Steve's back from the CES Show! "What's new?"

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by indy mike, Jan 12, 2003.

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  1. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest Thread Starter

    Hey Steve - how'd the show go, daddio???

    Welcome back (indy/mono mike said perhaps a little too soon) - how'd the show go? Any kewl surprises for us hepcats we oughta know about???
     
  2. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Hi everyone!

    Just flew in (and boy are my ears tired..)

    Great CES this year, Sam, Pam & Jen Passamano and I had a nice convention, staying at the MGM Grand, and enjoying smoke free hotel rooms this year (yes!) Since I'm going on about eight hours sleep (since Friday), I'll stumble through this and then go crash.

    There were lots of neat looking Hi Rez gear and turntables in many of the rooms. Big, big jump over last year. I was surprised and pleased!

    I was sorry to hear about Maurice Gibb. He was a talented guy.

    At the show I visited with some Forum regulars and a LOT of Forum lurkers (I told them to go ahead, be brave and post in 2003, no one would eat their brains or anything!)

    Saw and heard some great stuff, both really expensive and not so bad. Beautiful vacuum tube amps for just a grand or so from www.sophiaelectric.com. for example.

    I visited with special pals that I hadn't seen for a while: Jud Barber of Joule Electra, Kevin Hayes of VAC, our boy Jim Ricketts of TMH Audio, Peter Bizlewicz of Symposium USA, Michael Fremer and other journalists from Stereophile, TAS, etc., Duane Goldman, the "Disc Doctor" (who described how he was "modding" his 1910 Victor Talking Machine to sound state of the art) and others. It was nice seeing everyone hopeful and optimistic after last year.

    In the big ballroom where the record companies were it was fun to hang with Chad Kassem and the boys from Acoustic Sounds, Marshall Blonstein & Jerry Tolmich from Audio Fidelity (like old times), Shawn Britton (MoFi's mastering engineer) and the MoFi/Music Direct guys, David Fonn and the Cisco Music troupe, Kevin and Kathy Gray, Elton Evans (all around nice guy) and a nice swirl of well-wishers.

    Everyone was enjoying themselves and buying music right and left. At the Audio Fidelity setup, Marshall managed to get the three newly pressed Audio Fidelity LP's to the show (amazing deadline) and I saw the Ritchie Valens SACD being offered (I hadn't even seen it yet) and all the rest of the AF goodies that I had been working on in '02. The "O Gospel Where Art Thou" (vintage black "field" recordings from the early 1950's) CD sold out, surprising everyone (but me.)

    At the S&P Records display, the Dave Mason two-fer, Judy Garland two-fer, Johnny Cash two-fer and Johnny Horton's "Battle Of New Orleans" discs were selling nicely, and reviewers and industry bigwigs alike were drooling over the special S&P Eva Cassidy 45 RPM cuttings Kevin Gray and I made of "Over The Rainbow". Sam and I were making friends right and left when those acetates came out of Sam's bag. You could smell the sweet odor of freshly cut lacquer as it permeated the room! (I ain't kidding either).

    Over at the Acoustic Sounds/Analogue Productions booth, the Creedence (both LP and dual layer SACD's) were flying out the door. I think Chad is mulling over completing the Creedence series on SACD by releasing the last two.

    All in all it was a great show, but I'm glad to be home 'cause I missed Karla (and Scruffy, Tatters and Sauci.)

    If any Forum posts need to be "bumped" up to the top for me to see, go ahead. I'll try and catch up with Forum happenings tonight.

    Thanks to Holy Zoo, Robert, Bob, Dave and John for keeping this place movin' and groovin' in my absence.


    I'm happy to be back!
     
  3. Claus

    Claus Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
    I just would like to say hi...
     
  4. Holy Zoo

    Holy Zoo Gort (Retired) :-)

    Location:
    Santa Cruz
    Welcome back Boss! The place hasn't been the same without you - we missed ya!

    HZ
     
  5. Ed Bishop

    Ed Bishop Incredibly, I'm still here

    Well, that's one way to put it.....;) .

    Yes, welcome back, Steve....any news?:D

    ED:cool:
     
  6. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialistâ„¢

    Location:
    B.C.
    Welcome back Steve, sounds like you had a lot of good ole tiring fun.:D
     
  7. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    Welcome back Steve! You are the warming light in this place! The Mods kept the candle's burning.
     
