As Vienna replaces Munich, are concerns from Experts about potential "bad sound" in Vienna warranted?

[caesar]

I've been catching up on my audio reading, and I've seen comments that some industry insiders are concerned about "bad sound" in Vienna. I've attended many shows, and maybe 1 out of 20 rooms has good sound.

Most rooms just suck!!!!

How many people go to shows for "good sound"?

Are these so-called experts out of their minds? Or is there something to it?

 

[Bobvin]

Having had the pleasure to finally visit Munich this year, I can understand exhibitors caution about a new venue. With many Munich exhibitors having been there for multiple years they knew what to expect sonically and many essentially built a “dedicated” room onsite. I was astonished and impressed some must have had a small shipping container of materials they used to build out their space. Certainly nothing about Munich itself vs any other exhibit hall would lend to good sound, but years of being at the same venue brought depth of experience and an accumulation of “stuff”.

In Vienna it will be starting from scratch. I expect year one will be a challenge for those exhibitors who have invested so heavily in their Munich exhibits. Those who were able to get decent sound in Munich with little “treatment” won’t find Vienna much different than any other show.

My $0.02.

 

[Lee]

Having had the pleasure to finally visit Munich this year, I can understand exhibitors caution about a new venue. With many Munich exhibitors having been there for multiple years they knew what to expect sonically and many essentially built a “dedicated” room onsite. I was astonished and impressed some must have had a small shipping container of materials they used to build out their space. Certainly nothing about Munich itself vs any other exhibit hall would lend to good sound, but years of being at the same venue brought depth of experience and an accumulation of “stuff”.

In Vienna it will be starting from scratch. I expect year one will be a challenge for those exhibitors who have invested so heavily in their Munich exhibits. Those who were able to get decent sound in Munich with little “treatment” won’t find Vienna much different than any other show.

My $0.02.

Including Kharma which built out the entire room in 2019 and the sound was terrible anyway.

 

[caesar]

Having had the pleasure to finally visit Munich this year, I can understand exhibitors caution about a new venue. With many Munich exhibitors having been there for multiple years they knew what to expect sonically and many essentially built a “dedicated” room onsite. I was astonished and impressed some must have had a small shipping container of materials they used to build out their space. Certainly nothing about Munich itself vs any other exhibit hall would lend to good sound, but years of being at the same venue brought depth of experience and an accumulation of “stuff”.

In Vienna it will be starting from scratch. I expect year one will be a challenge for those exhibitors who have invested so heavily in their Munich exhibits. Those who were able to get decent sound in Munich with little “treatment” won’t find Vienna much different than any other show.

My $0.02.

Hi Bobvin,
That makes sense. However, you likely have a room that's 99.5% better than most others, if not more, so surely you would agree how bad that show sounds compared to what you have.

At axpona and the late rmaf, as well as some others, sound is horrible. I much prefer my system and my friends' home systems. At the latest axpona, the sound was so atrocious, I just walked the halls saying hello to folks and making new friends. Couldn't enjoy more than a small handful of rooms.

 

[microstrip]

(...) In Vienna it will be starting from scratch. (...)

Not exactly - the FINEST AUDIO SHOW Vienna in November 2023 took place in the Austria Center Vienna (ACV) and the move was due, in part, to the positive feedback the organizers got from the industry and attendants.

 

[Kofi Baffour]

I've been catching up on my audio reading, and I've seen comments that some industry insiders are concerned about "bad sound" in Vienna. I've attended many shows, and maybe 1 out of 20 rooms has good sound.

Most rooms just suck!!!!

How many people go to shows for "good sound"?

Are these so-called experts out of their minds? Or is there something to it?

Munich sucks for sound too. One doesn't go to a trade show and expect studio grade room preparation. It is a useless worry

 

[Lee]

Munich was generally terrible for sound quality. Vienna may be better.

 

[caesar]

Munich sucks for sound too. One doesn't go to a trade show and expect studio grade room preparation. It is a useless worry

exactly! I think the venerable stereophile show reporter Jason Victor Sirinious was concerned about it and a few other guys

 

[Kofi Baffour]

exactly! I think the venerable stereophile show reporter Jason Victor Sirinious was concerned about it and a few other guys

I never use trade show sound to determine stuff but even in the terrible rooms, there are speakers you can hear are good and that is how I ended up with my 888s (I also found the CEA2034 dataset matching my demands for a speaker and managed to snag a pair that were demo used for $3500)
Hell, some of these "terrible" rooms have better baseline acoustic viability than many people's rooms lol

So their worry imo is overblown. I go to High End to talk to people in the AES like Sean Olive, Welti and many people to pick their minds. I rarely listen to the speakers there (unless they pique my interest). Just there to socialize with physics of sound nerds

 

[Grateful]

Munich was generally terrible for sound quality. Vienna may be better.

Show sound has been excellent in many rooms recently.

Please explain… I’m having a hard time understanding your point. I’m truly not trying to be difficult, I’m merely trying to learn. Thanks!

 

[Lee]

Please explain… I’m having a hard time understanding your point. I’m truly not trying to be difficult, I’m merely trying to learn. Thanks!

Axpona, Capital AudionFest, Florida all had some excellent sounding rooms recently. Munich with the MOC has rooms that really more like partition style offices that generally are not conducive to good sound.