[HiFi Show Report] North West Audio Show Cranage

Well, the Northwest Audio Show was a jolly splendid affair, and it was also a jolly, splendid, affair. Hereafter referred to as NWAS, the whole context of the show was improved by the sunshine (jolly boating weather) in which bathed the classic early 70s Pink Floyd sound system outside the front door. What a great way to be greeted on arrival.

There was a phenomenal turnout of exhibitors and of attendees. The corridors were constantly busy and there were queues outside some of the most popular rooms. Carnage at Cranage?

“Oh no! The old scribe is already hitting the pun buttons” complain Plebs chorus, stage left

NWAS is great fun, informative and fulfills ALL the requirements for a hobbyists weekend to be worthwhile. NWAS is not a trade show in the traditional sense. There is no admission charge for the NWAS and no charge for parking. There is live music in the courtyard. There is now a record fair on site. Organised by by Kris Sawiki and his team, sponsored by Hi-Fi Pig, the NWAS grows every year, peeking this year with over 80 exhibitors and more than 200 brands. From new start-ups in the foyer to some established big hitters in suites. This is a subjective impression of the attendance experience and if a picture is worth 1000 words, it's a long essay.

The Rooms

There were old industry alliances on display but refreshingly less ideological dogma than the years when audio was more mainstream. As audio becomes more of a minority pursuit, its own minorities assimilate and merge. Some exhibitors simply accepted that a hotel room will always be a honk-fest and made no obvious effort to apply room treatments or carefully adjust positioning. Those rooms usually had an obvious room honk needing careful choice of music to minimise honking, or bijou loudspeakers to similar effect. Some rooms had extensive (and effective) room treatment and some had elaborate exhibition display material. Doug Brady had a suite of rooms and his trademark red blazer. Thus each new room visited was a new experience signifying the personality of the product or its maker.

Most rooms offered a warm welcome, hosts often inviting passers-by in from the corridor. There were too many rooms for a detailed report and too many highlights for a top 5. The pictures do a lot of the talking. There may be a follow up piece with more detail.

Trade Highlights

If high quality audio is to survive the next 50 years as a consumer aspirational product, some desirable entry level products are needed. Younger listeners need weaning off the headphone umbilical cord, which means affordable housing and an upgrade path to loudspeakers. Several exhibitors were offering contributions to this journey. The journey through the show featured the first of these, ifi, in the corridor (and in other rooms) offering the neatest transition from desktop headphone bedsitland to the first home speaker enabled system. As if to reinforce the message, iFi were giving away good quality ear plugs in the large strong reusable carrier bags offered to visitors to hold the plethora of leaflets.

Wilkinson's Hi-Fi, a 3 generation family firm were showing a £1000 Rega vinyl system which worked spectacularly well in a little hotel room of similar proportions to a first time buyer's newbuild sitting room. MCRU were showing the gorgeous looking Alpha TT-1 turntable/arm (introductory £1000 pre order, rising eventually to £1800 when fully stocked) as a big step up for when the mortgage interest rates fall. MCRU also brought a spectacular quantity and range of audiophile quality discs (vinyl and SACD) to play on our new purchases. MCRU are one of my go-to online suppliers because unlike a certain portal named after a big river, MCRU pay their taxes and pack recods properly. By the time UK buyers has paid shipping and taxes by buying direct from overseas it saves no money compared to buying locally and directly like this. Instead of a cheap sofa from a 'sale always on store' (you know who), the new homeowner could buy a handcrafted Windsor listening chair from Imperial Audio Furniture. The comfortable domestic listening experience is thus assured with plenty to listen to.

Vinyl Passion won two Best Sound of Show awards for their system fronted by the new Carbon Fibre JM-12 turntable. Returning to the market pickup arm manufacturer Alphason has included, on the new HR200s, the first ever new development in cartridge tags: the Alphason PIN-JACK. Perfect for the always tinkering reviewer.

“The Old scribe goes to Britain's biggest modern hi-fi show and his highlight is a new type of pick up cartridge connector!” Challenge exasperated plebs, stage left.

We all know the problem of continuous wired tone arms with flimsy little brass cartridge tags. The problem is avoided on those arms which allow replacement of headshell wires, but at regular increased cost. Sadly, continuously wired pickup arms usually have flimsy little brass connectors (whether gold plated or not) that require regular tightening with flat-nose pliers if cartridges are changed frequently. The Alphason PIN-JACK fits pins from 1mm to 1.3mm without affecting the capacity of its unique pin receptacle. In your Old Scribe's opinion, all pickup arms must now offer this as an option in future! It should be consumer law.

Experience Highlights

The best part of any national audio show is meeting old friends and connecting face to face with online audio friends. Hence the suggestion that we should identify each other by wearing a bowler hat, carrying a copy of the FT and asking “Do the geese fly South early this year?”

Sadly there were many there that I'd hoped to meet up with and only managed about half; a busy show is like that. NWAS is organised to include spaces where visitors and exhibitors alike can sit chilling listening to Mancunian songwriter Sara Leanne in the Tempus Bar. On Sunday in the sunny courtyard (yes, really) it was Cuban performer Iroel Pérez Abreu, and in the sunshine imagine ourselves back in Placetas or Trinidad plaza sipping a cold one.

Apart from the Alphason cartridge tags, the item your Old Scribe wanted to take home the most is...

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Wear a bowler hat, carry a rolled-up copy of the FT and ask “Do the geese fly South early this year?”

“What is the Old Scribe on about now?” whinge Plebs chorus, stage left

NWA Show 2024

Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun

The Rooms

Trade Highlights

Experience Highlights