  8. MMM

    MMM Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Lodi, New Jersey
    Welcome back Steve. It's nice to hear that the show was great, and that you enjoyed it.
     
  9. Dan C

    Dan C Forum Fotographer

    Location:
    The West
    Great to have you back Steve. And thanks for the Sophia link. Some very cool looking gear there! You heard them?
    Dan C
     
  10. sgraham

    sgraham New Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    (I moved this to a new thread)
     
  11. Audio72

    Audio72 Senior Member

    Location:
    So Cal.
    What's Up,

    Hey Steve, I saw you over at the Alexis Park while I was looking for a place to sit and eat my lunch. You know, the free lunch. I picked up a few of the CCR titles and they sound excellent.

    Thanks.
     
  12. Ronflugelguy

    Ronflugelguy Resident Trumpet Geek

    Location:
    Modesto,Ca
    Welcome back Steve, picked up four more DCC CD while you were gone, but no McIntosh!:(
     
  13. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Yes, I heard them. Nice, and nice and cheap! Made in Hong Kong, but so what?
     
  14. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Did you stand in that line? No way for me. Too much grill smoke blowing on me. I would have smelled like a burger all day! :)
     
  15. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest Thread Starter

    Didja bring me back anything, huh, didja?!?!
     
  16. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Sorry, Pal. All I brought back was about 100 business cards!
     
  17. Audio72

    Audio72 Senior Member

    Location:
    So Cal.
    Steve,

    I did stand in line. Did I smell like a burger, YES! But by the time I got back to my room I smelled like smoke from walking around the casinos.

    VIVA LAS VEGAS.
     
  18. Claviusb

    Claviusb A Serious Man

    Welcome back, Daddy-o! Sounds like you had a blast!!
     
  19. Jason Brown

    Jason Brown Forum Resident

    Location:
    SLC, UT
    So THAT'S where I have to go to find the CCR discs...
     
  20. Evan L

    Evan L Beatologist

    Location:
    Vermont
    Welcome back, Steverino! Missed your cogent comments while you were gone....:D
     
  21. GoldenBoy

    GoldenBoy Purple People Eater

    Location:
    US
    Welcome back Steve, glad you enjoyed the show. Now, what's the real inside scoop? C'mon, you can let me in on it, I won't tell anybody. :D
     
  22. cunningham

    cunningham Forum Resident

    Location:
    dallas, tx
    So, you did not bring back any music, gadgets, toys, nothing?
     
  23. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    The way it usually goes is I'm mailed the goodies later. Something to look forward to in the dim mists of February. ;)

    (The toys are way too big to carry).
     
  24. wes

    wes Senior Member

    Steve! It was great to meet you and Shawn in person. To me, it was just surreal to see the two of you standing and joking around side by side. I had to bite my finger to see if I was really awake..... The show was really cool. I met Jim Ricketts too......great guy.....Hi Jim.............I fell in love with those Wavac's. I paid numerous visits just because I craved the smoothness of what he had set up. He had a nice handful of Hoffman goodies to listen to........ I got to hear Steve's new Zombies SACD greatest hits on it, and couldn't believe how good it sounded, just heavenly.....I also chatted with Chad Kassem too.....He's a great guy, with a lot of enthusiasm.

    There seemed to be a lot of rooms that sounded pretty bad to me actually... I'm sure it must have been that the rooms were too small for the speakers.......

    I bought some goodies too..........I won a little in Vegas

    Ritchie Valens greatest hitsSACD
    Zombies Greatest hitsSACD
    Johnny Lee Hooker's boogie ChillinSACD
    Patricia Barber's Cafe Blue mofi SACD
    CCR's Bayou Country SACD

    :p

    I'm yet to crack em open, can't wait.


    -Wes
     
  25. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Hi Wes,

    Made it home in one piece, eh? Good deal.

    So it was odd to see the DCC guy and the MoFi guy joking around? It made a lot of folks do a double take (so I was told later). Like we are supposed to be enemies or something. It's such a small Audiophile world, we all must be friends. Anything else is pointless.

    I have some pictures that I'll post later.
     
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