), things were sounding much better. The forward edge was gone, and the bass/midrange/treble were now shaking hands and making real music. In fact, the same LPs that had been unimpressive on the previous day were now kicking some serious butt, and the Raidho D-3s were sitting up and taking notice. The listeners seemed to have the same reaction that I was: This was world-class LP playback, without a doubt, whether we listened to classic, blues, or rock…Based on what I heard on the third day, when things came together, this room gets a well-deserved Audio Oasis! Award.”

As you can imagine, we are disappointed that visitors to our room on Friday and Saturday did not get to experience the quality of sound that we would have liked to share with them.  However, we appreciate the recognition of our room for day three by Positive Feedback Online.