Joe Azar should be everyone's neighborhood high end audio and video retailer. But there is only one of him. His Upstairs Audio was formed in 1972 and has served the discriminating tastes of thousand in and around Columbia, SC. Joe covered the New York Home Entertainment Show for us last year and again this year. The contrast was turned down on video this year.

A recently released government survey concluded that the average American sleeps 8.6 hours. Workers spend a third of the day on the job. The No. 3 activity, after sleep and work, is watching TV.

The study, based on 2003 data, found that our countrymen spend 11% of their life in front of a TV screen. To put it into perspective that is half of our leisure time -- and effectively 11% of our lives -- in front of the television. That's powerful evidence of the commanding role television plays. _Ad Age

But there was not much at all in video at the Home Entertainment Show in NYC this past weekend. I was a bit disappointed for I did want to see what was coming in new, higher resolution displays, HD-DVD, etc. Samsung and RCA were there. Runco was used by some exhibitors. That was pretty much it. No big demos of HD as was found last year.

To be sure there were some on exhibit: The Teranex-Silicon Optix room did have a JVC HD projector and demo of the Silicon Optix device, but, again, nothing like last year with lots of surround in even the small upstairs rooms and lots of HD including VOOM. Not even Direct or Dish or cable companies were on display.

Yet it was a music lover's dream. Plenty of great audio and 2 channel. Yes, vinyl is alive and well, along with tubes (amplifiers). Even CD is doing well with many audiophile type players, that in spite of the eventual migration to DVD audio (and SACD?). Speaker manufacturers are still at it with both conventional and exotic designs; wire manufacturers are busy too, pushing the envelope. And accessories are still a big thing in audio. Many companies produce ones of obvious value as well as ones of not very understandable nature. Having used many accessories, I will have to try the strange ones as I have found that though the "Doubting Thomas" in me tends to pooh-pooh some of these Rube Goldberg items, the experience of the years has demonstrated their value, even at prices I initially felt were quite a bit too high.

I will dig through the literature and notes from the show and write more, but I can say audio is the thing most alive and well. This must bode well for HD as it means that there still are those looking to improve sound, no matter what the format.

Surround sound definitely needs improvement in all areas, from recording to reproduction, and I believe that with resurgence in audio, it will improve. Which also means our HD broadcasts should come under more scrutiny by audiophiles and more involvement by them, hopefully causing content providers to examine and better produce their audio content. Time will tell, but I am truly encouraged by this turn of events, and am excited at the possibilities of greater improvement in broadcast and DVD movie sound.

As for the lack of video and HD at the show no light was shed. No feedback rolled in from anyone. It was as if the video folks just forgot to show up. Perhaps it is now so mainstream and no longer something found just in the high-tech specialty area as it has been. The providers and manufacturers may have already determined that the specialty end is not a profitable area to appeal to; the mass market is where the money is to be made. If so, it is a sad commentary as videophiles will not have the gains, excitement, and progress that audiophiles are accustomed to. Will there be tweak manufacturers of video? Or, will it just be big, mainstream players with mass movement in mind? I really can't comment on that but the next 3 shows (Infocomm, CEDIA, and CES) should reveal the trend. We will have to keep our eye on it and hope that there will be a videophile tweak community as strong as the audiophile one.

This year's show seemed to be more open with a better flow of attendees and easier to access the company representatives. It is easier to gain information this year. I do not know the final attendance numbers but I would say they are possibly down somewhat due to fewer exhibitors on the video side. I would encourage all our subscribers to attend at least one audio show just to hear what good audio should be. I will offer to lead a small group next year through the show should anyone be interested. Most audio for video always seems to be played too loud, and is generally too harsh. An improvement in audio, rich, detailed sound at moderate levels that do not hurt one's hearing, truly adds to the video experience, and I believe that this is an area that will find renewed interest and improvement in the home video experience.

Joseph Azar
Upstairs Audio
746 Harden Street, Columbia, SC Ph. (803) 256-EARS Fax (803) 256-1412

Posted by Dale Cripps, May 3, 2005 11:57 AM